PUZZLE #615: Sunburst 8

PUZZLE #615

SUNBURST 8

This puzzle contains a word or phrase suggested by Patron M. Sean Molley. Support me on Patreon at $15 or more per month to suggest one word or phrase for me to put into a puzzle every month!

First, solve each 4-letter word listed in the first set of clues, then rearrange them and attach an extra letter to its end (which will be up to you to determine) to form a 5-letter word that matches one of the answers listed in the second clue set. For example, if an answer is ATOP, scramble those letters, add another letter to the end, and form the 5-letter word TOPAZ. Next, place each resulting 5-letter word into the Sunburst at their corresponding numbers, starting at the outermost tile and reading inwards. Since all the 5-letter words have the exact same final letter, make sure that each 5-letter word ends in the center of the grid.

Once the grid has been filled in, the outermost ring of the Sunburst, when read clockwise from 1 to 18, will spell out the FINAL ANSWER: The name of simulation video game

4-LETTER WORDS

1) "Oh, for Pete's _____!"

2) Nevada city that's home to the National Bowling Stadium

3) Countess's husband

4) Alien bounty hunter from 2026's Supergirl (or a Spanish wolf)

5) Carvey who played the Church Lady on Saturday Night Live

6) Part in a play for an actor to play

7) Pixar film series with Mater and Lightning McQueen

8) Tears, as fabric

9) "I'm so hungry, I could _____ horse!": 2 wds.

10) Shape of a St. Louis tourist attraction

11) Sit still (or not) for a photograph

12) Open-handed hit

13) Banjo-Kazooie developers (or a synonym for "uncommon")

14) _____-Cola

15) Lacoste's crocodile or the Florida Gators' gator head, for example

16) Usual roll-call response

17) Tomb raider Croft from Tomb Raider

18) Geodesic _____

5-LETTER WORDS

• British town that can precede "Downs" or "salts"

• "Buzz off, kid!"

• Clock feature that's briefly delayed by the snooze button

• Doom and _____

• Equip with more guns

• Huge, to a poet (HINT: all they did was remove "-ous" from the word's usual form)

• _____ Ipsum (Latin-sounding gibberish seen in placeholder texts)

• Light-refracting crystal

• One of 150 in an Old Testament book

• Open up, as a buttercup

• Philosopher with a razor paraphrased as "the simplest explanation is usually the correct one"

• Radio DJ Casey who was the original voice of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo

• Royal ruler's region

• Sew up a skirt again

• Texan university with the Aggies as its mascot: 3 wds.

• Third time's the _____

• Web-linking device that used to be dial-up in the 1990s

• With "The", '80s TV show with Mr. T as B. A. Baracus: Hyph.

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 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!

ANSWERS: Chess Words 7

It's been roughly two weeks since "Chess Words 7" was posted on this blog, and it proved to be quite a toughie, since only fourteen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Marie desJardins
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Sam Levitin
• Michael Lebowitz
• Chris Kochmanski
• Wendy Walker
• Derek Allen
• Steve Gunter
• Mom
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #614: Word Squares: Projectors 9

PUZZLE #614

WORD SQUARES: PROJECTORS 9

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 the eight-letter name of a company based in Wisconsin

CLUES

• Cylindrical pasta that's one letter off from a certain coin

• Get all greasy, as a bodybuilder: 2 wds.

• Laser printer's powder

• Lie on one's rump and do nothing while something bad goes on: 2 wds.

• Neil deGrasse _____ (astrophysicist who lost on Celebrity Jeopardy)

• Part of "EU" or "USSR"

• Spiny (yet soothing) plants sometimes used in hand sanitizer

• The Perks of _____ a Wallflower (2012 coming-of-age film)

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!

ANSWERS: Eat Your Words 12

Two weeks have passed by since "Eat Your Words 12" was posted on this blog, so now's the time to list the names of all the people who have successfully solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Marie desJardins
• Pavel Curtis
• Okieboy2008
• Sam Levitin
• Michael Lebowitz
• Chris Kochmanski
• Bart Gold
• Kevin Orfield
• Derek Allen
• Wendy Walker
• Steve Gunter
• Ian
• Mom

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #613: Chess Words 7

PUZZLE #613

CHESS WORDS 7

This puzzle type was suggested by Patron Grant Fikes. Normally, you can suggest a puzzle type of your own choice over on my Patreon page, but both slots are still full, so you might have to resort to PayPal if you still want to make a request of your own.

Eight 8-letter words are scrambled on the chessboard, all of which are the answers to the provided clues. Each chess piece starts on the first letter of one of the words, and can be moved across the board via standard chess moves to spell the rest of the word. Every square is used exactly once. The chess pieces move as follows:

King: one space in any of the eight directions
Rook: any number of spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction
Bishop: any number of spaces in a diagonal direction
Queen: any number of spaces in any of the eight directions
Knight: two spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction and then one space in a perpendicular direction

Once all the words have been found, pick two of the words and combine them to get the FINAL ANSWER: a fictional item from comic books

  Queen's Rook: F _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                a1 
Queen's Knight: P _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                b1 
Queen's Bishop: W _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                c1 
         Queen: G _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                d1 
          King: E _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                e1 
 King's Bishop: H _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                f1 
 King's Knight: S _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                g1 
   King's Rook: I _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                h1

CLUES

• Bodybuilder’s build

• Dirty rotten scoundrel

• Four-player arcade game from the mid-’80s

• Multi-platinum Journey album with "Wheel in the Sky"

• Poisonous purple (or pink) flowering plant

• Suitable for those with sophisticated tastes

• Welcomed with open arms (or hugged with closed arms)

• Word in the name of Sesame Street's production company

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 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!

