Sunday, August 23, 2015

ANSWERS: Flower Power 2

It's been thirteen days since I posted my second "Flower Power" puzzle, so this is the part where I reveal the people who sent me the correct answers, and here they are!
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Mom ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • YYW ****
  • Paolo Pasco ****
Now just head below the break for the answers! Just one user comment this time, so there's that, too.

Monday, August 17, 2015

PUZZLE #37: Anagram Chambers 2

PUZZLE #37
ANAGRAM CHAMBERS 2


For this puzzle, there are several dark-green "chambers" with yellow rectangles and light-green squares in them. For each chamber, you take a word in the first yellow rectangle as hinted at by the clue, add a letter from the light-green square, and scramble them to get a word in the second yellow rectangle, then you repeat the process to get the word in the third yellow rectangle. Once you've filled in everything, the light-green squares will spell out something... or they would if the chambers weren't all scrambled up as well!

Once all of the chambers are in the proper order, the light-green squares will spell out the FINAL ANSWER: An '80s arcade game.



In case you can't make out the words in the above picture, here are the clues in text format:
  • [U2 song also known as "In the Name of Love"] + __ = [Anansi or Aragog, for example] + __ = [Like pool balls numbered 9-15]
  • [Cured animal skin] + __ = [With "New", India's capital] + __ = [Fictional agency once headed by Nick Fury]
  • [The titular Little Mermaid] + __ = [Oblong pastry with cream filling] + __ = [Jodie Foster's role in Silence of the Lambs]
  • [Observed] + __ = [Past or present, regarding verbs] + __ = [Crunch bar company]
  • [It can precede "Estate" or "Ghostbusters"] + __ = [Worm-catching bird, idiomatically] + __ = ["Angel of Death" metal band]
  • [Like neon or xenon] + __ = [Eye part with rods and cones] + __ = [Apprentice]
  • [Mystery _____ Files (series of hidden object games)] + __ = [Terrify someone] + __ = [Emperor that lent his name to a "Little" pizza chain?]
Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com 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 16, 2015

ANSWERS: Color Wheels

Before we get to the answers and solvers for my "Color Wheels" puzzle, I want to focus our attention on last week's puzzle, considering that only 6 people have solved that one so far. I believe that number could be a bit higher, so I'd like to remind you that you can ask me for hints through my "Hint Stars" system that I set up a while ago. Right now, however, the only people using them are those that I meet in person, which begs this question: why aren't you using your Hint Stars? Is it pride? Do you just dislike asking for help even more than looking up the answers? Or is it something else entirely? Let me know either in the comments section below or via email, and I'll try to take your feedback into consideration. So with that out of the way, let's reveal who solved the "Color Wheels"!
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • YYW ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Paolo Pasco ****
  • Mom ***
  • Lynn Sweeney **
  • Debbie Underwood ****
Now head below the break for the answers, along with some solver comments!

Monday, August 10, 2015

PUZZLE #36: Flower Power 2

PUZZLE #36
FLOWER POWER 2

Yes, I've made another one of these, because I clearly didn't get the hint regarding how hard the first one was to make, let alone solve! On the plus side, unlike my first attempt at one of these puzzles, I had nutrimatic.org to assist me in creating it, so it only took several hours this time around (as opposed to a few days). Also, you might recall that in my initial effort, I didn't reveal which clue went in which direction. Well, since this puzzle will probably be hard enough as it is, I've changed my mind regarding that point, so hopefully you won't struggle as hard!

The answers to this petaled puzzle will go in a curve from the number on the outside to the center of the flower. Each number in the flower will have two 5-letter answers, one going in a clockwise direction, and the other going in a counterclockwise direction.

Once you're done, the numbered tips of each petal, reading clockwise, will spell out a clue that will lead you to the FINAL ANSWER.



