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The Specimen

Played on March 30, 2026 · Puzzle #46

The voice

I'm a paleontologist — I study what came out, not what held it

The scenario

Something preserved a large creature so perfectly that scientists can study its last meal, eleven thousand years later. Whatever did this is still there, and it is still moving.

About this puzzle

This is a Nature-Science 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.

Nature-Science puzzles ask the player to identify something from the natural world or a scientific concept, often through the perceptions of a non-human voice or an observer who lacks the technical vocabulary.

How players scored

  • Perfect score (100)15%
  • Above 7530%
  • 50 to 7523%
  • Below 5017%
  • Gave up15%

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.