Monday, December 28, 2015

PUZZLE #56: Connection Wall 2

PUZZLE #56
CONNECTION WALL 2

Well, it's my last puzzle of 2015, so what better way to celebrate the end of the year than going back to the start of the year? Yep, just like how a "Connection Wall" puzzle directly based off of Only Connect was my first puzzle of the year, it seems fitting to have that same type of puzzle conclude it!

Below are 16 squares with words and phrases on them. For this puzzle, you'll need to sort them into four separate categories that consist of four squares each. For example, if there are four squares that read "Cocktail", "Valkyrie", "Magnolia", and "Top Gun", they'll belong to the category of "Tom Cruise movies". But be careful, since some words may seem to fit in more than one category ("Magnolia" could just as easily fit into the category "Flowers", to continue the example), though there's only one overall solution to this puzzle.

This week's FINAL ANSWER consists of the four categories that are used in this puzzle.


Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured that one out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, December 27, 2015

ANSWERS: 4X Game 3

Well, tomorrow will be my last puzzle of 2015, but before we get to that, let's look at the answers to my third "4X Game" puzzle from almost two weeks ago and the people who solved them:
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • YYW ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Yossi Fendel ****
  • Mom ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Dan Simonds ***
  • Debbie Underwood ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
Now just head below the break for the answers!

Monday, December 21, 2015

PUZZLE #55: Zigzagnut 2

PUZZLE #55
ZIGZAGNUT 2

The numbered clues are for the zigzags, which work their way down through the diagram in the outlined areas. The "Rows" clues are for the answers, two per row, to be entered straight across each row in the diagram, but to make things harder, you don't know which specific rows the answers will go into! (Though the answers in the rows themselves are in the correct order)

This week's FINAL ANSWER is the answer entered in the unclued entry in the middle of the diagram (marked with a question mark): the name of an '80s arcade game



ROWS (in random order; each contains two answers)
* Celebration that ends before Ash Wednesday: 2 wds. / Like MacDonald or Mother Hubbard
* Quiet _____ ("Metal Health" band) / Bit of bad luck
* Rendezvous (Unhelpful HINT: it's part of The 7th Guest's infamous soup can puzzle) / Bamboozled
* Food critic Ego from Ratatouille / Runescape creator Andrew
* Word that precedes "Legend" or "Sprawl" / Classic TV spy Maxwell
* Redheaded heroine of Tokyo Mew Mew / David Fincher film based on unsolved murders
* The first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize / Spoofs and skits, e.g.
* Bump a car's back bumper, maybe: Hyph. / Pointy body part of Link or Zelda
* Foe of Marvel's Thor inspired by the Greek god of war / Elephant-headed Hindu god: Var.
* Lyric that's sung directly before the words "Gangnam Style" / Didn't delete: 2 wds.
Iron Chef America chef Cat / Piece of a Mexican Train?

ZIGZAGS
1) Guinness Book entry
2) Calls before a court
3) Samantha's mother in Bewitched
4) She voiced Esmeralda in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame
5) Football-headed Nicktoon character
6) Talk show host Povich and others
7) Separated laundry
8) Island that's located between Michigan's two peninsulas
9) Playstation's versions of Xbox achievements
10) Oculus' virtual reality product
11) When doubled, the capital of American Samoa
12) Kid _____: Uprising (3DS game)
13) Dinner plates
14) 1988's Wipeout or 2008's Wipeout, for example: 2 wds.
15) "Foxy" Maid from Disney's Robin Hood
16) "Mama, I'm _____ Home" (Ozzy Osbourne song)
17) Garment worn by Tommy Pickles
18) Inflatable copilot from Airplane!

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, December 20, 2015

ANSWERS: Meta-Crossword #4 - Fruit Picking

It's been thirteen days since I've posted my fourth meta-crossword, and as usual with these types of puzzles, I've had more than a few people solve it. Take a look at this list of solvers:
  • Paolo Pasco ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Pavel Curtis ****
  • Grant Fikes **.71828 (Well, he wanted e number of stars, so...)
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Dan Simonds (he solved the crossword, but not the meta)
  • Mom (ditto)
  • Debbie Underwood ****
  • Janis Ferry ****
  • Lynn Sweeney & Cayden Curtis ***
  • Yossi Fendel ****
  • Bryce Herdt ****
Now if you want to know the answers to this puzzle, or are just curious as to what some solvers said about it, just go below the break!

Monday, December 14, 2015

PUZZLE #54: 4X Game 3

PUZZLE #54
4X GAME 3


Below, there are 4 "X"'s, each containing four 5-letter answers. Each answer is entered at an angle, following one of the arrows as it does so, and the last three letters of one answer will be the first three letters of another, albeit in reverse order. In the example above (I know all the answers are three letters instead of five, but I hope you'll still get the gist of it), the words in the first "X" are MAP, PAT, TAR, and RAM, and the words in the second "X" are ROT, TOW, WON and NOR. However, to make things even harder, none of the clues are numbered or in order, so you'll have to figure out which word goes in which angle, but don't worry, as each "tip" of each "X" (the outermost letters) will contain the same letters as the "tips" of its neighboring "X". Going back to the example above, the rightmost "tips" in the first "X" contain the letters "R" and "T", so the leftmost "tips" in the second "X" has the same exact letters, in the same exact placement.

