Cryptocracy

Cryptocracy was an independent online cryptic hunt that grew out of the Delhi school tech circuit. What started as a fun side project became one of India's largest cryptic hunts, with two editions distributing over ₹6 lakh in prizes to thousands of participants.

How It Started

A group of us from Exun Clan (DPS RKP) and CORE (DPS Dwarka) — people who'd organized cryptic hunts at our respective schools — decided to build something independent. No institutional backing, no guaranteed audience. Just a team of high schoolers who wanted to organize the kind of hunt we'd want to play.

We raised our own sponsorship money, built the platform from scratch, and marketed it ourselves.

The Events

Cryptocracy I (June 2020)

Our first edition was a 48-hour international cryptic hunt x CTF. We distributed ₹1,20,000 ($1,600) among top participants and had thousands of active players globally. It was the first cryptic hunt in India with a dynamic, all-new format — each level could involve traditional ciphers, steganography, programming challenges, OSINT, or anything else we could dream up.

Cryptocracy II (July 2021)

The second edition was even bigger — over 1,500 active participants competing for a prize pool of ₹5,00,000 ($7,000). We partnered with sponsors like Athena Education, Slingshot, InterviewCake, Taskade, and gen.xyz.

What's a Cryptic Hunt?

A cryptic hunt is a puzzle competition where participants solve a series of interconnected challenges. Each puzzle might involve:

Decoding ciphers and encryption
Steganography (hidden messages in images/files)
Programming challenges
Research and OSINT (Open Source Intelligence)
Logic puzzles and lateral thinking

The answer to each puzzle unlocks the next level, with difficulty ramping up as you progress.

Building the Platform

I worked on both the technical infrastructure and general logistics:

The Tech

The platform was built with React, Express, and Prisma. Key features:

Level Management: Dynamic puzzle serving based on team progress
Answer Validation: Fuzzy matching for minor variations in submitted answers
Anti-Cheating: Rate limiting, pattern detection, and monitoring for suspicious behavior
Real-time Leaderboard: Live rankings that updated as teams progressed

The Chaos

Beyond code, organizing Cryptocracy meant handling everything that comes with running a live event — DDoS attacks at 3AM, automating thousands of emails, sifting through bot accounts, managing sponsor relationships, and keeping hundreds of participants happy over a weekend.

The Community

The best part was the community that formed around the events. Participants shared frustrations, celebrated breakthroughs, and formed teams that continued competing in other hunts. Many stayed connected through our Discord long after the events ended.