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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

    ilovebees, Perplex 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!

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!