Once you're done, unscramble the letters in the "tips" that have no neighbors (the yellow squares) to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a four-letter word


X #1
* "2 _____ 2 Quit" (MC Hammer song)
* Aladdin's Rajah, for one
* Dominions (Hidden in PREGNANCY)
* Spinoff of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

X #2
* Creature from Miscrits that... okay, fine, it's the first several letters from TREELESS
* Pain reliever that sponsors Jeopardy!
* Purple-haired cyclops from Futurama
* Six-time US Open winner Chris

X #3
* _____ over one's head: 2 wds.
* Faun from Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!
* What the Grinch did to Christmas
* Pays, as the bill

X #4
* Female death-spirits from Greek mythology
* Given the pink slip
* Sans _____ (type of type)
* Zoolander from Zoolander

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured that one out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, December 13, 2015

ANSWERS: Moving Staircases 3

It's been about two weeks since I've posted my third "Moving Staircases" puzzle, so now it's time for me to reveal the answers! Before I do so, however, here are all the people who have successfully solved it within that time frame:
  • YYW ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Yossi Fendel ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Mom ****
  • Dan Simonds ***
  • Debbie Underwood ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
Now just go below the break for the answers and a couple solver comments!

Monday, December 7, 2015

PUZZLE #53: Meta-Crossword #4 - Fruit Picking (Happy 1st Anniversary!)

PUZZLE #53
FRUIT PICKING

Happy 1st Anniversary!

Yes, one year ago this week, I created this blog and posted my very first puzzle! To celebrate my first anniversary, I've decided to make a puzzle type that I haven't done in a while: a Meta-Crossword! To recap, Meta-Crosswords are like regular crosswords, except they have a BONUS PUZZLE for you to solve once you fill out the grid. I've had a lot of people solve my previous Metas, so hopefully this trend will continue!

The answer to this week's BONUS PUZZLE is the name of a type of fruit.


Once you've figured out the answer to the BONUS PUZZLE, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle here before next Sunday. If you don't have Java (which is pretty likely) and want a version of this puzzle you can print out, click on "read more" for just that!

Sunday, December 6, 2015

ANSWERS: Section Six 3

Boy, did "Section Six 3" prove to be another toughie! Yet despite the difficulty, I still managed to get a decent amount of solvers for this puzzle:
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • YYW ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Grant Fikes √** (an explanation for this weird star count is in the solver comments below the break)
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Mom **
  • Tyler Hinman ****
And now it's time to reveal the answers to that hard puzzle! Just go below the break to see them, along with a couple solver comments!

Monday, November 30, 2015

PUZZLE #52: Moving Staircases 3

PUZZLE #52
MOVING STAIRCASES 3


The two staircase-shaped halves of a "Moving Staircases" puzzle are designed to be pushed together in two different ways, horizontally and vertically. A horizontal push creates shorter words ("Shorts"), while a vertical push creates longer words ("Longs"). The example above shows a completed grid and the grids that result from pushing it both ways. The lists of clues given for the Shorts and Longs are not in order; it's up to you to determine where the answers go by working back and forth between the two lists.

Once you've completely filled out the grid, the FINAL ANSWER will be hidden inside it: it's a five-letter word that isn't hidden horizontally OR vertically!


SHORTS
* Isometric match-three game by FreshGames
* It precedes "City" in Chicago's nickname
* Joined together like oxen
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous host Robin
* Part of Pink Floyd's Wall
* Powerful political pull

LONGS
* Dead Hamlet character with a well-known skull
* Picasso or Braque
* Popular anime featuring Ichigo Kurosaki
* Sent a sly eye signal
_____ with a Chance of Meatballs

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured that one out (be careful; it's a toughie!). If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, November 29, 2015

ANSWERS (And Contest Results!): Squeezed in the Middle 4

My third Contest Puzzle has now drawn to a close! As you can see from the list below, there are a lot of entries for this contest, but only two of them will win a signed copy of the December 2015 issue of GAMES Magazine that I got published in! Here are all the solvers of that puzzle from the past two weeks:
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Yossi Fendel ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Mom **** (ineligible for this contest)
  • Tyler Hinman **** (opted out of this contest)
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • YYW ****
  • Dan Simonds ****
  • Debbie Underwood ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Cayden Curtis ****
  • Brad Eldredge ****
  • My sister Alex and Eric Milton ****
And now to reveal the two contest winners, chosen at random through random.org! The winners are... Grant Fikes and Dan Simonds! Congratulations to you both!

Now just go below the break for the answers, along with some solver comments!

Monday, November 23, 2015

PUZZLE #51: Section Six 3

PUZZLE #51
SECTION SIX 3

Happy Thanksgiving week! Before we get to this week's puzzle, I'd just like to remind everyone that last week's Contest Puzzle will be open until next Sunday, so make sure you get your entry in before then! The number of solvers for that puzzle has already passed the double-digit mark, so I'll be giving away a second copy of the December 2015 issue of GAMES Magazine in addition to the first one! Now with that update out of the way, let's get to the directions of this week's puzzle!

This puzzle's grid has six rings and six sections. Each ring contains a series of words placed end to end, reading either clockwise OR counterclockwise; all the words in a given ring will read in the same direction. Ring 1 (the outermost ring) contains six answers that read clockwise; the starting spaces are numbered in the grid. Clues for the answers in the remaining rings are given in order, but their starting points and direction are for you to figure out. The sections (separated by the heavy lines radiating from the center) will help you place the inner rings: in a given section, each ring segment contains all but one of the letters in the next segment outward. In other words, a section's outermost segment contains six letters; the next segment inward contains five of those six letters in some order; and so on, until only one of the original six letters remains.

Once you're done, unscramble the six spaces with stars in them to get the FINAL ANSWER: a six-letter word.



