Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis

The Donkey Kong arcade game was released in 1981, which was also the first appearance by Nintendo's most famous character, Mario. Although Donkey Kong was the "bad guy" in his first game, he later becomes a beloved protagonist. Give DK some color! Upload your completed coloring page to an image-hosting site and post it below by 11:59 pm on 30 June to earn 5 XP.

Have you read Ready Player One and/or seen the movie? What did you like about the book, the movie, or both? Please keep your posts spoiler-free! Join in the discussion by 11:59 pm on 30 June to earn 5 XP.

As mandated by Mr. Watts, the OASIS will be closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. No actions are permitted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When the OASIS is open, each gunter is allowed two actions per day. Gunters may either: Move to a world one move away and attack the monster Move to a world two moves away Gunters will receive the password to enter the world they end up in through the e-mail they provided, giving them access to the Quest. Once a Quest is unlocked, it remains in a gunter’s inventory until it is completed. Be sure to follow the instructions when submitting Quest solutions. Gunters can move back to previous worlds, but they will not receive a new Quest. Unless a gunter has a special item, they can only move to worlds that are directly connected to each other on the OASIS map. Attacking the monster is a higher risk action, but successfully defeating the monster on the world will double the amount of scales a gunter earns from the Quest. The XP of the gunter will determine whether or not the monster is defeated. Example action posts: Post your actions below by the end of each day. All gunters start at Aporia. Actions can be posted beginning on 20 May. Days end at 11:59 pm HOL time.

Show off your avatar for the Emerald Cup Hunt! Avatars are 100x100 pixels in size. Also, you may create a contact card with your OASIS username that you can share with other gunters. Your contact card should be 250x100 pixels. If you need some inspiration: Post your avatar/contact card below and use them for the duration of the Emerald Cup Hunt. Earn 5 XP for either an avatar or a contact card; 10 XP for both!

All gunters are invited to compete in #slytherin races! Whether you need more XP to unlock sectors or simply want to mingle with other gunters, come by for an adrenaline boost. The first races will be: Thursday, 31 May at 3 am HOL time / Wednesday, 30 May at 10 pm Eastern One type of race is a Logic Puzzle Race. Gunters will receive 5 XP for participating in a logic puzzle race and 5 XP for solving the puzzle. Those who are unable to make it have the opportunity to solve the logic puzzle for 5 XP scales after the race is complete. The first three gunters to solve the logic puzzle will receive additional XP: 15 XP for 1st place 10 XP for 2nd place 5 XP for 3rd place Darkn3sss will also be running Wiki Races! Gunters can earn 5 XP for participating and an additional 5 XP for winning a race. Winners of races may also receive special items to assist in traversing the OASIS! Be sure to log in to #slytherin with your OASIS usernames!

All gunters are invited to hang out in #slytherin throughout the Emerald Cup Hunt. For IRC activities, such as the trademark Emerald Cup logic puzzle races, gunters are encouraged to nick to their OASIS usernames. IRC activities offer gunters a chance to bond with the other gunters in their clan and the opportunity to earn additional XP. At each IRC session, winners will receive special items to aid in traversing the OASIS. If you are interested in participating in IRC activities, please post your general availability from 20 May to 30 June below. Which days/times are better for you? Then, keep an eye on The Basement for more information about IRC activities!

