Archived. This page describes Stump the Machine, the game Riddlen ran on Amoy in September 2026 and retired the same month. The current game is the hunt: read the whitepaper and Playing the hunt.

Running the game master

The game master is the off-chain half of Riddlen. It does four things and nothing else: screens new submissions, runs the AI panel and seals the result, opens riddles, and reveals the panel after close. It cannot touch pots, answers or winnings.

What it needs

In contracts/.env:

PRIVATE_KEY for a wallet holding GAME_MASTER_ROLE and a little test POL for gas
AMOY_RPC_URL (optional; a public RPC is the default)
AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY from Vercel AI Gateway, which bills the panel

By hand

cd contracts
npx hardhat run scripts/stump/status.js --network amoy            # everything at a glance
npx hardhat run scripts/stump/open-challenge.js --network amoy    # list pending submissions
ID=3 npx hardhat run scripts/stump/open-challenge.js --network amoy            # run the panel, dry run
CONFIRM=yes ID=3 DURATION=86400 npx hardhat run scripts/stump/open-challenge.js --network amoy
CONFIRM=yes ID=4 REJECT="not a riddle" npx hardhat run scripts/stump/open-challenge.js --network amoy
npx hardhat run scripts/stump/reveal-panel.js --network amoy      # reveal every closed riddle's panel
FINALIZE=yes npx hardhat run scripts/stump/reveal-panel.js --network amoy   # and settle what's ready

Unattended

scripts/stump/cron.js does one complete pass: screen, panel, open (at most 6 open at once, at most 2 pending per author), reveal, settle. Run it every 15 minutes:

CONFIRM=yes npx hardhat run scripts/stump/cron.js --network amoy

The repository ships a GitHub Actions workflow that does exactly this. It needs two repository secrets, GAME_MASTER_PRIVATE_KEY and AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY, and one line removed (if: false).

The secrets you must not lose

Every panel run writes contracts/game-master/<network>-stump-<id>.json: the panel’s guesses, the salt, and the transcripts. Without that file the panel for that riddle can never be revealed and the riddle can never settle. Back the folder up. The workflow caches it between runs; that is not a backup.

Trying a riddle without staking

RIDDLE="What has keys but no locks?" npx hardhat run scripts/stump/panel-dry-run.js

Cost

Only the panel bills: about $0.10 to $0.20 per riddle at typical lengths, under $0.50 worst case. Screening is a fraction of a cent. Amoy gas is free.

Rehearsing

scripts/stump/rehearse-local.sh starts a local node with copies of the live RDLN and RON, deploys the game, and plays a full round through the real scripts with a stub panel. Run it after any change to the scripts or the contract.