RING 1
1) Vehicle that's perfect for flinging Koopa shells from: Hyph.
2) Slime girl from Monster Musume
3) With "The", high-heeled teacher from AAAHH!!! Real Monsters
4) Heavenly Sword protagonist
5) Smash Mouth song featured in Mystery Men and Shrek: 2 wds.
6) _____-squeezed orange juice

RING 2
* Seven of Nine used to be one
* _____ Krab (Spongebob's workplace)
* Ben 10's phantom-like alien form
* Contest loser by a wide margin: Hyph.
* Romanian coin (Hidden in ALEUTIAN)

RING 3
* _____ and Janis (newspaper comic)
* Yamaguchi and Lipinski, e.g.
* Dannon products filled with bacteria
* The _____ Identity (my mom's all-time favorite book)

RING 4
* What Bluto from Popeye is sometimes called
* Places for pearls
* Asian country that was split up after World War II

RING 5
* PewDiePie has the most subscribers on this website
* Formerly fat weatherman Al

RING 6
* Ben Franklin famously preferred this bird over the bald eagle

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out (don't forget that it's a Contest Puzzle!). If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, November 22, 2015

ANSWERS: Plus One

It's been almost two weeks since I've published my first "Plus One" puzzle (you can still solve it here if you wish), so now it's time for me to reveal the answers! Before I do so, however, here are all the people who have solved it withing that time frame:
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • YYW ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Yossi Fendel ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Mom ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
Now just head below the break for the answers, along with a couple user comments!

Monday, November 16, 2015

PUZZLE #50: Squeezed in the Middle 4 (CONTEST PUZZLE!)

CONTEST!
PUZZLE #50
SQUEEZED IN THE MIDDLE 4

It's my fiftieth puzzle! To celebrate, it's time for another Contest Puzzle! The prize for winning this contest is a signed copy of the December 2015 issue of GAMES Magazine that I got published in! There will only be one winner for this contest, though if at least ten people solve this puzzle, I'll give out a second copy to another winner! If you don't want to enter this contest, you can still solve this puzzle and opt out of the contest. Now with the contest rules out of the way, let's get to the directions of the type of puzzle I made for that issue!


For this puzzle, you're going to sandwich together words (entered in the white rectangles) by surrounding it with a letter on each side, one at the beginning and one at the end, making a new word in the process. Once you're done, the extra letters you've added in the "crust" (the brown squares) will spell out a two-word phrase. In the example above, the words URN, RAT, and OVER become BURNT, IRATE, and GOVERN, and the letters in the brown squares, reading down, spell out BIG TEN. However, to make things trickier, the "Wholes" will be in no particular order, so it's up to you to figure out which one of the "Centers" it matches up with!

Once you've filled out everything, the letters in the brown squares, reading down, will spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: The name of one of the best-selling albums of the 2000s


CENTERS
1) Washingtons in your wallet
2) Like a tennis ball that didn't land in bounds
3) Serial Experiments _____ (weird anime)
4) "Doc _____" (nickname for a Spider-Man villain)
5) Suffix for "Awe" or "Grue"
6) It "implies can", according to Kant

WHOLES
* Wallaby who's best buds with Heffer and Filburt
* Former Soul Coughing frontman Mike
* Adjective for Abe
* Glucose, to fructose
* Magician and endurance artist David
* They've "Gone Wild" in a Skid Row song

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured that one out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, November 15, 2015

ANSWERS: Smush

Before I get to the answers for "Smush" and reveal the people who solved it, I just wanted to remind you that I'm going to publish my fiftieth puzzle tomorrow, and to celebrate that milestone, I'll be holding another contest, so stay tuned for that! Now then, let's find out who solved "Smush" in the past two weeks:
  • YYW ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Mom ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Paolo Pasco ****
  • Grant Fikes ***
Now just click on "Read more" for the answers, along with an anecdote about the rather circuitous way one of my solvers completed this puzzle!

Monday, November 9, 2015

PUZZLE #49: Plus One

PUZZLE #49
PLUS ONE

To start this puzzle, enter the answers to the numbered clues (the "Partial Clues") in each correspondingly numbered area, skipping the gold squares as you do so. Then, add a new letter in each gold square to create a new word, which matches up with one of the "Whole Clues" that are listed in no particular order.

Once you're done, the letters in the gold squares, reading down, spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: a seven-letter word that you probably don't want to see in your email inbox

PARTIAL CLUES
1) Invader Zim's malfunctioning robot
2) Where every rose has its thorns
3) Maine Coon or Manx, e.g.
4) Blacksmith that shoes racehorses
5) Word at a maze entrance
6) Great _____ (Scooby-Doo is one)
7) Emulate Eazy-E

WHOLE CLUES
* Steeped, as tea
* Former ABC World News anchor Sawyer
* "_____ Caster" (KISS song from Love Gun)
* Valve's digital video game platform
* Music genre of "Turn Down For What"
* Word that follows "Material" or "Magical"
* "Little" literary character from E. B. White

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, November 8, 2015

ANSWERS: Squeezed in the Middle 3 (And Some Big News!)

Before I reveal the answers to my third "Squeezed in the Middle" puzzle and the people who solved it, I'd just wanted you to know that my first published puzzles are now on sale!


Sorry I didn't inform you guys of this sooner (my subscription copy came very late, arriving just one day before I posted this), but three of my "Squeezed in the Middle" puzzles have been published in the December 2015 issue of GAMES Magazine (though they're now called "Word Sandwiches")! I would do another contest to celebrate, but my 50th puzzle is next week, so I'll just delay the contest a bit to match up with that milestone. Until then, make sure to grab a copy of this issue before it goes off the racks in early December!

Anyways, with all of that out of the way, here are all the people who solved my puzzle from two weeks ago:
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • YYW ****
  • Paolo Pasco ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Mom ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Cayden Curtis ****
  • My sister Alex and Eric Milton ****
Now just head below the break for the answers, along with some solver comments!

