PUZZLE #102: Sudokurossword 2 (Guest Puzzle by Grant Fikes!)

PUZZLE #102

SUDOKUROSSWORD 2

Guest Puzzle by Grant Fikes

You may recall a couple weeks ago that because of depression surrounding this recent election season, I didn't have a puzzle that week. Two of my regular solvers, Grant Fikes and Chris Hendricks, both suggested that I post a Guest Puzzle in case I have another week with no puzzle scheduled. Grant even sent me a Sudokurossword for me to use! I had already made a "4X Game" puzzle when he originally sent me this (and I also have a different one for next week as well), but I didn't want his effort to go to waste, so I accepted his offering, and now I'm posting it here for you guys to solve (though I ultimately changed three of his clues beforehand. I hope he doesn't mind)!

This puzzle comes in two parts. The first part is a sudoku, which you solve normally (the numbers 1-9 appear once in each row, column, and 3x3 box). Each row has a crossword clue next to it; the shaded cell corresponds to the crossword entry in which that answer belongs. (For example, a 5 means that the answer to that clue belongs in 5-Down in the crossword grid.) If you want to really challenge yourself, you can skip the sudoku entirely and try to fit in the crossword answers without knowing where they're supposed to go, but I wouldn't recommend that.

Once you're done, unscramble the shaded squares in the crossword to form the FINAL ANSWER: A nine-letter word

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!

PUZZLE #101: 4X Game 5: XX/XY 3

PUZZLE #101

4X GAME 5: XX/XY 3

Before we get to this week's puzzle, here's some backstory for it: in late August of this year, I sent GAMES Magazine four puzzles similar to "4X Games", though the ones I've sent them involved single X's instead of four of them crammed together. After months of silence from GAMES, I've decided to email them back last Monday, and a couple hours later, I finally heard back from them, and they've decided to ultimately pass on them (On the plus side, I finally got confirmation on the publishing date of my second set of "Word Sandwiches" puzzles, so look forward to seeing those published soon in the February 2017 issue of GAMES!) So after all that, I've decided to incorporate two of the unused puzzles into this week's puzzle (they're X #1 and X #3, in case you're curious).

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 this week's FINAL ANSWER: A three-letter song title

X #1

* da Vinci's The Last Supper or Michelangelo's The Last Judgment, e.g.

* Fluid that could make you tell the truth, supposedly

* Shrek and Fiona, for two

* The largest of the Florida Keys

X #2

* Honey badger

* Indian instrument played by Muriel from Courage the Cowardly Dog

* "_____ Roll" (The Price is Right game): 2 wds.

* Zeus' first wife

X #3

* _____ cum laude

* Jordan's capital

* One giving a title, perhaps

* Romulus' twin

Y #4

* Romanian Olympic gold medalist Comăneci

* The British call this type of car a "saloon"

* West Wing workers

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: Pent Words Squeezed in the Middle

Well, it's been two weeks since my 100th puzzle, and since then, ten of you have managed to successfully solve it, as you can see in the list below:

• Sam Levitin ****
• Adam Weaver ****
• Chris Hendricks ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• YYW ****
• David Cohen ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Mom ****
• Debbie Benford ****

Now just head below the break for the answers, along with a couple solver comments! See you tomorrow with a new puzzle!

ANSWERS: Line 'Em Up 3

It's been two week's since I've posted my Halloween-themed "Line 'Em Up" puzzle, and since then, twelve of you have correctly solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Eric Maddy ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• YYW ****
• Chris Hendricks ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Yossi Fendel ****
• Lynn Sweeney ***
• M. Sean Molley ****
• Mom ****
• Debbie Benford ****
• David Cohen ****

Speaking of Halloween, do you know what else is scary? This entire election season. I don't want to elaborate any further since I don't want to talk about anything political on this site, but this overlong election has exhausted and depressed me so much (to the point that I genuinely wanted to kill myself -- don't worry, I'm better now) that I haven't had the motivation or time to make any more puzzles for this site, and as such, there will be no new puzzle this week. Hopefully, there will be one next week, but for now, just head below the break for the answers to "Line 'Em Up 3" and some solver comments.

PUZZLE #100: Pent Words Squeezed in the Middle

**PUZZLE #100**

PENT WORDS SQUEEZED IN THE MIDDLE

It's my 100th puzzle! To celebrate, I'm going to do something a little different and a lot more elaborate: A combination of two puzzle types frequently seen on this blog! One is the first puzzle type I've made for this site, and the other is my first puzzle type published in GAMES Magazine!

The first half of this puzzle is a "Pent Words" that is to be solved normally. For directions on how to solve this puzzle, visit this link.

​ACROSS (Two answers per row)
1) Final Fantasy VII character with a huge sword
    Word preceding "city" or "circle"
2) Load a program or game onto a computer
    Time's Person of the Year for 2006
3) Store with a mascot named Bullseye
    Ray who played Laura Palmer's dad in Twin Peaks
4) Green Day album with "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"
    That '70s _____
5) One of 39 in the name of a Hitchcock film
    Horatian or Juvenalian form of humor
6) 1996 Olympic gold medalist Andre
    Competed on The Voice
7) Many Steven Universe characters, like Pearl and Peridot
    Shoelace hole
8) Extremely enthusiastic
    Become pale
9) It follows Kay
    Queen from Star Wars: Episode I with a lot of costumes
10) Cowardly creature from Oz
      Italian desserts

PENTOMINOES (Five letters per answer)
* Mobile Suit Gundam or My Neighbor Totoro, e.g.
* R&B singer Mary J. _____
* Comedian Mandel who created Bobby's World
* Judge's mallet
* Type of lily
* Country singer Black
* Lip-synching duo _____ Vanilli
* Stir from sleep
* Tomboyish princess from the Super Mario games
* Country Grammar rapper
* Antelope with twisty horns
* Compete in a contest where the loser blinks
* Like, so five minutes ago
* "Somebody _____ Used to Know" (Gotye song): 2 wds.
* Tennis player Melanie (Anagram of I UNDO)
* The Adjustment Bureau actor Matt
* Theater platform
* Chubby Checker's dance
* Place where the deer and the antelope play
* "Yecch!"

---

After you complete the above "Pent Words" grid, there will be five Pentominoes that have numbers marked in them. Take the words in each marked Pentomino and transfer them to the correspondingly-numbered Centers in the "Squeezed in the Middle" puzzle below (For directions on how to solve one of these puzzles, visit this link). After that, use the clues for the Wholes to get the FINAL ANSWER reading down in the brown squares: A fictional character

CENTERS
1) [Pentomino #1]
2) [Pentomino #2]
3) [Pentomino #3]
4) [Pentomino #4]
5) [Pentomino #5]

WHOLES
* Carol who turned the letters in the UK version of Wheel of Fortune (Yeah, you'll probably need to fill in everything else first...)
* Escape artist who died on Halloween
* Last name of Hermione
* "Much _____!" ("Thanks!")
* Pertaining to pants

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! (Since there are two puzzles, it'll be on two pages)

ANSWERS: Mixed Doubles 3

My 100th puzzle is tomorrow! 

...Oh yeah, I posted a "Mixed Doubles" puzzle not too long ago. I should probably put the people who have solved that one here:

• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Chris Hendricks ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• YYW ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Mom ****
• Debbie Benford ****

Now just click on "Read more" below for the answers!