Showing posts with label The Spiral. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Spiral. Show all posts

Sunday, June 29, 2025

ANSWERS: The Spiral Squared 8

It's been about two weeks since "The Spiral Squared 8" was posted on this blog, and nineteen people have solved it since then:

  • Marie desJardins
  • Grant Fikes
  • Cathy Bowen
  • Cindy Heisler
  • Joe Bernard
  • Kevin Orfield
  • Okieboy2008
  • Michael Lebowitz
  • Sam Levitin
  • Chris Kochmanski
  • Derek Allen
  • Wendy Walker
  • Tamara Brenner
  • Craig Leach
  • Patrick Jordan
  • Mom
  • Steve Gunter
  • Lynn Sweeney
  • Pavel Curtis
Now head below the break for the answers!

Monday, June 16, 2025

PUZZLE #548: The Spiral Squared 8

PUZZLE #548
THE SPIRAL SQUARED 8

This puzzle turns in two directions. The Spiral's "Inward" clues yield a sequence of words to be entered clockwise in the spaces from 1 to 100. The "Outward" clues yield a different set of words to be entered counterclockwise from 100 to 1. Fill in the answers, one letter per space, according to the numbers beside each clue. Make sure to keep track of which way you're going!

Once you've filled out the grid, read out the highlighted squares diagonally to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a ten-letter word.


INWARD
1-5: Large tobacco item in Groucho Marx's mouth
6-9: Star _____: Deep Space Nine (1993-99 TV series)
10-14: Weeping statue of Greek myth
15-20: Croatia's capital
21-25: Winnie-the-Pooh author whose first two initials stand for "Alan Alexander"
26-33: He made Icarus' wings and warned him not to fly too close to the sun
34-41: Leave: 2 wds.
42-46: Frasier Crane's brother on Frasier
47-51: Man-goat hybrid seen in the "Fracture Hills" level of Spyro 2
52-58: Diamond style named after a thorny flower: 2 wds.
59-66: Go from Point A to B instantaneously (but only if you're a sci-fi character)
67-70: Bulky boats like the one used by Noah
71-76: The dots over the "O" in Blue Öyster Cult's name
77-81: Walking sticks used by Cranky Kong and Scrooge McDuck
82-90: Naruto's catchphrase (or part of the title of Ripley's "strange but true" series): 2 wds.
91-96: "Holy" city in Ohio?
97-100: Japanese spider _____ (world's largest crustacean)

OUTWARD
100-94: Supermarket scanner's target
93-88: Nickname of Tiana's best friend in The Princess and the Frog (anagram of ELIOTT)
87-84: Face covering for a belly dancer, sometimes
83-79: Buddy who played the title role in Barnaby Jones
78-73: Based on fact
72-66: Semiaquatic rodent in love in a Captain & Tennille song
65-62: Soap on a _____
61-55: One of the ingredients in a BLT
54-50: "Apologetic" board game similar to Parcheesi
49-41: Adorning with those swingy things on top of graduation caps
40-36: Tenet director Christopher
35-30: Tentacled Disney villainess who sings "Poor Unfortunate Souls"
29-24: Make soundproof
23-18: Flexible and lithe
17-12: Octagonal park pavilion
11-7: Comic book's line artist
6-1: _____ Kingdom (multi-platinum album by No Doubt)

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 even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) 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 link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

Sunday, April 23, 2023

ANSWERS: The Spiral Squared 7

It's been close to two weeks since "The Spiral Squared 7" was published on this blog, and a whopping twenty people (one of whom solved it as a family) have solved it since then:

  • Grant Fikes
  • Cindy Heisler
  • Nancy Stueve
  • Chris Kochmanski
  • Joe Bernard
  • Pavel Curtis
  • Kevin Orfield
  • Michael Lebowitz
  • Mike Armstrong
  • Sam Levitin
  • Stephen Potter
  • Wendy Walker
  • KeoFam
  • Tyler Hinman
  • Patrick Jordan
  • Mom
  • Tamara Brenner
  • Lynn Sweeney
  • Steve Gunter
  • Perry Groot
Now head below the break for the answers and a solver's comment!