Monday, November 2, 2015

PUZZLE #48: Smush

PUZZLE #48
SMUSH

This one's inspired by an obscure game show from the creators of You Don't Know Jack called Smush (if you're curious, you can watch the first round of an episode here, and apologies in advance for the low sound quality). In that game show (and this puzzle), you take the answers to two clues and combine them to make one smushed-up phrase. For example, if the clue is "Swirly candy on a stick + Frozen treat on a stick", then the answer would be "Lollipopsicle", since that's the smushed-up form of "Lollipop" and "Popsicle". Below are six more smushed-up phrases for you to solve.

Once you've completed the puzzle, the letters that overlap the answers in each smushed-up pair (the ones in the boxes) will spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: The smushed-up form of two video games in the same genre.


1) Like nice-smelling roses + Creator of A Cleverly-Titled Logic Puzzle Blog (2 wds.)
2) Hero from The Sword in the Stone + Villain from The Little Mermaid
3) Biggest city in France + Biggest city in Turkey
4) Apache chief + Precious Oscar winner
5) Human caretakers + Human chests
6) Energetic and memetic Darude song + Anguish probably caused by playing that song on an endless loop

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured that one out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, November 1, 2015

ANSWERS: Pent Words 4: The Return of Michael Myers

It's been thirteen days since I've posted my fourth "Pent Words" puzzle, and as usual, it's time for me to reveal the answers, but not before I list the people who have successfully solved it within that time period:
  • YYW ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Joseph DeVincentis **** (watch him solve it here!)
  • Mom ****
  • Debbie Underwood ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
Now just click on "read more" for the answers, along with plenty of solver comments!

Monday, October 26, 2015

HALLOWEEN MONTH! PUZZLE #47: Squeezed in the Middle 3

HALLOWEEN MONTH!
PUZZLE #47
SQUEEZED IN THE MIDDLE 3


For this puzzle, you're going to sandwich together words (entered in the white rectangles) by surrounding it with a letter on each side, one at the beginning and one at the end, making a new word in the process. Once you're done, the extra letters you've added in the "crust" (the brown squares) will spell out a two-word phrase. In the example above, the words URN, RAT, and OVER become BURNT, IRATE, and GOVERN, and the letters in the brown squares, reading down, spell out BIG TEN. However, to make things trickier, the "Wholes" will be in no particular order, so it's up to you to figure out which one of the "Centers" it matches up with!

Once you've filled out everything, the letters in the brown squares, reading down, will spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: The name of a horror TV series


CENTERS
1) Olympic competition
2) Previously cited in a footnote: Abbr.
3) Ms. Valentine from Yu-Gi-Oh!
4) Peter, Bjorn, or John
5) Beverage found in pubs and way too many crosswords
6) Greeting to a "gov'na"?

WHOLES
* Soon-to-be-fad diet inspired by cavemen (Because cavemen are obviously known for their long lifespans! </sarcasm>)
* Strong Bad's preferred form of online messaging
* Tooth protector
* Inning when the spectators stretch
* Fluttershy's coat color
* "Smells Like Teen Spirit" lyric that rhymes with "mosquito"

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, October 25, 2015

ANSWERS: Anagram Magic Square

It's been thirteen days since I've posted my first "Anagram Magic Square" puzzle, so now it's time for me to reveal the answers! Before I do so, however, here are the list of people who have successfully solved this puzzle within that time frame:
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • YYW ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Mom ****
  • Debbie Underwood ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • My sister Alex ***½ (the half star is for clarifying how to get the FINAL ANSWER)
Now just head below the break for the answers, along with a couple solver comments and even a music video!

Monday, October 19, 2015

HALLOWEEN MONTH! PUZZLE #46: Pent Words 4: The Return of Michael Myers

HALLOWEEN MONTH!
PUZZLE #46
PENT WORDS 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS

WARNING: The following puzzle does not actually contain any references to Michael Myers or any of the Halloween films; I just felt like adding a superfluous subtitle from a horror movie to this puzzle for no good reason.


For this puzzle, you must divide the grid into pentominoes (they’re kinda like Tetris pieces, except they’re areas made up of five squares each) and put a letter in each cell. The rows, reading from left to right, will contain the words hinted at by the ACROSS clues. The letters in the pentominoes, reading left to right beginning with the top row, will form the words hinted at by the PENTOMINOES clues; these clues are presented in no particular order. (In the example above, the rows spell out CHINS, PARTY, and ANKLE, and the pentominoes spell out the words CHINA, STYLE, and PRANK.) Use the across answers to figure out where the pentominoes go.

Once you're done, combine the two unclued pentominoes to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: the name of a series of survival horror video games


ACROSS (Two answers per row)
1) Actor Boris who played the original Frankenstein's monster / Monday night WWE show
2) A billion years / Gran _____ (series of Playstation racing games)
3) Action word / Paint's protective coat
4) "Hallowed Be ___ Name" / Yao Ming played for this NBA team
5) "Japanese" logic puzzle that originated in America as "Number Place" / Hitchcock film edited to look like it was done in one take
6) S'mores' crackers / Cenozoic or Mesozoic
7) How great minds think / "Freak on a _____" (KoЯn music video with an unstoppable bullet)
8) Just say no to / Two tablets a day, maybe
9) By way of / _____ Moon: Friends of Mineral Town
10) Shooter/survival horror game subtitled Shadow of Chernobyl / When tripled, song by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson

PENTOMINOES (Five letters per answer)
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* Sideshow star (that I might've already mentioned in one of the "Across" clues. Whoops!)
* Babbling stream
* The first female black billionaire
* Plankton's computer wife from SpongeBob SquarePants
* Black ink item (as opposed to red ink)
* Jinx that may befall athletes appearing on Madden NFL's covers
* Villainous Marvel org. named after a multi-headed beast
* Mr. Strauss' jeans
* Article in Harper's Magazine
* Common yoga position
* "Cliffs of _____" (Rock instrumental featured in Guitar Hero III)
* Poem with 17 syllables
* Cotton candy, pretty much
* Even _____ (Weird Al album featuring "Fat")
* Super Smash Bros. game for Gamecube
* Bad thing for a TV series to jump over
* Tiny island
* Blatant (HINT: Add a "C" to the front to get its opposite!)

