PUZZLE #241: Slot Machine 3

PUZZLE #241

SLOT MACHINE 3

In this Slot Machine, the Row answers are entered normally, from left to right in the order of the clues given. The Tumbler answers going down are entered in the same way, but all of the Tumblers have been "spun", meaning that the Tumblers' answers can start in any row and continue downwards. When a set of Tumbler answers hit the bottom of the grid, it continues at the start of the same column that it started in. There's also a "Jackpot Answer" that is comprised of the first letters of the first answer of each Tumbler. In the example above, the Rows spell out INN, TIE, and WOW, while the Tumblers spell out WIT, ION, and NEW, and the first letter of each Tumbler spell out WIN.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is the answer to the Jackpot.

JACKPOT
• A movie that Discovery Channel probably won't air this Shark Week: ? wds.

ROWS
1) Sweeties, in hip-hop slang
    People who live a clothes-free lifestyle
2) Fairy king from A Midsummer Night's Dream
    It Takes Two actress Mary-Kate or Ashley
3) "_____ Paradise" (the love theme from Footloose)
    Mild yellow cheese from the Netherlands
4) Use up
    Lowest high tide
5) Norway's most populated city
    Hereditary rulers
6) Fantasia conductor Stokowski
    Frozen beverage with a polar bear mascot
7) Richard who played The Wiz in The Wiz
    The smallest of Jupiter's four Galilean moons
8) Video game series about a hired assassin named Agent 47
    The only country with a five-sided flag
9) Schoolteacher Mr. Crane who crossed paths with the Headless Horseman
    One of Delphi's Muses of the lyre (Anagram of TEEN)
10) Desperate for cash
      It's called by a Wheel of Fortune contestant after they spin
11) 1998 first-person shooter whose name is a synonym for "fictitious"
      The "Girl in the Flower Dress" from Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

TUMBLERS
1) False killer whale or bottlenose, e.g.
    Yume Nikki character with a creepy black-and-white face (HINT: Delete the last letter from a WWII sub)
2) Authorizes
    First name of Cartman from South Park
3) Put on the payroll
    "_____ Was a Crooked Man" (nursery rhyme)
4) Hair gels used by 1950s greasers
    Caramel-filled candy sold by Hershey's in the US
5) Extremely close way to win: 3 wds.
    _____ the Explorer: Journey to the Purple Planet (video game for preschoolers)
6) Surname of a VeggieTales character with a gold tooth
    Advil alternative
7) Canine superhero who frequently rescues Sweet Polly Purebred
    Word following "loose" or "tight"
8) Inevitably involve
    Sign that's lit up to let DJs know when they're live: 2 wds.
9) Sharpshooter's magnifier
    Paper that wipes up snot
10) Start of an online romance, possibly: Hyph.
      Inventor's protection that lasts 20 years
11) "It'll be _____!" ("Easy-peasy!"): 2 wds.
      Undercoating

Apologies in advance for some of the tougher than usual clues. Anyway, 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 two versions you can print out: a .PNG and a link to a .PDF!

ANSWERS: Word Squares: Projectors 3

Thirteen days have passed since "Word Squares: Projectors 3" was posted on this blog, and eight people since then have successfully solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Tyler Hinman ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Patrick Jordan ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Adam Weaver ****
• Mom ****
• Debbie Benford ****

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #240: Helter Skelter 4

PUZZLE #240

HELTER SKELTER 4

Each answer in this crossword variation starts at the indicated number, and then moves towards the direction of the next number (thought it may or may not stop there). The direction of the last answer is to be determined by the solver.

Once the grid has been filled out, unscramble the gray squares to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: An 8-letter word

1) https://www.nintendo.com, for one
2) Rely upon, as a person for advice: 2 wds.
3) Underground routes for moles
4) Like a triangle with three unequal sides
5) Bob who directed The Great Piggy Bank Robbery and Porky in Wackyland
6) Copying a drawing using a transparent sheet
7) Long-tongued KISS bassist Simmons
8) The Penguin, to Batman
9) Yellow egg parts also called "vitelluses"
10) Sing-along music for plastered adults
11) Cosmetics brand that still uses door-to-door salesladies
12) Made a memo
13) Use a dynamite plunger
14) _____, meeny, miny, moe...
15) Word preceding "system" or "breakdown"
16) Big chunk of meat or marble
17) Final segment of a certain game show with a choice between Door #1, Door #2, or Door #3: 2 wds.
18) The only one of Snow White's Seven Dwarfs to wear glasses
19) Tear-inducing vegetables
20) Swimwear brand founded in Australia
21) Star Trek: _____ Space Nine
22) Kagan of the Supreme Court
23) Catches a crook

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 two versions you can print out: a .PNG and a link to a .PDF!