Monday, April 10, 2023

PUZZLE #434: The Spiral Squared 7

PUZZLE #434
THE SPIRAL SQUARED 7

This puzzle turns in two directions. The Spiral's "Inward" clues yield a sequence of words to be entered clockwise in the spaces from 1 to 100. The "Outward" clues yield a different set of words to be entered counterclockwise from 100 to 1. Fill in the answers, one letter per space, according to the numbers beside each clue. Make sure to keep track of which way you're going!

Once you've filled out the grid, read out the highlighted squares diagonally to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a ten-letter word.


INWARD
1-8: Meal shipment from GrubHub or DoorDash
9-13: Dynamite inventor Alfred
14-20: Observe closely
21-25: Surname on a green-and-yellow tractor
26-31: Weaselly animal commonly kept as a pet (except in Hawaii and California)
32-40: Leftmost foot lever on a piano: 2 wds.
41-44: Word preceding "rock" or "rain"
45-51: The _____ Hall Show ('90s talk show with a "Dog Pound")
52-60: Drink from another water bottle, say
61-64: Stand-up comedian Love who is a judge on Criss Angel's Magic With the Stars
65-71: Answering machine's playback
72-77: "I didn't do it!" or "It wasn't me!"
78-83: University grounds
84-88: "Excelsior!", for New York
89-96: Like the side of toast that (supposedly) always lands on the floor
97-100: _____ Erikson Day (holiday celebrated by Norwegian-Americans and SpongeBob)

OUTWARD
100-94: Center _____ (Willie Mays' position)
93-90: Latin phrase spoken by Caesar after Brutus' betrayal: 2 wds.
89-81: "Down the hatch!": 2 wds.
80-73: Postcards from the Edge actress Shirley
72-68: French artist Edgar who often painted ballerinas
67-60: Florida tribe that owns the Hard Rock Cafe
59-55: Arriving after the school bell
54-47: Black Canary, Black Widow, and Shuri as Black Panther, to name a few
46-40: Square root symbol
39-35: Capable and not clumsy
34-29: _____'s Home for Imaginary Friends (Cartoon Network series)
28-22: Roller derby official in a striped shirt
21-17: Material for Mudd Jeans
16-13: Green-haired driver from Crazy Taxi (or a figure skating jump)
12-8: Ivory's partner in a song by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney
7-1: Much-maligned

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 even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) 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 link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

Sunday, June 5, 2022

ANSWERS: The Spiral Squared 6

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "The Spiral Squared 6" was posted on this blog, and twelve people since then have correctly figured it out, all of whom are listed below:

  • Grant Fikes
  • Cindy Heisler
  • Joe Bernard
  • Kevin Orfield
  • Sam Levitin
  • Mike Armstrong
  • Tamara Brenner
  • CromsFury
  • Michael Lebowitz
  • Tyler Hinman
  • Mom
  • Peter Abide
Now head below the break for the answers!

Monday, May 23, 2022

PUZZLE #388: The Spiral Squared 6

PUZZLE #388
THE SPIRAL SQUARED 6

This puzzle turns in two directions. The Spiral's "Inward" clues yield a sequence of words to be entered clockwise in the spaces from 1 to 100. The "Outward" clues yield a different set of words to be entered counterclockwise from 100 to 1. Fill in the answers, one letter per space, according to the numbers beside each clue. Make sure to keep track of which way you're going!

Once you've filled out the grid, read out the highlighted squares diagonally to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a ten-letter word.