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured that one out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, October 18, 2015

ANSWERS: Wordy Web

I like it when I get a lot of solvers for my puzzles, and "Wordy Web" (which you can still solve here) is no exception! Below are a list of people who have successfully completed this puzzle in the past two weeks:
  • Mom **** (she wanted to do this one a day early)
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Christian H.P. ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Debbie Underwood ****
  • Cayden Curtis ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • YYW ****
Now if you're curious as to what the answers are, just head below the break for them! You'll also get quotes from a couple of my solvers and a couple of pictures as well!

Monday, October 12, 2015

HALLOWEEN MONTH! PUZZLE #45: Anagram Magic Square

HALLOWEEN MONTH!
PUZZLE #45
ANAGRAM MAGIC SQUARE

Find an anagram for the 5-letter word in each box, with the anagram being the answer to one of the clues below. Put the number of that clue into the small box and write down the anagram on the dash directly below it. The numbers in each row and column will add up to 65.

Once you're done with the puzzle, the first letter of each answer will spell out a quote; the FINAL ANSWER is the horror movie that the quote comes from.


1) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: _____ Warriors
2) Like old arcade games
3) Fantasia and Phillip Phillips, e.g.
4) Heather Langenkamp's role in [Clue #1]
5) The skeletal version of this Super Mario baddie is called "Dry Bones"
6) Distress light that's useful when you're lost in the woods
7) Given an R or PG-13, say
8) Not nearly as new
9) Real name of Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog
10) The Brainy Bunch?
11) Lenore poet Poe
12) Like crows or ravens
13) Middle name of The Sixth Sense's director
14) _____ Note (anime featuring L and Light)
15) Addams Family member whose signature (and only) line is "You rang?"
16) Dearly departed Nintendo president Satoru
17) Early sci-fi writer Jules
18) Classic rock singer portrayed by Bruce Campbell in Bubba Ho-Tep
19) Dreads
20) The Phantom of the Opera's trademark instrument
21) Werewolf professor from Harry Potter
22) Titular bride from Corpse Bride
23) Like some zombie diseases or online videos
24) Film critic who called slasher films "Dead Teenager Movies"
25) Like metal left out in the rain

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, October 11, 2015

ANSWERS: Word Squares: Overlap

It's been thirteen days since I posted my "Word Squares: Overlap" puzzle, so now it's time for me to reveal the answers! But first, as per usual, here are the people who have solved it during that time frame:
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • My sister Alex ****
  • Mom ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Debbie Underwood ****
  • Brad Eldredge ****
  • Christian H.P. ****
  • Paolo Pasco ****
Now just head below the break for the answers, along with a couple solver comments!

Monday, October 5, 2015

HALLOWEEN MONTH! PUZZLE #44: Wordy Web

HALLOWEEN MONTH!
PUZZLE #44
WORDY WEB

Well, it's October, so why don't we kick off this month with a Halloween-themed puzzle? Heck, why don't I try to make every puzzle this month Halloween-themed? Yep, all this month, the FINAL ANSWER of each puzzle will have something to do with the horror genre, so be sure to sick around... if you dare!

This Web's set up with Circles and Strands, but there are no letters with which the words are woven. To complete this puzzle, enter the answers to the Circles' clues (numbered 1 to 6) clockwise around the concentric rings of the Web, though it's up to you to determine the starting point for each Circle. All of the Circles' clues are presented in order. To help figure out the Circles' staring points, fill in the Strands' answers (marked with A to L) starting at each respective letter and traverse the Web from left to right. Some of the strands have only one answer, while others have two.

Once you've completely filled in the Web, the letters in the red spaces, reading down, will spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: the name of a horror anthology comic book (HINT: It's not Tales From the Crypt; too many letters in that title)


CIRCLES
1) Mad Men's Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, for example: 2 wds.
    _____ Is Born (Streisand musical): 2 wds.
    Former richest man in the world Carlos
    Final single from No Doubt's Return of Saturn
2) Flashdance song originally written about a serial killer (obviously, the lyrics were heavily altered...)
    "...Give or take a few": 2 wds.
    Suffix for "human" or "fact"
    Controversial Melancholia director Lars von _____
    Comedian Bob who holds the record for hosting the Oscars the most times
3) San Francisco-to-Las Vegas dir. (okay, it's the opposite of WNW)
    Ye _____ Shoppe
    Need for Speed: Hot _____
    Bolt fastener named after a letter: hyph.
4) Annoying sidekick from the original ThunderCats
    Hard to understand (like many of my puzzles, no doubt...)
    Galahad's title
5) Titular puppet "Cousin" from a late '90s Nickelodeon sitcom
    ilovebeesPerplex City, or Xi, for short
6) _____ Tunes (series of animated shorts)

