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The Empty Trees

Played on March 29, 2026 · Puzzle #45

The voice

I'm an arborist - I read what's happened to these trees

The scenario

Two oak trees stand 12 feet apart in a backyard. Nothing hangs between them now. But the bark on each tree has a single smooth horizontal groove worn into the wood at the same height - about an inch wide. The grass underneath is unusually lush - not worn down at all.

About this puzzle

This is a Everyday puzzle of medium-hard difficulty with one hidden answer. Players had up to 5 questions to ask the constrained voice before having to commit to an answer.

Everyday puzzles describe ordinary objects or moments through the eyes of someone who lacks the words for them, turning the mundane briefly strange and then suddenly obvious.

How players scored

  • Perfect score (100)18%
  • Above 7533%
  • 50 to 7516%
  • Below 509%
  • Gave up24%

Distribution across all production attempts.

How constrained voices work

Every 5Qs puzzle is built around a constrained voice. The voice knows the answer but can only communicate within a specific perspective — a doorman new to the city, a dog who only thinks in smell and crunch, an empty lot that has never been occupied before. The voice will not name the answer outright. The fun is figuring out what to ask so that the lens reveals enough for you to put a name on what the voice is describing.