CLOCKWISE
1) Use a bench, for instance: 2 wds.
2) _____ Boogie (The Nightmare Before Christmas villain)
3) Galaga creators
4) Ancient Greek colony
5) Given as a source
6) Slugger Sammy and his family
7) Japanese name of Jigglypuff
8) Resident of Cedar Rapids
9) Leonard who lived long and prospered
10) Harold went to White Castle with him
11) Secondhand Lions actor _____ Joel Osment
12) Pokemon with eight different evolutions, including Vaporeon
13) Soils, silts and such
14) Pasted
15) _____ Alive (Discovery Channel special that didn't live up to its name)
16) Villainous "Lord" from Wander Over Yonder
17) Rowed
18) Mentor of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

COUNTERCLOCKWISE
1) Adagio Dazzle or Sonata Dusk
2) Wayne Gretzky, from 1979 to 1988
3) Jotted down
4) An Othello villain and an Aladdin parrot
5) "You've Got Another Thing _____" (Judas Priest song)
6) What "syne" (as in "Auld Lang Syne") means
7) Latin word that "potion" originated from (Free Hint: Just get rid of one of the letters in "potion"!)
8) "_____ word that don't mean nothin', like 'looptid'" ("The Humpty Dance" lyrics): 3 wds.
9) They track Santa Claus every year at Christmas
10) Fuzzy green fruits
11) Deux Ex: _____ Revolution
12) Singer/swearer of "**** It (I Don't Want You Back)"
13) Postpone
14) With "The", Young Adult Dystopian novel by Lois Lowry
15) Latino TV network launched by Robert Rodriguez: 2 wds.
16) Lead-in for "cuisine" or "couture"
17) Hall's partner in pop
18) Like some private communities

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com 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 9, 2015

ANSWERS: Squeezed in the Middle 2

Before I reveal the people who solved "Squeezed in the Middle 2", I should let you know that I'm typing this on a new computer! Yep, I finally upgraded my old computer for a new one that has Windows 10 on it last weekend, and so far, it's working out pretty well! (How old was the old one? It still had Vista on it!)  Anyways, here's that list of solvers I mentioned earlier:
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Mom ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • My sister Alex ****
  • Eric Milton ****
  • YYW ****
  • Paolo Pasco ****
  • Debbie Underwood ****
Now just click on "Read more" for the answers, along with a few solver comments sent to me via email!

Monday, August 3, 2015

PUZZLE #35: Color Wheels

PUZZLE #35
COLOR WHEELS

This next puzzle is based off a grid I found in one of my old issues of GAMES magazine (yes, I saved them; after all, why would you want to throw away something with beautiful Paint By Numbers and/or Link-A-Pix puzzles that you worked so hard on?). Speaking of which, I should probably renew my subscription now that I'm going to get published! Read on for the directions while I do that...

The five- and six-letter answers in this puzzle go in three directions: straight across, uphill (up diagonally), and downhill (down diagonally), all from left to right, with one letter per triangle. Each entry is marked with a colored pointer: red for across, green for uphill, and blue for downhill. This is important, because all the answers are grouped according to the direction that they're entered into the grid. To make things a tad easier, six letters have already been entered into the grid.

Once you've completely filled in the grid, the two unclued red entries will combine to make the FINAL ANSWER: the name of an actor.


ACROSS (marked with red arrows)
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* P-body's companion in Portal 2's co-op mode
* Two-part season 4 premiere of The Office (the second half of this answer is the same as the second half of one of the uphill answers. Whoops!): 2 wds.
* On Deadly _____ (stinky Steven Seagal movie)
* Betted on two horses, say
* Actor Gary who played Commissioner Gordon
* Subtitle of the first Guitar Hero game for Nintendo DS: 2 wds.
* Aired an old TV show again
* Cardcaptor _____ ("magical girl" anime)

UPHILL (marked with green arrows)
* Name that precedes "The Giant" or "3000"
* Cartoon Network character with a secret laboratory
* Hey Arnold! character with a tall afro
* Greek letter used in the Half-Life logo
* _____ Work ("Overkill" band): 2 wds.
* Classic Sega arcade game where you drive a red Ferrari with a blonde girl: 2 wds.
* Moscow money
* Still in the original packaging
* First single off of Foreigner's 4
* Final word of Nirvana's final album

DOWNHILL (marked with blue arrows)
* Fluttershy's pet bunny (who, more often than not, doesn't live up to his name)
* Archie or Edith
* Political refugee
* Grip firmly
* _____ specus (logical fallacy with a name coined by Sir Francis Bacon)
* Pounds potatoes to a pulp
* Crimson covering of a fox: 2 wds.
* Oklahoma's second-largest city
* Tank's top
* Weezer tune also known as "The Sweater Song"

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net (the main email for my home computer) or itsredhead64@gmail.com (the main email for my tablet and whenever I'm not at home) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in roughly 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. 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 2, 2015

ANSWERS: Pent Words 3

It's been two weeks since I've posted my third Pent Words puzzle, and despite its apparent difficulty, I still managed to get a decent number of solvers from it! You can look at the list of those solvers below:
  • YYW ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Giovanni Pagano ****
  • Joseph DeVincentis ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
Now just head below the break for the answers, along with some solver comments!