INWARD
1-6: Pester persistently
7-10: Dutch cheese with a red rind
11-15: In the aforementioned work: 2 wd. abbr.
16-20: Yellow-and-white flower also known as a "dog daisy"
21-27: Speech-synthesizing instrument used in many Daft Punk songs
28-32: Laboratory vessel that widens near the bottom
33-40: King Lear's youngest daughter
41-47: Candelabra seen in the Rugrats special "Chanukah"
48-53: Deep red hue named after a red Bordeaux wine
54-57: German-based grocery chain with over 2,000 U.S. locations
58-65: Lack of pollution that lets environmentalists breathe easy?: 2 wds.
66-73: Capital of South Australia
74-79: Workout that (hopefully) gets the heart pumping, informally
80-84: _____ the beans (blab)
85-90: Without any struggle
91-94: Pointy tip of a trident
95-100: Finally reached the big time: 2 wds.

OUTWARD
100-97: Like a baseball game at the top of the 10th inning
96-90: Bonus convenience during one's hotel stay
89-86: _____ Marie Presley (Elvis' daughter)
85-77: Stretched sphere, in geometry
76-73: A quick game of Super Mario Kart, perhaps
72-67: Used a touch-tone phone pad, say
66-61: Pop star Grande who has a tattoo of the Pokémon Eevee
60-56: Spanish folk hero whose real name is Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar: 2 wds.
55-49: Outside-the-box thinking needed to play MindTrap
48-43: Largest moon of Pluto
42-36: Sent a message to an address that includes "@"
35-31: Shale, slate, and sandstone, to name a few
30-24: Fettuccine _____
23-19: Cluster of quails
18-13: Tiger King subject Joe
12-6: Hair gels once called "greasy kid stuff"
5-1: Silverman who voices Vanellope in Wreck-It Ralph

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 even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) 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 link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

Sunday, July 18, 2021

ANSWERS: The Spiral Squared 5

Thirteen days have passed since "The Spiral Squared 5" was posted on this blog, and eighteen people successfully solved it since then, and they're all listed below:

  • Grant Fikes
  • Cindy Heisler
  • Giovanni Pagano
  • Dave C
  • Joe Bernard
  • Kevin Orfield
  • Karen Spencer
  • Lbray53
  • Tamara Brenner
  • Al Sisti
  • Sam Levitin
  • Peter Abide
  • Patrick Jordan
  • Mom
  • Tyler Hinman
  • Lynn Sweeney
  • Debbie Benford
  • Wendy Walker
Now head below the break for the answers as well as a few solvers' comments!

Monday, July 5, 2021

PUZZLE #342: The Spiral Squared 5

PUZZLE #342
THE SPIRAL SQUARED 5

This puzzle turns in two directions. The Spiral's "Inward" clues yield a sequence of words to be entered clockwise in the spaces from 1 to 100. The "Outward" clues yield a different set of words to be entered counterclockwise from 100 to 1. Fill in the answers, one letter per space, according to the numbers beside each clue. Make sure to keep track of which way you're going!

Once you've filled out the grid, read out the highlighted squares diagonally to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a ten-letter word.


INWARD
1-5: Chocolate mint brand produced by Tootsie Roll Industries
6-11: Try again, in court
12-17: Give out homework
18-23: Tristan und _____ (Wagner opera)
24-27: Gold medal-winning skater Lipinski
28-32: Joe who played a burglar in the first two Home Alone films
33-38: Rico Rodriguez from Just Cause, for one (HINT: He's Mexican)
39-44: Biker gang member who gains telekinesis in Akira (anagram of OUTSET)
45-52: Train driver
53-57: Comedy, drama, or dramedy
58-62: Frankie _____ and the Four Seasons
63-68: Include a .PDF file with an email, say
69-76: Classical language of India
77-83: Warning from a fencer: 2 wds.
84-88: Frasier Crane's brother
89-96: Give up one's throne
97-100: Floating harbor marker

OUTWARD
100-95: "Of course I will!": 2 wds.
94-91: Sulfuric _____
90-83: Furthest edge of a tennis court
82-76: Police procedural featuring Sgt. Joe Friday
75-72: Rankles
71-68: Partner of Crosby, Stills and Young
67-61: Marsh reed
60-54: Female gargoyle from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame
53-49: Color of Luigi's cap
48-42: Type of rock such as pegmatite or pumice
41-37: Grand _____ National Park, Wyoming
36-31: Type of tilted type
30-22: Divided
21-16: Having fewer wedges in Trivial Pursuit, perhaps
15-9: "Awkward Black Girl" who stars in HBO's Insecure: 2 wds.
8-5: That lady's
4-1: Pulitzer-winning novelist Ferber

