Monday, August 28, 2017

GAME SHOW MONTH! PUZZLE #141: Double Chain Reaction 3

GAME SHOW MONTH!
PUZZLE #141
DOUBLE CHAIN REACTION 3

We conclude Game Show Month with "Chain Reaction", a puzzle that I've done so many variants on, I think I could make an entire theme month on those alone! For this month, however, I think I'll stick with the first variant of this puzzle that I posted on this blog, where it's the same as normal Chain Reaction, but there's two chains instead of one. Take a look:

Below is a pair of word chains made up of six two-word phrases each (For example, the introduction to GSN's original version has a chain of WORD - GAME - BALL - ROOM - KEY - CHAIN - REACTION). I'll give out clues that lead to each two-word phrase, but to make things harder, all the clues for both chains are mixed up together and are in no particular order. The first and last words of each chain are partially hidden, but to make things slightly easier, the first letter of each of those words will be revealed, as well as their length.

The FINAL ANSWER is the name of two game shows that aired exclusively on GSN/Game Show Network, one hidden in each chain.


* GSN GAME SHOW #1
* GSN GAME SHOW #2
* Basketball shot that may result in a shattered backboard
* Carnival attractions where the aim is to get another person drenched
* Comic strip character who has a pet beagle named Snoopy
* Crumby apple dessert similar to a cobbler
* First lady preceding Michelle Obama
* Nocturnal primate also known as a "galago"
* Small piano that isn't an upright
* Spinning casino fixture with red and black spaces
* TV personality who was married to Password host Allen Ludden
* Vodka cocktail favorred by The Dude from The Big Lebowski

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 27, 2017

ANSWERS: Smush 2

It's been roughly two weeks since I've posted "Smush 2", and since then, eight of you have correctly solved it, as you can see in the list below:
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • M. Sean Molley ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Mom ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Chris Hendricks ****
  • Debbie Benford ****
Now just click on "Read more" below for the answers as well as a couple solver comments!

Monday, August 21, 2017

GAME SHOW MONTH! PUZZLE #140: Line 'Em Up 5

GAME SHOW MONTH!
PUZZLE #140
LINE 'EM UP 5

For the third installment of Game Show Month, here's a puzzle inspired by the "Line 'em Up" pricing game from The Price Is Right. I don't have anything to add to that, so let's jump straight into the puzzle:

Place the answers to each numbered clue in the squares to the right of each corresponding number. (a number in brackets following each clue will tell you how many letters are in each answer). Once you have the answers, align them properly in the grid so that going down, a two-word phrase will be spelled out by the two red columns in the grid's center.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is a movie director


1) Star Wars admiral famous for saying "It's a trap!" [6]
2) Card game with pairs and flushes [5]
3) Neytiri's alien species [4]
4) Karenina or Kournikova [4]
5) Vegetable felt by a princess through multiple mattresses [3]
6) Barbara Gordon's superhero alter ego [7]
7) "Quiet! This is a library!" [3]

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, August 20, 2017

ANSWERS: Brick By Brick 3

Before I reveal the answers to my third "Brick by Brick" puzzle, I just wanted to let you know that I've got another set of "Squeezed in the Middle" "Word Sandwiches" puzzles accepted by Games Magazine! They're set to publish in the October 2017 issue, so it's not available to buy yet, but as a subscriber, I got that issue early, so be sure to look out for that issue when it arrives in stores! Don't worry, I'll also do a contest for it in the future, but before I do that, here are the six people that have solved "Brick By Brick 3":
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Mom ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Debbie Benford ****
Now just head below the break for the answers as well as more info on the product that acts as the FINAL ANSWER to this puzzle!

Monday, August 14, 2017

GAME SHOW MONTH! PUZZLE #139: Smush 2

GAME SHOW MONTH!
PUZZLE #139
SMUSH 2

Boy, this is one that I haven't done in a while! The second puzzle of Game Show Month is based on the obscure game show Smush, from the creators of You Don't Know Jack. I haven't made one of these since November 2015, so I think it's well overdue for another installment. Let's begin, shall we?

In 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 countries.



1) The first letter in EDM + The first cable network for kids
2) The largest desert in Africa + The largest desert in Asia
3) Competitor of Prego + Competitor of Rock Band
4) The capital of Oman + The capital of Georgia
5) New York home of the Globetrotters + New York-set TV drama with Lucious Lyon
6) Venerable opera house in Milan + Memorable landmark in San Antonio

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 13, 2017

ANSWERS: Link-Letters 4

It's been almost two weeks since I made my fourth "Link-Letters" puzzle for this site, and since then, seven of you have solved it, as you can see in the list below:
  • M. Sean Molley ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ***
  • Mom ****
  • Chris Hendricks ****
Now just head below the break for the answers!

