South Philly's 'Eric the Puzzler' launches a city-wide treasure hunt

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- He's known as "Eric the Puzzler."

Eric Dale is a 32-year-old South Philadelphia resident who creates massive and public puzzles for anyone to enjoy.

Right now, we're in the midst of the hardest one yet, the Philly Treasure Hunt.

"When people discover that there's an actual treasure hunt in the city that they live in happening right now, they get very excited. They pull their friends in and they say, 'What do you make of this riddle?' and 'Let's go solve this thing!' Because of the messages I'm getting, I know at least 100 people have gone out into the real world and said, 'I'm going to go look where I think this is," said Dale.

For Dale, this all started as a passion project just before the pandemic to highlight all the beautiful places and street art that Philadelphia has to offer, called the Philly Street Art Hunt.

It has now blossomed into an amazing immersive game that anyone is welcome to take part in. The Keys To Philly public puzzle encouraged people to come out to lesser known and maybe even hidden spots they have never visited before.

As for Eric the Puzzler, he loves the reactions from participants, but isn't much of a puzzle solver himself.

"I enjoy creating puzzles much more than I enjoy solving them! I don't think I would be a fan of myself," he said.

It's all about the hunt. The Philly Treasure Hunt began on March 11th and Dale says the prize has a small monetary value, but the experience is priceless!

For more information on the Philly Treasure Hunt, visit: EricthePuzzler.com/