Holiday Hack Orientation

Difficulty:

Objective

Task description

Talk to Jingle Ringford on Christmas Island and get your bearings at Geese Islands.

Jingle Ringford

Welcome to the Geese Islands and the 2023 SANS Holiday Hack Challenge!

I'm Jingle Ringford, one of Santa's many elves.

...

Just kidding! It's actually the 2024 SANS Holiday Hack Challenge!

And although we're on Frosty's Beach on Christmas Island, we'll soon be on our way back to the North Pole.

I thought it best to wait here for people that heard we're on the Geese Islands but may not know we're leaving.

I haven't seen Santa since we started packing up, but he always asks me to give a quick orientation to newcomers, so I'm continuing the tradition.

Before you head out any further onto the island, you need to accomplish two simple tasks.

But first, here's a parting gift. I packed this snowball made of the magical, never-melting snow of Christmas Island. A little souvenir to take with you when we leave for the North Pole.

Click on the snowball on your avatar. That's where you will see your Objectives, Hints, resource links, and Conversations for the Holiday Hack Challenge.

Now, click on the Cranberry Pi Terminal and follow the on-screen instructions.

Solution

The terminal tells us to type "answer" in the upper pane of the terminal, and when we do we complete the challenge.

Answer

Enter "answer" in the terminal as described.

Response

Jingle Ringford

You're a natural! Something new this year you may not know is that all challenges have an easy and hard mode. There's also story mode, if you want to skip the challenges and watch how our holiday season's adventure unfolds!

Your snowball will reflect how you've solved the challenges with the bronze, silver, and gold trophies.

Well, that's it, now you're orientated! Feel free to get yourself settled in, establish a cohort with others, or just explore this lovely island. Just be careful where you walk as we are moving around some pretty heavy crates.

Oh, while we're preparing everything to set sail for the North Pole, I heard Poinsettia McMittens and Angel Candysalt could use some assistance. I'm sure they'll appreciate any help you can provide!

We'll let you know when the boat leaves, but for now relax, enjoy the sun, and most importantly, have FUN!