Plog creator guide

Plog is Puzzle Cat’s community column for longform writing about puzzles, Puzzle Hunts, and construction. Submit from the Plog page in the creator hub. After public review, posts appear in the column list; you can also publish to your profile first.

What to write

• Write-ups: route, score, and puzzle notes after a Hunt
• Construction notes: how a puzzle or set was designed
• Event reports: on-site or online Hunt experience
• Solving culture: techniques, community notes, study logs

Scope and review

In scope: complete write-ups, verifiable construction process, fact-based event notes, technique or community observation with context. Out of scope: ads unrelated to puzzles, unsourced copying, title-only stubs.

Public review checks readable structure, spoiler labels, and citations. Profile posts do not enter the public list; the column list requires a separate public-review submission.

Click New on the Plog submissions page to begin. You do not need a perfect draft on day one:

1. Write the body — title, summary, and main text; save drafts anytime
2. Fill in metadata — board, tags, cover, reading theme if needed
3. Preview — check layout, table of contents, and mobile reading
4. Choose visibility — profile-only first, or submit for public review

Three editor modes (top bar)

All modes share one body; switching saves your current work first:

• Rich text — everyday writing with headings, lists, quotes, and images
• HTML — fine-grained layout control; stay in rich text if you are not comfortable with code
• Post-event writeup — structured Hunt recap; see the next section

Collaboration

The lead author can add collaborators from Creator team & collaborators in the sidebar. After they log in, you can edit together. In writeup mode, collaborators usually fill in their roster line and puzzle reviews.

Writeup mode helps you publish a full Hunt recap in a fixed structure.

When to use it

You just finished a Puzzle Hunt and want intro, results, team roster, and puzzle-by-puzzle notes — choose Post-event writeup in the top bar.

Choosing a puzzle structure

You need to bind an event's puzzle list:

• On-site Hunt — pick an ended, approved Puzzle Hunt on Puzzle Cat; sections and puzzles load automatically
• External event — if the Hunt is not hosted here, submit a structure via Event template submissions; after approval and when the event ends, anyone can use it

Once saved, the structure is frozen as a snapshot. If the template later changes, the lead author can sync in the editor and map old reviews to new puzzles.

What the article includes

• Intro — background and overall impressions
• Results — placement, time, milestones (omit details if you prefer)
• Roster — teammate nicknames and bios, shown as Nickname: bio
• Puzzle reviews — notes per puzzle, grouped by Hunt sections

The reader page builds a table of contents from these modules.

Who does what

• Lead author — picks structure, writes intro/results, adds collaborators, submits review
• Collaborators — fill their roster line and the puzzles they own
• Display names in the roster are separate from creator team attribution on the submission

Tips

• Mark spoilers when discussing answers or key plot beats
• Credit sources when quoting others
• For external events, confirm the template is live site-wide before you start

Originality & attribution

• Credit sources and authors when quoting puzzles, solutions, coverage, or images
• Mention AI-assisted writing or images when relevant so readers know what to expect

Spoilers

• Mark spoilers for results, key solutions, or Hunt plot not widely known yet
• Keep summaries spoiler-safe; writeup readers are especially sensitive to leaks

Tone & boundaries

• Treat community members with respect; harassment and discrimination are not welcome
• Illegal, infringing, or abusive content will not pass review

Public review quota

• Daily limits and new-account cooldowns keep moderation sustainable
• Spam, plagiarism, or abusing review capacity may restrict creator access

Structure & readability

• Use heading levels for long pieces; the summary appears in list cards and share previews
• Keep paragraphs digestible; highlight conclusions or quotes for skimmers

Rich text & import

• Headings, lists, quotes, images, and attachments are supported
• Pasting from WeChat, Zhihu, Bilibili, etc. usually preserves reasonable styling; paste in chunks if the draft is huge
• Import DOCX or Markdown for older drafts, then read through for heading levels and images

Images

• Upload illustrations through the creator asset library, not temporary hotlinks
• If save warns about untracked images, replace them with library files so readers see them reliably

Creator asset library

• Body images, covers, and custom theme backgrounds should come from the library
• Files stay on your creator account and can be reused across posts
• Each image has a size cap; huge GIFs or ultra-high-res files load slowly on phones

Cover

• A 2.35:1 landscape cover reads best in lists and shares
• Without a cover, list cards are text-only; reading is unaffected

Attachments

• PDFs, audio, and other non-image files can be inserted via the library
• Readers open or download them from the article

Entering the column list requires a separate public-review submission

Reading modes

• Default follows the reader's light/dark site theme
• Per-post light or dark suits a consistent series look

Custom themes

• Hunt-style presets or custom colors, backgrounds, and glow
• Backgrounds can be solid, gradient, or library images
• Contrast and readability beat decoration

Table of contents

• Built from headings on the reader page for easy jumping in long articles

Comments

• Authors may enable, disable, or show curated comments only
• Public comments follow community rules; readers can report posts; authors and admins can hide violations

Likes & favorites

• Readers can like and favorite; counts appear in lists and on profiles to help discovery, and are not a review criterion

Spoilers & reports

• Label spoilers when comments cover results, solutions, or little-known Hunt plot
• Personal attacks, harassment, and unmarked spoilers can be reported

Boards

• Boards group posts by theme — community chat, writeups, construction notes, etc.
• Pick a board that matches the piece so interested readers can find it

Tags & language

• Tags help cross-search; keep them relevant, avoid keyword stuffing
• Primary language helps multilingual readers filter; body language should match

Collections & related content

• Add posts to a collection for serial reading
• Link related Hunts, puzzles, or galleries when the post genuinely discusses them
• Links should serve readers, not empty traffic

What reviewers look for

• Complete content and readable layout
• No serious unmarked spoilers or obvious infringement
• Titles and summaries that honestly reflect the body

After you hear back

• Approval, change requests, and rejection arrive via inbox
• When asked to revise, follow platform feedback and resubmit
• Questions go through in-site feedback

After publishing

• Update the post when facts, links, or conclusions change
• Major edits to a public post enter update review and reach readers only after approval; results also arrive via inbox
• Small errata can be edited in place; large changes to public scope or conclusions should go through update review