So you want to submit to SerpenTimes, but need an idea or two? You're in the right place! Any approved ideas will be listed below. Feel free to claim anything that does not have a name by it. If you have any other ideas, you can reply to this thread or send them in to serpentimes.hol@gmail.com. Key: Free Approved Received Next Deadline: 15th June SerpenTimes Points Spreadsheet ARTICLES - HOL happenings, Quidditch recaps, interviews, reviews, recipes, and more! Delicious Destinations --- Maxim Trevelyan Game Worlds --- Shiloh Adlar Inhabiting Fictional Worlds --- Sky Alton Review --- Maxim Trevelyan Technological Influences on the Real World --- Shiloh Adlar COLUMNS - If you have an idea for a column, fill out an application and send it in! Claws, Paws, and That's Not All --- February Fortescue Harry Potter Read-Along Update --- Arianna Stonewater How Did They Do It? --- February Fortescue Meet the Snake --- Arianna Stonewater Snake Charm --- Hope Stark Spoonful of Supplements --- Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis TBD --- Aurelia West GRAPHICS - maximum width 600 px SerpenTimes --- Gail Allen SQT --- Gail Allen Green versus Silver Green Team --- Shiloh Adlar Silver Team S.H.O.P Silly Snakes Harry Potter Read-Along GOBstones Puzzle Exchange Slytherin Study Hall HOL Book Club -- Prof. Tarma Amelia Black HOLLERS --- Polaris Black Quidditch Pickups Gathering and Games SUPERLATIVES - must be exactly 350x350 px Most Tactical --- Polaris Black Computer Whiz --- Maxim Trevelyan Most likely to domesticate a Thunderbird --- Maxim Trevelyan Most likely to win a game of Shuntbumps --- Polaris Black Most likely to turn up in the middle of the Sahara Desert --- Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis PUZZLES Crossword --- Shiloh Adlar Cryptogram --- Shiloh Adlar Fallen Letters --- Prof. Tarma Amelia Black Jigsaw --- Prof. Tarma Amelia Black Numbrix --- Polaris Black Visual Sudoku --- Polaris Black OTHER

The OASIS lets you be whoever you want to be. Ready to join the Emerald Cup Hunt? Fill out the following information: OASIS username: Any combination of letters, numbers, dashes, and underscores are allowed, but NO SPACES!! Examples: Parzival, Art3mis, i-R0k Avatar: Describe what your character looks like in the OASIS. You can be a human, witch/wizard, or any creature. You are also allowed to change your avatar as much as you wish throughout the Hunt. Gunter Clan: Green / Silver / Solo Slytherins - Your team is your Clan. If you haven't been sorted into a team yet, you can sign up for Green versus Silver HERE. Non-Slytherins may choose to begin the Hunt solo and join a Gunter Clan later. Contact: The e-mail address where you wish to receive Hunt instructions. Post below to earn 10 XP and begin your Emerald Cup Hunt!

Using the letters of the alphabet, list words or phrases related to Slytherin! Names can be either the first name or last name. If we hit Z, start another round with A. I'll start with: Ambition

The next type of puzzle for exchanging will be… CRYPTOGRAMS!! Cryptograms were originally used to encrypt military secrets typically by changing one letter for another. If the messages were intercepted, it would seem to be gibberish. Once people began to figure out how to crack these codes by using pattern recognition, more complex encryption methods were required. But that doesn't keep us from solving a cryptogram every now and then! The most common type of cryptogram is a substitution cipher. Each letter is replaced by a different letter, number, or symbol. There is also a book cipher, where a specific book or publication acts as the key for the cipher. Since we are currently reading Goblet of Fire, that is a good option for a key if you want to try making a book cipher! Make up a sentence or find a quote you like and get encrypting! If you need some inspiration, try Cryptograms.org or Razzle Puzzles. Post your puzzles below along with how you want answers to your cryptogram sent to you (E-mail, Dungeons PM, HOL message, etc.) Each puzzle you make is worth 10 scales. Solving someone else’s puzzle earns you 5 scales. You are allowed to post and/or solve multiple puzzles, but keep in mind that the maximum number of scales you can earn per month from Puzzle Exchange is 50 scales. Please remember to edit your post when other people solve your puzzle(s) so they can receive their scales.

To Hermione’s delight, Ron finally puts aside his jealousy towards Viktor Krum and asks for Krum’s autograph. What do you think Krum’s signature looks like? Try your hand at replicating Krum’s autograph or find a font to show how you imagine it. 10 scales if posted by Sunday 27th May, 23:59 HOL time. 5 scales if posted after that but before Thursday 31st May, 23:59 HOL time.