STRANDS
A) Haul out to the repair shop
B) Honda's luxury vehicle division
C) Kiss' Gene Simmons or Primus' Les Claypool
D) Helen who won an Oscar playing the Queen in The Queen
    A little piggy?
E) They'd probably get offended if you called them an "Eskimo"
    Speaker on a soapbox
F) A Momentary _____ Reason (Pink Floyd album): 2 wds.
    Mr. Tumnus' residence
G) Captain Hook's right-hand man (before you ask, Disney's Hook does have a right hand)
    Hapless hunter from Circle #6: 2 wds.
H) Sailor's delight, at night: 2 wds.
    Pokémon: _____ catch 'em all!
I) 110% on a test, maybe: hyph.
    Late cartoonist Dave who created "The Lighter Side of..." for MAD
J) Cross-dressing comedy starring Dustin Hoffman
K) Jimmy Neutron's Ultralord-obsessed friend
L) Circle section

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured that one out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, October 4, 2015

ANSWERS AND CONTEST RESULTS: The Spiral

It's been two weeks since I've posted my second contest puzzle, so not only is it time for me to reveal the answers, it's also time for me to reveal the contest winner! (remember, the prize is a copy of the October 2015 issue of GAMES Magazine signed by me) But before I do so, let's reveal who's eligible for this contest:
  • Paolo Pasco ****
  • YYW ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Giovanni Pagano ****
  • Tyler Hinman **** (opted out of the contest)
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Mom **** (ineligible for this contest; I might as well give it to myself!)
  • Janis Ferry ****
  • Bryce Herdt ****
  • Cayden Curtis ****
  • Christian H.P. ****
  • Brad Eldredge ****
And the winner of this contest, chosen randomly from the above list, is... YYW! Congratulations!

BUT WAIT! Since the amount of solvers for this puzzle passed the double digits, I've decided to sign and give away a second copy of GAMES! The winner of that second copy is... Cayden Curtis! Congratulations!

Now with all that out of the way, just head below the break for the answers and some solver comments!

Monday, September 28, 2015

PUZZLE #43: Word Squares: Overlap

PUZZLE #43
WORD SQUARES: OVERLAP

Examples of Word Squares from 3x3 to 8x8 from Wikipedia

Word squares have words in them that can be read both across and down. Below are four 4x4 grids with different colored borders, each of them overlapping with each other at the corners. Each clue is sorted by the grid that they're placed in, though otherwise, the clues aren't in any particular order.

Once you've finished this puzzle, the overlapped tiles (highlighted below in gold) will unscramble to spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: a four-letter word


RED GRID
* Not the home team
* Tihs, for example
Mario _____: Double Dash!!
* Skee-ball lane feature

GREEN GRID
* 100 cents in Cyprus
* "_____ Called Malice" (song by The Jam)
* Forehead
* Wink Martindale game show where contestants want to "go home with nothing!"

BLUE GRID
* Bullets and such
* Frozen snowman
* Someone that Mr. T pities?
* VIP vehicle

YELLOW GRID
* Envelope part that gets its licks?
* Resident _____ (video game series that turns 20 next year)
* Runt's cohort from Animaniacs
* Rebelle toy maker

Oh, and don't forget that last week's puzzle is a contest, so be sure to solve that one before next Sunday to get your chance to win a copy of GAMES Magazine signed by me! Anyways, once you solve this week's puzzle, send the FINAL ANSWER to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right). If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, September 27, 2015

ANSWERS: Moving Staircases 2

Since it's been thirteen days since I posted my second "Moving Staircases" puzzle, it's now time for me to post the answers! Since there was a BONUS CHALLENGE attached to this one, this solvers list will work a tad differently than normal; the people who solved this puzzle's BONUS CHALLENGE gets plusses next to their name, while those that didn't will just get stars like usual.
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Grant Fikes ++++
  • Adam Weaver ++++
  • Lynn Sweeney ++½ (The half was for the placement of the bottom-most "Short" and "Long")
  • Mom ++++
  • Tyler Hinman +++
  • Cayden Curtis ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • YYW ****
  • Paolo Pasco ****
  • Giovanni Pagano ++++
Now just go below the break for the answers to the main puzzle, the BONUS CHALLENGE, and some solver comments!

Monday, September 21, 2015

PUZZLE #42: The Spiral (CONTEST PUZZLE!)

CONTEST!
PUZZLE #42
THE SPIRAL

I celebrated my birthday last June, and one of the gifts I got was Puzzlecraft by Mike Selinker and Thomas Snyder. Well, it's September now, and I've finally gotten around to using it, albeit just to scan in a "Spiral" grid that would be difficult to duplicate on my own.

Anyways, you might recall in yesterday's post that I got some more puzzles accepted by GAMES Magazine, so to celebrate, I'm going to make this week's puzzle a contest puzzle! The grand prize for this one is a copy of the October 2015 issue of GAMES Magazine signed by yours truly! (I don't have any puzzles in that issue, but there is another Spiral puzzle located inside! Then again, I think there's a Spiral puzzle in every issue, so...) I only have one extra copy however, so there will only be one winner for this contest, picked randomly from the solvers list after two weeks. If, for whatever reason, the winner doesn't want the prize, another winner will be randomly selected from the same list. Now with the contest rules out of the way, let's get to the directions!

This puzzle turns in two directions. The Spiral's "Inward" clues yield a sequence of words to be entered counter clockwise in the spaces from 1 to 100. The "Outward" clues yield a different set of words to be entered clockwise from 100 to 1. Fill in the answers, one letter per space, according to the numbers beside each clue. Make sure to keep track of which way you're going!

Once you've completely filled in the grid, the letters in the light blue boxes will spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: a seven-letter word.


