PUZZLE #8: Infinigrid

PUZZLE #8

INFINIGRID

Since it's my eighth puzzle, I figured why not make a puzzle shaped like an eight on its side? Unfortunately, I couldn't find an infinity-shaped crossword grid online, so I pretty much had to make my own. I also drew some inspiration from the "Snake Charmer" puzzles featured in GAMES Magazine, and with all that out of the way, now it's time for the directions:

Much like an infinity symbol, this puzzle loops around itself twice, meaning that each letter in the grid is used in exactly two different words (the exception being the centermost square, where it's used four times). To solve, enter each answer hinted at by the clues into the grid following the arrows, but be careful, after the eighth clue, the numbers stop appearing in the puzzle, so it's up to you to figure out where the answers for the clues after that go. Once you're done, unscramble the letters in the eight gray squares to get this week's FINAL ANSWER.

Click on the picture for a larger version of the grid

1. Everlasting (fitting, considering this puzzle's shape)
2. "Someone Like You" songstress
3. Toys named after a President
4. Word preceding "Limits" or "Space"
5. "______ Madness" (Donkey Kong Country level)
6. Charlie Chaplin's wife or granddaughter (Wait, didn't I already use this in puzzle #4?)
7. Female-oriented channel replaced by the male-oriented Esquire Network in 2013
8. Doug Funnie's blue best friend
9. Simba's wife
10. Removed, like some of Strong Bad's e-mails
11. Goes extinct
12. White weasel fur
13. Animated offering
14. "See how they smile, like pigs in ______" (Beatles lyrics)
15. German geologist Nathanael Gottfried

One you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com and I'll give you credit for solving it about two weeks from now. You can also use those email addresses to give me feedback on my puzzle or send me the FINAL ANSWER to last week's puzzle (which you can solve either here or here). If you want a version of this puzzle you can print out, head below the break to do just that!

EASY VERSION: Flower Power

I knew that first Flower Power puzzle of mine was going to be hard, and since only 4 people have managed to solve it so far, that just confirms it! If you want a version with easier clues that are actually sorted in separate clockwise and counterclockwise sections, just go below the break! (Warning: Expect a LOT of anagrams!) Remember to send me the FINAL ANSWER once you're done before next Sunday!

ANSWERS: Anagram Chambers

It's that time for me to reveal the answers to my "Anagram Chambers" puzzle! But first, a list of people who have solved it:

• Eric Milton **
• Grant Fikes **
• Adam Weaver **
• Eric Maddy **
• Debbie Underwood **
• Tyler Hinman **
• John L. Wilson **
• Lynn Sweeney *

Now just click on "Read more" to get to the answers! Keep in mind that the answers are for the easy version, with all the chambers in order. I've also included some comments from a couple of my solvers, so check those out, too!

PUZZLE #7: Flower Power

PUZZLE #7

FLOWER POWER

The answers to this petaled puzzle will go in a curve from the number on the outside to the center of the flower. Each number in the flower will have two 5-letter answers, one going in a clockwise direction, and the other going in a counterclockwise direction. However, for this initial harder version, I won't reveal which answer goes in which direction! Once you're done, the numbered tips of each petal, reading clockwise, will spell out a clue that will lead you to the FINAL ANSWER.

Grid from Penny Press

CLUES

1)  Cocoon contents / Hungarian sheepdogs

2)  Ford and Lincoln / Network that went from Biography to Duck Dynasty

3)  Winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize for Literature / Rabbit fur

4)  Elbow bones / Russian range

5)  Helga Von Guggen's bodyguard from Totally Spies! / Joyce Kilmer poem

6)  Thank You Shirl-_____ (Shawn Amos album) / Remove from the DVR

7)  Monster girls that are part snake / Character played by Parminder Nagra on ER

8)  Former child actor Willie / Raptor's roost

9)  Saturns and Dreamcasts / Sing-_____ (Mocking way of saying something like "I know something that yooouuu don't!")

10)  June who voiced Looney Tunes' Witch Hazel / Green-clad fairy from Sleeping Beauty

11)  Type of chemical bond / _____ Bored (Smosh series)

12)  Beautiful bat from the Sonic series / Actors' parts

13)  Super Smash Bros. for WiiU character with a "Zero Suit" / Actor Chiba from Kill Bill: Vol. 1

14)  Daughter of Ra's Al Ghul / Multiplication or periodic

15)  Upcoming wearable tech from Google / "Clay Shooting" mode in Duck Hunt (I may or may not have stupidly put part of the FINAL ANSWER's clue in most of this answer)

16)  Final Fantasy VII character famous for dying / Harry Potter's youngest son

17)  Recurring ranch owner from the Zelda series / Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

18)  Scottish Gaelic / Florida's 1,499-ft. Cox Radio Tower _____

I know a lot of these clues look difficult, obtuse, and/or are only known by certain people who play Nintendo and the like, but I'd like to use this opportunity to remind you that you are allowed to look up clues you don't know! (After all, I doubt anyone will know that Shawn Amos album otherwise; the answer for that one, admittedly, is some pretty awful fill) If you rather not look up the answers for whatever reason, I'll be publishing a different version of this puzzle next Sunday with easier clues.