Three hidden keys open three secret gates Wherein the errant will be tested for worthy traits And those with the skill to survive these straits Will reach The End where the prize awaits We’ll be warping to the world of Ready Player One for this year’s Emerald Cup competition. Be prepared for classic arcade games and lots of 80’s references! The objective is to be the first gunter through all three gates OR to accumulate the most XP. The Emerald Cup is hidden somewhere in the OASIS. The first gunter to locate all three keys - Green, Silver, and Emerald - and get through the respective gates will locate the Emerald Cup. Everyone is invited to join the Emerald Cup Hunt as a gunter. Non-Slytherins may choose to be part of the Green Clan or the Silver Clan or complete everything solo. Gunter Clans are encouraged to work together and give each other tips, but all Quest solutions must be submitted individually. All worlds in the OASIS are the home of a monster and contain a Quest. Certain sectors of the OASIS are only accessible when a gunter has accumulated sufficient XP. Gunters gain XP by attacking monsters and completing Quests. Each gunter is allowed two actions per day - either move to another world and attack the monster inhabiting it or move two worlds away. Quests are worth 5, 10, or 15 XP depending on which sector they are found and some will offer the opportunity for bonus XP. All Quest solutions must be turned in by 11:59 pm HOL time on 30 June. Occasionally, there will be IRC activities. Log in with your OASIS usernames to gain additional XP and bond with the other gunters in your Clan. You may even earn special items to help you with the Hunt! Any general questions about the Emerald Cup Hunt can be posted below. Specific questions about Quests should be e-mailed to slytherin.emeraldcup@gmail.com or posted in their respective threads. What are you waiting for? Create your OASIS username and join the Hunt!

I had most of Ready Player One read to me (by Cody, Cody's phone, and Wil Wheaton), so I had no idea how a lot of things were spelled. When I finally read a chapter, it was a nice surprise to see Parzival, Aech, Art3mis, Anorak, etc. in print. The writing style wasn't always the most reader-friendly, so maybe it was good that someone else read it! At one point, Cody pointed that there were lots and lots of lists and then we couldn't stop noticing them. I typically enjoy books and movies with a treasure/scavenger hunt in some fashion, especially when there are clues to follow. It's exciting to try to figure things out along with the characters. The mix of competition and friendship was fun to read and easy to relate to. I can't say that I'm very into video games or anything, but it was so interesting to see so many allusions to different games in one book. Since I was born in the late 80's, there were a few things that I had heard of before, but there were a lot of pop culture references that I didn't realize were from the 80's. The movie was very different from the book, but it definitely captured the essence of the book. There are only one or two major details that I would change.

Location does not matter when submitting Quests. As soon as you complete a Quest, you may submit it, even if you are not currently in the world where you received the Quest. Per your example, you can post in Asgard when you are in Gallifrey.

The mixture of Harry’s Furnunculus Curse and George’s Jelly-Legs Jinx made Crabbe sprout little tentacles all over his face. Come up with another possible hex combination and describe the effect(s). 10 scales if posted by Sunday 27th May, 23:59 HOL time. 5 scales if posted after that but before Thursday 31st May, 23:59 HOL time.

Failing to defeat a monster means you only get that one move to the world that day. You will not lose any XP or items or a turn. Also, another general announcement: All passwords are lowercase letters with no spaces.

As a gift for myself, the first puzzle exchange will be… LOGIC PUZZLES!! Technically, any puzzle that requires deduction (logic) to solve is a logic puzzle, but for this exchange, the focus will be logic grid puzzles, also called table puzzles. A logic puzzle contains several categories with an equal number of options in each category. Each option can only be used once. The goal is to figure out which options go together using the clues provided. A logic puzzle should have one unique answer. This is the type of puzzle used for HOL Snitch matches. Unlike Snitch matches, the logic puzzles you create for this exchange are not limited to 5x4 in size. A famous logic puzzle is the Zebra Puzzle, in which you must figure out who owns the zebra. If you are unsure how to start, the best way is to try some logic puzzles. I recommend Logic-Puzzles.org and Puzzler’s Paradise. Post your puzzles below with the following information: Background information Clues Size - 4x4, 4x3, 5x4, etc. (optional) Grid (optional) How to submit an answer - E-mail, Dungeons PM, HOL message, etc. Each puzzle you make is worth 10 scales. Solving someone else’s puzzle earns you 5 scales. You are allowed to post and/or solve multiple puzzles, but keep in mind that the maximum number of scales you can earn per month from Puzzle Exchange is 50 scales. Please remember to edit your post when other people solve your puzzle(s) so they can receive their scales.

FYI: Scales for Emerald Cup have been converted into XP. They will revert back when the Hunt is over.

What would you do if you were one thousand Galleons richer? 10 scales if posted by Sunday 20th May, 23:59 HOL time. 5 scales if posted after that but before Thursday 31st May, 23:59 HOL time.