INWARD
1-4: Coraline author Gaiman
5-15: Merged, like two huge companies
16-18: Original KISS guitarist Frehley
19-26: KEY THAT MAKES YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE YELLING!!1!: 2 WDS.
27-30: Shopping vehicle that may come with a wobbly wheel
31-36: Word preceding "pin" or "net"
37-39: "It's In The _____" (Price is Right game)
40-46: Trade blockade
47-51: Liquid-Plumr alternative
52-59: The Road to _____ (2000 Dreamworks film): 2 wds.
60-63: Crosswordese clue for "Stare"
64-69: The Burning Man Festival's Burning Man, for one
70-72: Lightning McQueen, e.g.
73-80: Redd Foxx or Jamie Foxx
81-88: It used to be Constantinople, according to They Might Be Giants
89-96: Elvis drove a pink one
97-100: One of Pinky's catchphrases (apart from "Zort!" and "Poit!")

OUTWARD
100-96: The Euro has yet to replace this Swiss coin
95-92: "_____ Want" (The Offspring song featured in Crazy Taxi): 2 wds.
91-86: "In _____" (50 Cent single): 2 wds.
85-83: "Unforgettable" singer "King" Cole
82-78: Biblical peak that literally means "Moses' Mountain"
77-69: The US government, for example
68-66: Animated image file that's pronounced like a peanut butter brand
65-58: Doctor that Mötley Crüe sang about
57-54: The current highest-paid baseball player, for short: Hyph.
53-46: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle with a blue mask
45-42: Snatch
41-34: Eight million bits
33-26: On the _____ (newspaper comic featuring Dethany)
25-23: Rank for Harland Sanders: Abbr.
22-13: Duck Dodgers' "Eager Young" sidekick: 2 wds.
12-10: Grammy competitor: Abbv.
9-6: Rock genre performed by the New York Dolls
5-1: 1979 film with creature designs by H.R. Giger

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, September 20, 2015

ANSWERS: 4X Game: XX/XY

Before I reveal the answers to "4X Game: XX/XY", I'd like to share some news regarding my last puzzle: a while ago, I sent GAMES Magazine three "Moving Stairc--" er, "Shapeshifters" puzzles, and just last Tuesday, I finally got confirmation that they're acceptable for publication! I haven't received a publication date just yet for these puzzles, but it's still pretty neat nonetheless! And to celebrate, I'm going to do something special regarding tomorrow's puzzle! (though I'm not revealing what it is quite yet; you'll just have to wait and see) Anyways, let's reveal the people who solved "XX/XY":
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • YYW ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Debbie Underwood ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Mom ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Cayden Curtis & Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Paolo Pasco ****
  • My sister Alex ****
Now just head below the break for the answers, along with a few solver comments!

Monday, September 14, 2015

PUZZLE #41: Moving Staircases 2

PUZZLE #41
MOVING STAIRCASES 2


The two staircase-shaped halves of a "Moving Staircases" puzzle are designed to be pushed together in two different ways, horizontally and vertically. A horizontal push creates shorter words ("Shorts"), while a vertical push creates longer words ("Longs"). The example above shows a completed grid and the grids that result from pushing it both ways. The lists of clues given for the Shorts and Longs are not in order; it's up to you to determine where the answers go by working back and forth between the two lists.

Once you've completely filled out the grid, the FINAL ANSWER (the name of an anime that I finished watching not too long ago) will be hidden inside it; one of the words is hidden horizontally (is it a Short or a Long? that's up to you to find out!), while the other is hidden vertically! (I should also point out that the vertical word is less than five letters)

There's also a BONUS CHALLENGE this week: see if you can figure out what got me watching that anime in the first place! (Highlight the empty space for a Free HINT: It's mentioned in one of the clues)


SHORTS
* Blooper from the Super Mario games, for example
* Callie's sister in Splatoon (alright, they're technically cousins, but still...)
* Cliff protrusion
* Cut off ties
* Noise rock band with the album Sisterworld (okay, you're not gonna know this one; it's another word for "Fibbers")
* Oil company with a red and yellow scallop as its logo

LONGS
* Blue mouse Pokémon
* Extremely harsh
* Sister _____ ("We Are Family" group)
* Shaves a sheep
* The "L" in "LCD"

Remember, if you're stuck on any of the clues, you're always free to look them up (provided you actually don't mind doing so). Anyways, once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, September 13, 2015

ANSWERS: Chain Reaction: Extra Links

It's been thirteen days since I've posted my first "Chain Reaction: Extra Links" puzzle, so now it's time for me to reveal the people who have solved it within that time frame:
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • My sister Alex (with a little help from Mom) ***
  • Eric Maddy ***
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Debbie Underwood ****
Now just click on "Read more" below for the answers, along with some solver comments and a few pictures!

Monday, September 7, 2015

PUZZLE #40: 4X Game: XX/XY

PUZZLE #40
4X Game: XX/XY

Yep, it's another "4X Game" puzzle, except that this time, one of the X's has been changed to a Y! Read the directions to see how that changes things!


Below, there are 3 "X"'s and one "Y"; the "X"'s each contain four 5-letter answers, and the "Y" has three. Each answer is entered at an angle (save for one of the words in the "Y"), following one of the arrows as it does so, and the last three letters of one answer will be the first three letters of another, albeit in reverse order. In the example above (I know all the answers are three letters instead of five, but hopefully you'll still get the idea), the words in the "X" are MAP, PAT, TAR, and RAM, and the words in the "Y" are ROT, TON and NOR. However, to make things even harder, none of the clues are numbered or in order, so you'll have to figure out which word goes in which angle, but don't worry, as each "tip" of each "X" or "Y" (the outermost letters) will contain the same letters as the "tips" of its neighboring "X" or "Y". Going back to the example above, the rightmost "tips" in the "X" contain the letters "R" and "T", so the leftmost "tips" in the "Y" has the same exact letters, in the same exact placement.