Monday, August 7, 2017

GAME SHOW MONTH! PUZZLE #138: Brick By Brick 3

GAME SHOW MONTH!
PUZZLE #138
BRICK BY BRICK 3

It should be no secret by now that I love game shows, so to make that fact even clearer, I'm going to do another theme month in the form of Game Show Month! All this month will feature puzzles inspired by, or referencing, various game shows!

The first puzzle of this month will have its FINAL ANSWER be about a newer show called Steve Harvey's Funderdome. Okay, I know it's more of a competitive reality show than anything else, but competitive reality shows are still technically game shows, so for the purposes of this month, it still counts. So as Steve himself would say in every episode, let's get down to business!


Place the 2x3 bricks into the grid below so that a crossword puzzle with rotational symmetry is formed. Each of the Across and Down clues hint at answers that appear in that row or column, all of which are in order. Be careful with the rows marked with a 7, 8, and 9, as the bricks that are placed in those rows will be split in half by a blue line, which you can see in the diagram above. Also, the letters that go in the blue line's squares will complete one answer in every Down column, though you'll have to figure out what those letters are.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is a product featured in an episode of Steve Harvey's Funderdome



ACROSS
1) MacBook Air manufacturers
    Grievous bodily _____
    Air pollution in L.A.
2) Bird with a drooping feather cluster on top of its head
    Molded curve overused in crosswords
    Bridgestone product
3) Last name of Felix from The Odd Couple
    Typed message from a smartphone
    Dutch cheese coated in red wax
4) The Blob That _____ Everyone (Goosebumps book)
    Makes a decision
    Female news reporter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
5) Not me
    Ingredient in homemade slime
6) Org. that launched Skylab
    Transportation company with a LOT more bad publicity than Lyft
    Top-story studios
7) Sea creature that's basically a spiky ball
    _____ Monsters (card game in Yu-Gi-Oh!)
    Dada artist Jean seen in way too many crosswords
8) THE FINAL ANSWER
9) Many, many millennia
    Spa treatment to go with a mani
    "Sure thing, Cap'n!"
10) Use 4-letter words
      Hercules' dad, in a 1997 Disney movie
      Possessed doll playable in Super Mario RPG
11) _____ Runner (Brøderbund computer game)
      Golf ball stand
12) Team Fortress 2 developers
      Polar bear voiced by Rob Schneider in a terrible animated movie
      Undergarment measured by cups
13) Suffix for "million" or "billion"
      One of twelve in AA
      Synthetic fabric created by DuPont in 1941
14) Bambi's father, e.g.
      Fruit or flightless bird from New Zealand
      Arcade game where you play as a knight on an ostrich
15) Loathe entirely
      7-time MLB All-Star Sammy
      Symbolic light bulbs in comic strips

DOWN
1) Color that's halfway between blue and green
    Unclothed art class models
    Main character of the Pokémon anime who hasn't won a tournament in 20 years
2) Common play on fourth-down
    Superhero show on The CW featuring Oliver Queen
    Underperforming PlayStation handheld
3) Pin-up model Bettie
    Act section
    "I smell ____!"
4) What two of the three panelists on To Tell The Truth do
    Norwegian band whose "Take On Me" video won 6 MTV VMAs
    Assert with absolutely no proof
5) Judy Jetson's little brother
    Type of comedy seen in Whose Line Is It Anyway?
6) Leap like a lurking lion
    Pieces of furniture that computers sit upon
7) Jacuzzi
    Wood-shaping tool
    Uruguayan uncle
8) "Rock of _____" (Def Leppard hit)
    Pearl Jam singer Vedder
    Walter Cronkite once reported them
9) Toy Story 2 character who knocked Zurg down an elevator shaft
    "You are likely to be eaten by a _____" (quote from Zork)
    Place that's too perfect to exist
10) Genre for Judas Priest
      One end of a pencil
11) One of the six simple machines
      "Face with Tears of Joy" is the most popular one
12) Mono's successor
      Pete's wife in Goof Troop
      Shower curtain holder
13) Digital music format heard in many old computer games
      One of two choices in some quiz questions
      Cerulean or cobalt
14) Type of test with no writing
      "Calling All Angels" band
      Civil rights activist Parks
15) Precious stone collected by the answer directly below this one
      Sheep-torching purple dragon of video game fame
      Insects that reside in a farm

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, August 6, 2017

ANSWERS: Cramped Crossword

It's been two weeks since I've posted a puzzle based on Tyler Hinman's appearance on Superhuman, and since then, seven of you (including Tyler himself) have solved it, as you can see below:
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Mom ****
  • Chris Hendricks ****
Now just head below the break for the answers!