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 even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) 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 link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

Sunday, May 31, 2020

ANSWERS: The Spiral Squared 4

Before I reveal the answers to "The Spiral Squared 4", I have some news regarding my Patreon account. As you may know, if you support me over there at a high enough level (more specifically, at least $5 on a monthly basis), you can get two bonus puzzles from me every month. Well, seeing as only three or so people currently support me at that level, I've decided to expand the scope of that reward level to include more puzzle types besides just word-based ones, so starting tomorrow, the monthly bonus puzzles on Patreon will now include picture logic puzzles! To give you an example of what I'm talking about, tomorrow's bonus puzzle will be my first attempt at something similar to Conceptis' "Block-A-Pix" puzzles, so look forward to that! So with that being said, here's the ten solvers of my "Spiral Squared" puzzle from two weeks ago:
  • Cindy Heisler ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Joe Bernard ****
  • Kevin Orfield ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Stephen Potter ****
  • Mom ****
  • Patrick Jordan ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
Now head below the break for the answers as well as a few solvers' comments!

Monday, May 18, 2020

PUZZLE #283: The Spiral Squared 4

PUZZLE #283
THE SPIRAL SQUARED 4

This puzzle turns in two directions. The Spiral's "Inward" clues yield a sequence of words to be entered clockwise in the spaces from 1 to 100. The "Outward" clues yield a different set of words to be entered counterclockwise from 100 to 1. Fill in the answers, one letter per space, according to the numbers beside each clue. Make sure to keep track of which way you're going!

Once you've filled out the grid, read out the highlighted squares diagonally to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a ten-letter word.


INWARD
1-6: Inventor Thomas who said "There is no substitute for hard work"
7-9: Selectric typewriter manufacturer
10-17: Like fractal art or drip paintings
18-22: New Jersey county whose seat is Newark
23-28: Antivirus software's warnings
29-35: River that drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario
36-39: Jane who was created by a Brontë sister
40-44: Negative response to a sergeant: 2 wds.
45-51: Fluttershy, for one (HINT: She's a winged equine)
52-56: Watchmen and V for Vendetta writer Alan
57-59: Ms. _____-Man: Maze Madness (2000 video game)
60-67: Smooth or unbroken, as film transitions
68-76: Ship that landed at present-day Plymouth about 400 years ago
77-80: Resident of a forest moon in Return of the Jedi
81-90: General who surrendered at Yorktown
91-95: _____ Dame Fighting Irish (college football team)
96-100: Topsoils and silts and such

OUTWARD
100-94: 1989 arcade game by Capcom where you play as a ninja wielding a plasma sword
93-88: Literal lump in one's throat
87-84: Word preceding "tennis" or "mower"
83-79: Cartoon wallaby with a pet dog named Spunky
78-71: Hairy monster that Ozzy Osbourne becomes in his "Bark at the Moon" music video
70-67: Candied Thanksgiving staples
66-62: Alabama city that's home to the National Voting Rights Museum
61-51: Puzzling places where you pay to get trapped for up to an hour: 2 wds.
50-46: Electric bill info
45-38: Morgan Freeman played one in The Shawshank Redemption
37-34: 52 weeks
33-27: Cards _____ Humanity (party game not for the easily offended)
26-20: Takes a load off in a hammock, maybe
19-17: Scenery for a Broadway musical
16-12: Shopping items that are called "trolleys" in Britain
11-5: With "The", one of Babe Ruth's nicknames
4-1: The Far _____ (single-panel comic that finally got its own proper website in 2019)

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!

Sunday, September 15, 2019

ANSWERS: The Spiral Squared 3

I'm currently out of town visiting my sister when this is scheduled to be posted, so I'll try and make this quick by listing the seven people who solved "The Spiral Squared 3" from thirteen days ago:
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Joe Bernard ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Mom ****
  • Patrick Jordan ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ***
Now head below the break for the answers and a couple solver comments!