Once you're done, unscramble the letters in the "tips" that have no neighbors (the yellow squares) to get one of three 3-letter words; this week's FINAL ANSWER is the only one of those three that starts with a vowel.



X #1
* "It's _____!" (Memorable quote from Admiral Ackbar): 2 wds.
* Mattress that stop-motion sheep don't want you to sleep on
* Fathers a foal
* Arc de Triomphe's locale

X #2
* "_____ Blue" (Song from Hoodwinked!): 2 wds.
* Kia Optima, e.g.
* A dodecagon has twelve of them
* Unsafe at Any Speed author Ralph

X #3
* Teen Titans member born in Azarath
* Party like no tomorrow
* Reading Rainbow host _____ Burton
* "Not in a bajillion years!"

Y #4
* "Day" that this puzzle was initially posted on?
* _____ No. 1 (fighting game that originally came with a demo of Final Fantasy VII)
* Baymax from Disney's Big Hero 6, for example

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, September 6, 2015

ANSWERS: Nonplussed

It's been thirteen days since I posted my "Nonplussed" puzzle, so now it's time for me to reveal the answers! But first, as always, here are the people who have solved it during that time frame:
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • YYW ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Mom ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
Now just head click on "read more" for the answers, along with some solver comments!

Monday, August 31, 2015

PUZZLE #39: Chain Reaction: Extra Links

PUZZLE #39
CHAIN REACTION: EXTRA LINKS

Happy 100th post, everybody! To celebrate, I've got another original creation for you guys! You see, I've been entertaining the thought of combining the idea behind Chain Reaction and a crossword for quite a while now, and I think I've finally figured out how to do it! Read on to see the fruits of my labor!


For this puzzle, there are seven golden "links" that link together six two-word phrases when reading down. However, it's completely blank, save for some dashes that reveal how long each word is (four dashes translate to a four-letter word, for instance). To help you figure out these words, though, there are some extra silver links with words already in them which, when combined with the golden link to the left or right of it, make another two-word phrase. In the above example, the two-word phrases with silver links in them are "Chain Restaurants", "Gut Reaction", "Time Zone", and "Fruit Flies", so the final "golden chain" is "CHAIN - REACTION - TIME - FLIES".

Once you've completely filled in the chain, scramble the letters in the orange squares to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a seven-letter word.


Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!

Sunday, August 30, 2015

ANSWERS: Anagram Chambers 2

It's been thirteen days since I posted my second "Anagram Chambers" puzzle, and you guys seemed to like it, since the amount of solvers for this one passed the double-digit mark! Here's a list of those solvers below:
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Paolo Pasco ****
  • YYW ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Lynn Sweeney **
  • Mom ***
  • Debbie Underwood **** (Especially impressive since she solved this one over the phone!)
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • My sister Alex ****
Now just head below the break for the answers, along with a couple solver comments and a small anecdote regarding me and the subject of the FINAL ANSWER!

Monday, August 24, 2015

PUZZLE #38: Nonplussed

PUZZLE #38
NONPLUSSED

This next puzzle was inspired by Grant Fikes' "Pent Words", except that for this puzzle, only one pentomino is used: the one shaped like a plus sign. I've made a grid using 25 of these, and you can see the final result below. How do you fill it out? Well, just read on for the directions!

The answers in this puzzle are entered in two ways: the fifteen numbered rows have one or two answers that read left to right (yes, even the two rows that only have one letter in it), and the pluses have five-letter answers that read left to right beginning in the top row (exactly like how they're entered in Pent Words). The clues for the pluses are split up into two groups: white pluses and gray pluses. Answers to those clues should be placed in their respectively-colored plus, though you have to use the Rows' answers to find out where each plus answer is located.

There are two unclued rows in this puzzle; combine them to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: the name of an '80s cartoon villain


ROWS
1) Early survival horror video game "starring" Laura, the "virtual actress"
2) Final boss of Super Mario Bros. 2 who hates vegetables
3) "Planet Rock" musician _____ Bambaataa
4) THE FIRST HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
5) Remove cargo / Gathering of Wiccans
6) Smaller version of a collie (I used to have one of these named Sprite!) / Type of Bible often seen in hotel rooms
7) Practice public speaking / Webcomic with characters named Big-Ears, Dies-Horribly, and Complains-of-Names
8) Camaro or Corvette, not for short / Exhale audibly
9) Lego block / In the midst of
10) Michigan's capital / Add yeast to
11) Cedar or cypress / Cheese _____ (Nabisco's Cheez-It competitor)
12) THE SECOND HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
13) Mouth-watering
14) Grizzly cub from Brother Bear
15) Knight, in algebraic chess notation

WHITE PLUSES
* The "A" in NBA: Abbv.
* Mel who voiced almost all of the Looney Tunes
* Sleepy or Sneezy
* Muppet whose song "Rubber Duckie" actually hit #16 on the Billboard Hot 100
* Ben _____ Five (Their biggest hit is the first answer in Row #9)
* Root beer with ice cream on top (Great, now I want one...)
* Humanoid creature made of living clay
* Islam's equivalent of Satan
* Bright Vegas lights
* Giant pteranodon from the Godzilla series
* Kristoff's pet reindeer and Ren Höek's idiot cousin
* "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" singer
* Mama's Family comedienne Lawrence

GRAY PLUSES
* Acute or obtuse
* It may say "Kiss the Cook"
* Saber-toothed cat from the Ice Age films
* Physics-based video game engine used in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
* Not now
* "It was a dark and stormy _____..."
* Light brownish-yellow: Var.
* Celebration, like the kind Pinkie Pie would hold
* Wandered about
* Dr. "Eggman" Robotnik's arch-rival
* The only monarchy in the Pacific
* Three-wheeler

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!