Monday, July 27, 2015

PUZZLE #34: Squeezed in the Middle 2

PUZZLE #34
SQUEEZED IN THE MIDDLE 2


I'm going to be published in GAMES Magazine!

Yep, assuming they don't go under (which I highly doubt, considering they're the most popular/only variety puzzle magazine out there that accepts outside contributions), GAMES is going to publish three puzzles I made using my original format, "Squeezed in the Middle"! To celebrate, here's another "Squeezed in the Middle" for you guys to solve!


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 classic puzzle video game.


CENTERS
1) "_____ to the Night" (Eve 6 song)
2) Defunct animation studio that did Inspector Gadget and Captain Planet
3) Partner of ready and willing
4) Snape's stick
5) Giant Japanese ogre-like monster
6) Wear a rut in the rug, say

WHOLES
* Actress Russell who played Flint "Sandman" Marko's wife
* Don't confuse the Wii U GamePad with this mobile computer!
* Its capital is Kigali
* King's proclamation
* Sissy who won an Oscar playing a Coal Miner's Daughter
* Type of Greek column with volutes

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net (the main email for my home computer) or itsredhead64@gmail.com (the main email for my tablet and whenever I'm not at home) 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 (apparently, it's a difficult one, but at the same time, 8 people have already solved it, so...). 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, July 26, 2015

ANSWERS: Double Chain Reaction 2

It's been thirteen days since I posted my puzzle celebrating both the series premiere of the new Chain Reaction and the midseason finale of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and considering the latter, I'm surprised at how many people have managed to solve it! You can see how many have done so below:
  • Paolo Pasco ****
  • YYW ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • My sister Alex ****
  • Mom ***
  • Giovanni Pagano ****
  • Debbie Underwood ****
  • Sam Levitin (no stars, but only because he sent me his answers a day late)
Now just head below the break for the answers, along with some pictures and solver comments!

Monday, July 20, 2015

PUZZLE #33: Pent Words 3

PUZZLE #33
PENT WORDS 3

Boy, it's been a while since I've made one of these, hasn't it? Considering that my last one was in February (I'm not counting the "Tet Words" variant I did in April), I think a new installment of "Pent Words" is well overdue! So let's dig in, shall we?


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. 

The FINAL ANSWER is a two-word phrase made up of the two unclued pentominoes.


ACROSS (Two answers per row)
1) Boast / Ghostly bulldog from Luigi's Mansion
2) Joss Whedon show (in)famously cancelled after one season / Yakko and Wakko's sister
3) _____ the Earth (Furry adventure game) / Mil. mailbox
4) Eurodance group whose debut album was Sex & Violins / Jai ____ (sport that appears in a lot of crosswords)
5) 1 vs. 100 host Bob / Hairstyling shop
6) Word following "Folk" or "Fairy" / Major Arcana cards
7) U2 song where Bono counts "one, two, three, fourteen" in Spanish / Tommy Pickles' dad in Rugrats
8) Team Fortress 2 character hidden beneath a gas mask / Towards the boat's back
9)  "I Alone" band / Exploding penguin from Disgaea, dood!
10) Repent / Mason-_____ line

PENTOMINOES (Five letters per answer)
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* Myst sequel released in 1998
* Species of Sam the Muppet
* Goth girl who befriends Beetlejuice in his animated series
* Marlene from Penguins of Madagascar, for one
* Aristotle's teacher
* _____ White T's (emo band)
* Mad Magazine parody
* Murphy Brown's son
* Capital of Japan before Tokyo
* CBS's eye and NBC's peacock
* Nosed around
* Creator of the 2600, 5200, and 7800
* Miss Garson who won Best Actress for Mrs. Miniver
* The youngest of the Baudelaire children
Sex and the City actress Cynthia
* Penny's pet dog in Inspector Gadget
* AXS TV's old name
* Star Trek: _____ Contact

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net (the main email for my home computer) or itsredhead64@gmail.com (the main email for my tablet and whenever I'm not at home) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in roughly 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 (don't let the fact that ponies are involved deter you from solving it!). 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!