Monday, September 2, 2019

PUZZLE #246: The Spiral Squared 3

PUZZLE #246
THE SPIRAL SQUARED 3

This puzzle turns in two directions. The Spiral's "Inward" clues yield a sequence of words to be entered clockwise in the spaces from 1 to 100. The "Outward" clues yield a different set of words to be entered counterclockwise from 100 to 1. Fill in the answers, one letter per space, according to the numbers beside each clue. Make sure to keep track of which way you're going!

Once you've filled out the grid, read out the highlighted squares diagonally to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a ten-letter word.


INWARD
1-8: The Captain & _____ (musical duo responsible for "Muskrat Love")
9-13: Green, in Spanish or Italian
14-16: Zebra on a basketball court, say
17-22: Petrified plesiosaur, perhaps
23-29: It's tapped during a frat's toga party: 2 wds.
30-33: Rally racing video game series named after soil
34-39: Female Friends character whose original hairstyle became popular in the '90s
40-42: Low-calorie drink brand that offers "Antiwater"
43-48: Feudal farmer
49-51: His evil plan in the first Despicable Me movie was to steal the moon
52-56: Chicago's busiest airport
57-63: Fancy name for a slash (/)
64-68: German artist who included a magic square in his engraving Melencolia I
69-78: Macaroni pie and lasagna, for two
79-86: _____ and the Bad Hat (children's book)
87-90: In abundance
91-96: Gorillaz's cartoon drummer
97-100: Chef Paula who appeared on Celebrity Family Feud in 2016

OUTWARD
100-94: Acupuncture pokers
93-86: Guaranteed to succeed
85-82: Africa's longest river
81-76: _____ in distress
75-72: Loads from lodes
71-67: "_____ bleu!"
66-63: Not at all polite
62-60: Drag along, as something stupidly heavy
59-54: Former talk show host Geraldo
53-45: Timepiece in the logo for Days of Our Lives
44-41: Converse competitor founded in 1979
40-37: "Yuck!"
36-28: What any Nintendo 64 game comes on
27-24: Antagonistic blue aliens from Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel
23-19: What ignorance is (at least, according to ignoramuses)
18-12: Made available
11-7: Eat, drink, and be merry
6-1: Small brown finch

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!

Sunday, June 24, 2018

ANSWERS: The Spiral Squared 2

Wow! A lot of people solved "The Spiral Squared 2" from two weeks ago, eleven in all, and you can see them all in the list below:
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Chris Hendricks ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Tawan Sunathvanichkul ****
  • Dan Simonds *
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Mom ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Patrick Jordan ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Debbie Benford ****
Now head below the break for the answers as well as a couple of brief solver comments!

Monday, June 11, 2018

PUZZLE #182: The Spiral Squared 2

PUZZLE #182
THE SPIRAL SQUARED 2

This puzzle turns in two directions. The Spiral's "Inward" clues yield a sequence of words to be entered clockwise in the spaces from 1 to 100. The "Outward" clues yield a different set of words to be entered counterclockwise from 100 to 1. Fill in the answers, one letter per space, according to the numbers beside each clue. Make sure to keep track of which way you're going!

Once you've filled out the grid, read out the highlighted squares diagonally to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a ten-letter word.


INWARD
1-4: "Win", "lose", or "draw", for example
5-7: Sheepish remark?
8-10: _____ Always Sunny in Philadelphia
11-17: "Shocking" foe of Spider-Man once played by Jamie Foxx
18-24: RPG video game series where you form "Social Links" starting in the third game
25-30: Hawaiian porches
31-33: _____-weaver spider
34-41: Luxury car with a trident emblem
42-48: Weasel cousins that make great pets
49-53: Insurance company named after a volcano
54-56: Pronoun typed out using only the top row on a keyboard
57-64: Female G.I. Joe villain who sounds like she's a noblewoman
65-73: Apprehend again
74-77: Zebra's hair
78-81: With "The", Jim Carrey character whose catchphrase is "Sssssmokin'!"
82-91: 0.3937 inch, roughly
92-95: Taj Mahal's city
96-100: CHAIN REACTION CLUE! Peach - _____ - Toast