ANSWERS: Section Six 6

In the obscure DOS game Lexi-Cross, this is what your avatar looks like if it hails from SATURN
(SATURN being one of the answers to this puzzle)

Almost two weeks have gone by since my sixth "Section Six" puzzle was posted on this blog, and eight people since then have successfully solved it, as you can tell by the list below:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Joe Bernard ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Adam Weaver ****
• Mom ****
• Dan Simonds ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Lynn Sweeney **

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #239: Word Squares: Projectors 3

PUZZLE #239

WORD SQUARES: PROJECTORS 3

There are a series of clues whose answers will fit into the provided grid, reading across and down. However, all of the answers are one letter too long to fit in properly, so each one must have either its first or last letter sticking out (or "projecting" out) of the grid. Once you're done, start at the top left and read the "Projectors" either clockwise or counterclockwise to get another word or phrase. In the example above, the Projectors spell out SAMPLE.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is an eight-letter word that becomes a movie title when you put a "The" in front of it.

CLUES
* Company that created Marble Madness and Millipede
* Deadly sin that "is good", according to Gordon Gekko
* Found a new tenant for
* Gathered dead leaves
* Highest rank in the Boy Scouts
* Journeys taken by Captain Kirk and his crew, say
* Surrounding glows (HINT: This plural word doesn't end in "S")
* With "The", movie series where all crime is legal for one day

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 two versions you can print out: a .PNG and a link to a .PDF!

ANSWERS: Tetris Word Square Pair

Happy 500th blog post! Anyway, thirteen days have passed since "Tetris Word Square Pair" was posted here, and eight people since then have successfully solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Mom ***
• Eric Maddy ****
• Adam Weaver ****
• Dan Simonds ***
• Debbie Benford ****
• Lynn Sweeney **

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #238: Section Six 6

PUZZLE #238

SECTION SIX 6

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) Spiro who was the second Vice President to resign
2) They're no amateurs
3) Sketch comedy show from Rowan & Martin: Hyph.
4) Type of "reality" provided by the Oculus Rift
5) Very run-of-the-mill
6) Resident of Belgrade

RING 2
* "_____ Wood" (Beatles song)
* Hold responsible
* The evil Lord of the Rings from The Lord of the Rings
* Specialty of Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer
* Shell-less gastropod

RING 3
* Autobiography that was adapted into the film What's Love Got to Do with It: 2 wds.
* Deceptive scheme
* Japanese comic book that's read right to left
* "Sweet" opening track from the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers: 2 wds.

RING 4
* Island nation that was the only known home of the dodo
* Fully matured
* "All your _____ are belong to us" (poorly-translated quote from Zero Wing)

RING 5
* Instruments for Carlos Santana and Slash
* Bruce Wayne's estate

RING 6
* This puzzlemaker's favorite planet (HINT: It involves the number 6)

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 two versions you can print out: a .PNG and a link to a .PDF!

ANSWERS: PixelSweeper 2

It's been roughly two weeks since "PixelSweeper 2" was posted on this blog, and judging by the low amount of solvers I've gotten, I'm guessing that this puzzle was too hard, too big, or maybe even both. Take a look:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Stephen Staver ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Lynn Sweeney (no stars)

You'll probably want to know what the answer is to this puzzle, so go ahead and click on "Read more" below!

PUZZLE #237: Tetris Word Square Pair

PUZZLE #237

TETRIS WORD SQUARE PAIR

Fit the eight Tetris pieces into the two 4x4 grids beneath them so that two word squares -- or mini-crosswords -- are formed. You will need to rotate some of the pieces, but keep the letters upright as you do. (So for instance, the M in the first piece will always be an M, though it may end up above, below, or to the left of the two Es.)

Once both grids have been filled in, pick out one word from each and combine them to get the FINAL ANSWER: a two-word #1 hit song from the second half of the 1970s

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 two versions you can print out: a .PNG and a link to a .PDF!