So nobody managed to solve this puzzle despite the 2 or 3 months it's been out. Additionally, several are curious as to what the solution is. Ambassadors, please get this embassy release out as soon as you can as a reply in the same thread this puzzle was released.
Hey! It's been a few months since the last puzzle was released and to my surprise nobody has managed to solve it, even now! To be honest I didn't expect this to be the outcome, but it was bound to happen. I will say that I was particularly proud of this one. I thought it quite devious myself. For those whom are curious, you'll find step-by-step instructions on how puzzle #3 is solved. It'll be spoilered in case you still intend on figuring it out yourself so if you are I hope you can resist the temptation, heh. I was hoping someone would solve it if I waited long enough but it's time we all look to future puzzles. If you're reading this it means I've already begun working on puzzle #4 for December. So keep your eyes open and your minds sharp! ^_^
[spoiler=Puzzle #3 Solution]So first of course you received in your embassy this game of tic-tac-toe with a message:
http://i.imgur.com/egabUtM.png
Send your choice to Me. One choice per person
Naturally your only choices are either "X" or "O". Of course since each person only gets one choice, no one person could complete this puzzle on their own. This was intentional, to encourage teamwork and cooperation. If you TG'd my main nation with your choice, you'd be directed to a corresponding clue. Those who chose "X" were given a link to one half of the next clue, located at: www.pastebin.com/stTcmuhr
This contains a list of chess moves.
Those who chose "O" received the other half of the clue, located at: http://i.imgur.com/biJQvQj.png
That's a picture of a chessboard cipher. There's two hidden messages. One derived from the moves made by the white pieces and one derived from the moves of the black pieces.
The message from the white pieces goes to wintreath.com/6461726b
This page has a black background and this image at the center: http://i.imgur.com/Lg407dk.png
The binary on that page translates to a passage from a book that tells them to go to sarahfincher.com and enter the password houseofusher. That will reveal a video from the book (yeah you heard me right). The video is a dead end, it's the binary message you need. Again, it is but one half of the clue.
The message from the black pieces goes to wintreath.com/67726964
It too has a black background. Sure it appears to contain nothing. However if you view the page's code, for example if you're using Chrome as your browser, by right clicking the page and selecting "Inspect Element" you will find this:
9-3-5, 1-1-1, 2-3-1, 1-2-5, 5-2-3, 1-3-2, 3-3-2, 2-2-5, 1-3-1.com/4-2-2, 5-2-3, 4-2-4, 7-4-2, 2-3-2, 7-5-1, 9-1-1, 1-1-2, 7-4-5, 8-1-3, 8-1-11, 9-1-4, 9-2-1, 9-2-2, 9-3-7, 9-4-5, 9-4-11, 6-3-1, 10-1-3, 3-3-3, 10-3-2, 12-3-4
The numbers correspond to the passage the binary message from the other page. The first number tells you what sentence to go to, the second number tells you what word to go to and the third number tells you what letter in the word to go to. Using this the message will spell out: wintreath.com/area1337
That page is where it ends. I know it's a little dramatic but it's a fun video from an outstanding game I play and replay happily. Plus that's just a really cool video, great for an ending don't you think?[/spoiler]