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There have been several similar books in the past, known as "armchair treasure hunts". However, these generally involve actual physical treasures that have been buried somewhere, and cracking the r...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41245 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41245 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
There have been several similar books in the past, known as "armchair treasure hunts". However, these generally involve actual physical treasures that have been buried somewhere, and cracking the riddles in the book leads you to their location. The principle is the same, though: the author of the puzzle has to confirm that your solution is correct before you can go off and dig up the prize. In your case, you'd confirm that the solution is correct and then simply hand over the cash. I don't think there would be any legal issues - you certainly won't have to deal with treasure-seekers going around and digging up people's back gardens because they think that's where the prize is. The main issue is the possibility that nobody will ever actually crack the code and claim the prize - _[On The Trail of the Golden Owl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Trail_of_the_Golden_Owl)_, for example, hadn't been solved by the time the author died in 2004 and remains unsolved to this day.