OUTWARD
100-97: Partner of "ready" and "willing"
96-89: Are You There, God? It's Me, _____
88-85: Give off, as fumes
84-81: Adam's apple location
80-73: Wheel of Fortune category with puzzles like "BASKETBALL & SUPREME COURT": 2 wds.
72-70: Monotonous routine
69-64: NBA team based in Indianapolis
63-58: Mexican Mrs.
57-51: Able to float
50-45: _____ Island (it's also called Rapa Nui)
44-40: Overhaul, as a ship
39-36: God of war fought by Wonder Woman in her 2017 film
35-28: Food of the Greek Gods
27-24: Lioness who Simba falls in love with
23-21: Energy drink whose name is the opposite of "yeses"
20-15: Minority _____ (Tom Cruise sci-fi film)
14-7: Princess who raises the sun in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
6-1: Shortened word form, for short

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, September 18, 2016

ANSWERS: The Spiral Squared

It's been thirteen days since I've posted "The Spiral Squared", and since then, eleven of you have managed to solve it, and here they are:
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Chris Hendricks ****
  • Mom ****
  • Alex Milton ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Debbie Benford ****
  • YYW ****
  • M. Sean Molley ****
  • Giovanni Pagano ***
  • Lynn Sweeney ***
Now head below the break for the answers, along with some solver comments in case you're interested in what they had to say!

Monday, September 5, 2016

PUZZLE #91: The Spiral Squared

PUZZLE #91
THE SPIRAL SQUARED

This next puzzle is a Spiral, though this one looks quite different than my previous Spiral. As you can see below, it's in a square shape instead of a circular one, and there's a couple reasons for that. Firstly, I was inspired by the square spirals as seen on The Griddle, and secondly, it's just easier to make a square spiral as opposed to a round one. Besides the shape, this square Spiral is solved just like a normal Spiral, but in case you forgot how to solve one, here's the directions:

This puzzle turns in two directions. The Spiral's "Inward" clues yield a sequence of words to be entered clockwise in the spaces from 1 to 100. The "Outward" clues yield a different set of words to be entered counterclockwise from 100 to 1. Fill in the answers, one letter per space, according to the numbers beside each clue. Make sure to keep track of which way you're going!

Once you've filled out the grid, read out the highlighted squares diagonally to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a ten-letter word.


INWARD
1-3: Jerry's chaser in many animated shorts
4-9: Hotel chain based in Flagstaff
10-14: _____ Hotel ("Ready, Set, Go!" band)
15-18: Ukraine's largest city
19-24: Hanks' role in Apollo 13
25-27: Japanese Prime Minister who dressed as Mario for the 2016 Olympics' closing ceremony
28-37: Wolverine's similarly-powered arch-nemesis in the X-Men comics (or a prehistoric cat)
38-40: "Cool" Green Day drummer
41-46: The Price is Right game that involves dropping discs for dollars
47-49: "I _____ (So Far Away)" (A Flock of Seagulls' biggest hit)
50-57: Cartoon cat whose occasional girlfriend is Arlene
58-65: 1979 Styx hit about a captured outlaw
66-68: Type of hip-hop track intended to insult a rapper
69-76: Something to never talk about in polite company (besides religion)
77-86: Male trash collector
87-89: Post-surgery place: Abbr.
90-93: Bean named after a Peruvian city
94-100: Clue colonel

OUTWARD
100-96: "Dang it!"
95-91: The fifth basic taste
90-85: Chrom's daughter in Fire Emblem Awakening (who's also playable in Super Smash Bros. 4)
84-81: Sega _____ Drive (What the Genesis is called outside of North America)
80-76: Boasts, like the Great and Powerful Trixie
75-72: Bank that lends their name to the Mets' stadium
71-64: Uneven
63-61: It follows "Ice" or "Information"
60-57: The Angry Video Game _____ (Influential Internet review series)
56-53: Viking Erikson
52-45: Evil clone of Marvel's Thor named after the Norse apocalypse
44-42: Nothing, zilch, nada
41-37: Western Australia's capital
36-31: Someone blowing their horn?
30-23: Sport with a Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY
22-17: Change from one Pokémon form to another
16-11: Hit song for both the Dixie Cups and the Belle Stars: 2 wds.
10-7: "Presto!": Hyph.
6-1: Groundhog or woodchuck, e.g.

