MathsBombe is aimed at students up to Year 13 (England and Wales), S6 (Scotland), Year 14 (Northern Ireland). You don't need to be a computer whizz or a mathematical genius — you just need to keep your wits about you and be good at solving puzzles! (See here for eligibility.)
The competition starts on Wednesday 10th January 2018, and you can register your team (or join an existing team) here. A team consists of at most 4 members. Registration opens on Friday 1st December 2017 (you can request an email reminder on the registration page). See this section for more details.
Every two weeks a new puzzle set will be released. Each puzzle set contains two mathematical puzzles for you and your team to solve. The puzzles span the whole spectrum of mathematics: from fiendish logic puzzles in pure mathematics to applications of mathematics in real-world settings. You'll need to keep your wits about you and `think-outside-the-box': complicated techniques from A-level or computer coding probably won't help you!
There are four puzzle sets in total (so eight puzzles across the competition). Points can be earned by solving each puzzle and submitting your answer. The leaderboard keeps track of how well each team is doing. (See the FAQ for how the scoring works.)
MathsBombe is organised by the School of Mathematics at the University of Manchester. It is the sister competition to the Alan Turing Cryptography Competition.
The competition is supported by the Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Trust.