As usual, if/when you figure out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com and I'll give you credit for solving it about two weeks from now. You can also use those email addresses to send me the FINAL ANSWER to last week's puzzle (which you can solve either here or here). If you want a version of this puzzle you can print out, head below the break to do just that!

EASY VERSION: Anagram Chambers

It's been about a week, and so far, 6 solvers have cracked my first "Anagram Chambers" puzzle. As usual, there's an easier version of this puzzle, and I've posted it below the break. Just beware that the only change I've made is that the chambers are now in the correct order.

ANSWERS: Connection Wall

Well, it's been about two weeks, So it's time for me to reveal the answers to my Connection Wall puzzle (which you can still figure out here, with a couple hints located here)! Before I do that, however, here are a list of people who have solved it:

• Adam Weaver **
• Mom **
• Grant Fikes **
• Jared Pappas **
• Lynn Sweeney **
• John L. Wilson **
• Eric Maddy **
• My sister Alex **

Now just click on "read more" for the answers!

Puzzle #6: Anagram Chambers

PUZZLE #6

ANAGRAM CHAMBERS

A "Sample" chamber, in more ways than one.

For this puzzle, there are several dark-green "chambers" with yellow rectangles and light-green squares in them. For each chamber, you take a word in the first yellow rectangle as hinted at by the clue, add a letter from the light-green square, and scramble them to get a word in the second yellow rectangle, then you repeat the process to get the word in the third yellow rectangle. Once you've filled in everything, the light-green squares will spell out something... or they would if the chambers weren't all scrambled up as well! The final answer is the two-word phrase spelled out by the light-green squares once the chambers are in the proper order.

In case the words are too small, here are the clues in text format.

• [Ready for picking] + __ = ["Rowdy" wrestler Roddy] + __ = [1996 adventure game co-starring Christopher Walken]
• [Bad time for Caesar] + __ = [1998 Goo Goo Dolls song] + __ = [Voice of Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy]
• [Top-notch tennis serves] + __ = [With "The", GSN game show starring "The Beast"] + __ = [Giant Japanese robots]
• [Element #82] + __ = [Postpone] + __ = ["Uncle" from The Muppets (2011)]
• [Lisa Loeb's #1 debut single] + __ = ["Crazy" country singer Cline] + __ = [Cannoli or croissant]
• [Religious splinter group] + __ = [References a reference source] + __ = [Coldest]
• [Ticks off] + __ = [Soap opera, e.g.] + __ = [Final single off of System of a Down's Toxicity]

Once you think you know what the answer is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com, and I'll also be accepting the answers to last week's puzzle (Which you can view here, and you can get a hint for that here) until Sunday. If you want a version you can print out, just click on "read more" and go below the break.

HINT: Connection Wall

So far, my latest puzzle has had 8 people figure it out. For those still struggling with it, I have provided two clues below the break.

ANSWERS: Word Squares

It's been two weeks since I've published my "Word Squares" puzzle (which you can still solve here with an easier version here), so it's time to reveal the answers! But first, a list of people who have solved it:

• Adam Weaver **
• Grant Fikes **
• Lynn Sweeney **
• Tyler Hinman **
• John L. Wilson **
• Eric Maddy **
• Mom *

Normally, just the answers will be provided below the break, but for this edition, I'm going to do something a little different: I'll be providing some explanations and additional info for a few of the clues used in the puzzle! Click on "read more" for all of that!

Puzzle #5: Connection Wall

PUZZLE #5

CONNECTION WALL

Now that I've revealed the answers to my first game-show-inspired puzzle, here's another one! Admittedly, however, this game show is not all that well-known outside of its native UK: Only Connect, the super-hard quizzer shot in Wales where you have to identify the connections of up to four seemingly random clues! Specifically, it's based off of its third round, the "Connecting Wall"!

Above are 16 squares with words 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. The FINAL ANSWER consists of the four categories that are used in this puzzle.

Once you've figured them out, send the answers to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com, and I'll also be accepting the answers to last week's puzzle (Where you can get here, or an easier version here) until Sunday. As usual, there's a black-and-white version of this puzzle that you can print out by clicking on "read more" below.

EASY VERSION: Word Squares

Well, it's been almost a week, and so far, 6 people have completed my latest puzzle. If you want an easier version that actually has the clues listed under separate sections and in order, just hit below the break! If you haven't solved it yet, make sure you send me the answers before next week!

ANSWERS: Double Chain Reaction

Well, it been about two weeks, so it's time for me to reveal the answers to my Double Chain Reaction puzzle (you can still solve it here or do the easy version here). Here are a list of people who have solved it in that timeframe:

• Grant Fikes **
• Adam Weaver **
• Al-- wait, how'd my sister end up here?! **
• John L. Wilson **
• Eric Maddy *

Now that that's out of the way, hit below the break for the answers!