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, October 4, 2015

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!

Monday, September 21, 2015

PUZZLE #42: The Spiral (CONTEST PUZZLE!)

CONTEST!
PUZZLE #42
THE SPIRAL

I celebrated my birthday last June, and one of the gifts I got was Puzzlecraft by Mike Selinker and Thomas Snyder. Well, it's September now, and I've finally gotten around to using it, albeit just to scan in a "Spiral" grid that would be difficult to duplicate on my own.

Anyways, you might recall in yesterday's post that I got some more puzzles accepted by GAMES Magazine, so to celebrate, I'm going to make this week's puzzle a contest puzzle! The grand prize for this one is a copy of the October 2015 issue of GAMES Magazine signed by yours truly! (I don't have any puzzles in that issue, but there is another Spiral puzzle located inside! Then again, I think there's a Spiral puzzle in every issue, so...) I only have one extra copy however, so there will only be one winner for this contest, picked randomly from the solvers list after two weeks. If, for whatever reason, the winner doesn't want the prize, another winner will be randomly selected from the same list. Now with the contest rules out of the way, let's get to the directions!

This puzzle turns in two directions. The Spiral's "Inward" clues yield a sequence of words to be entered counter clockwise in the spaces from 1 to 100. The "Outward" clues yield a different set of words to be entered clockwise from 100 to 1. Fill in the answers, one letter per space, according to the numbers beside each clue. Make sure to keep track of which way you're going!

Once you've completely filled in the grid, the letters in the light blue boxes will spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: a seven-letter word.


INWARD
1-4: Coraline author Gaiman
5-15: Merged, like two huge companies
16-18: Original KISS guitarist Frehley
19-26: KEY THAT MAKES YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE YELLING!!1!: 2 WDS.
27-30: Shopping vehicle that may come with a wobbly wheel
31-36: Word preceding "pin" or "net"
37-39: "It's In The _____" (Price is Right game)
40-46: Trade blockade
47-51: Liquid-Plumr alternative
52-59: The Road to _____ (2000 Dreamworks film): 2 wds.
60-63: Crosswordese clue for "Stare"
64-69: The Burning Man Festival's Burning Man, for one
70-72: Lightning McQueen, e.g.
73-80: Redd Foxx or Jamie Foxx
81-88: It used to be Constantinople, according to They Might Be Giants
89-96: Elvis drove a pink one
97-100: One of Pinky's catchphrases (apart from "Zort!" and "Poit!")

OUTWARD
100-96: The Euro has yet to replace this Swiss coin
95-92: "_____ Want" (The Offspring song featured in Crazy Taxi): 2 wds.
91-86: "In _____" (50 Cent single): 2 wds.
85-83: "Unforgettable" singer "King" Cole
82-78: Biblical peak that literally means "Moses' Mountain"
77-69: The US government, for example
68-66: Animated image file that's pronounced like a peanut butter brand
65-58: Doctor that Mötley Crüe sang about
57-54: The current highest-paid baseball player, for short: Hyph.
53-46: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle with a blue mask
45-42: Snatch
41-34: Eight million bits
33-26: On the _____ (newspaper comic featuring Dethany)
25-23: Rank for Harland Sanders: Abbr.
22-13: Duck Dodgers' "Eager Young" sidekick: 2 wds.
12-10: Grammy competitor: Abbv.
9-6: Rock genre performed by the New York Dolls
5-1: 1979 film with creature designs by H.R. Giger

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!