ANSWERS: Anagram Magic Square 10

Thirteen days have passed since "Anagram Magic Square 10" was posted on this blog, and a total of seventeen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Marie desJardins
• Cindy Heisler
• Pavel Curtis
• Joe Bernard
• Okieboy2008
• Sam Levitin
• Chris Kochmanski
• Derek Allen
• Michael Lebowitz
• Mom [Hint Used]
• Bart Gold
• KeoFam
• Kevin Orfield
• Steve Gunter
• Nicholas Weaver

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #612: Eat Your Words 12

PUZZLE #612

EAT YOUR WORDS 12

In this puzzle, the words hinted at by the numbered clues (The "Numbered Words") can "eat" a word hinted at by a different set of clues (The "Eaten Words") without rearranging any of the letters. For example, the word BIT can eat the word AND to form BANDIT. All of the new words are entered into the grid in the order of the Numbered Words, and the Eaten Words are in no particular order.

Once all of the new words have been placed, the letters in the highlighted third column will spell out two more words. Insert one of the column's new words into the other to get the FINAL ANSWER: The name of a chain store

NUMBERED WORDS

1) Brought to court

2) Superhero costume designer from The Incredibles

3) Cafeteria staple that may double as a makeshift sled

4) "The Fox and the Crow" or "The Fox and the Grapes", e.g.

5) _____ × Family (anime about a secret agent, his assassin wife, and their telepathic daughter)

6) Late Dawson's Creek star Van Der Beek

7) Converse via Instagram Direct Messenger, perhaps

8) Contented kitty sound

9) Mediocre, in modern slang (HINT: It becomes a synonym for "murky" when spelled backwards)

EATEN WORDS

• 2011 animated film about a blue parrot taken to a large Brazilian city

• Act as a barber to a baaing sheep, perhaps

• Bank with a blue octagon logo

• Cilium on an eyelid

• Exchange money for goods and services

• Go on for so long about an uninteresting subject that the audience falls asleep, say

• Greek letter that is pronounced like something that unlocks doors

• _____ Maid (children’s card game)

• Sleeveless top often worn by Goofy

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!

ANSWERS: Empty Word Ladder 6

About two weeks have gone by since "Empty Word Ladder 6" was posted on this blog, and eighteen people have solved it since then! Take a look:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Cathy Bowen
• Marie desJardins
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Sam Levitin
• Chris Kochmanski
• Michael Lebowitz
• Derek Allen
• Patrick Jordan
• Steve Gunter
• Wendy Walker
• Mom
• Bart Gold
• Stasi Gustafson
• KeoFam

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #611: Anagram Magic Square 10

PUZZLE #611

ANAGRAM MAGIC SQUARE 10

One of the clues in this puzzle contains a word or phrase suggested by Patron M. Sean Molley. Support me on Patreon at $15 or more per month to suggest one word or phrase for me to put into a puzzle every month!

The 5-letter word in each box is an anagram to the answer to each of the clues below.... almost. You see, in this puzzle, all of the answers are six letters long, so add an extra letter to each 5-letter word to get each answer. Put the number of each corresponding clue into the small box below the initial word and write down the anagram on the dash directly below that. The numbers in each row and column will add up to 65.

Once you're done with the puzzle, the added letter of each answer, in numerical clue order, will spell out a clue; the FINAL ANSWER is the answer to that clue.

1) Yellow-bellied, lily-livered, chicken-hearted scaredy-cat

2) Terror felt by the previous answer

3) With "The", "Suddenly Last Summer" band (or some roadside inns)

4) Stringed instrument heard in the soundtrack of 1949's The Third Man

5) Pepperoni, for instance

6) Member of an NBA team that plays its home games at Little Caesars Arena

7) Squat down, like Super Mario about to do a backflip

8) Without needing to hide anymore

9) Sing like a stool pigeon?

10) Emitted light

11) _____ to Win It (NBC game show originally hosted by Guy Fieri)

12) Leap like a lurking lioness

13) Overrun, as with too many insects

14) Finally make it big

15) Giant cyan planet where the PlayStation 1 game Blasto is set

16) Hasty drawing

17) It's the Easter _____, Charlie Brown (Peanuts special where Snoopy delivers eggs)

18) Rotational force represented by the Greek letter tau

19) Les Paul guitar company

20) The Grateful Dead's Deadheads or Jimmy Buffett's Parrotheads, say

21) Leg parts with femurs

22) Go over a topic yet again

23) _____ Dearest (film with Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford)

24) Either multiplier in a multiplication problem

25) Nonparallel, like some bars that gymnasts perform on

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 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!

ANSWERS: Brick By Brick 11

It's been almost two weeks since "Brick By Brick 11" was posted on this blog, so now's the time to list all eighteen people who have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Marie desJardins
• Cathy Bowen
• Pavel Curtis
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Michael Lebowitz
• Okieboy2008
• Sam Levitin
• Wendy Walker
• Derek Allen
• SquishmallowsUnited
• Chris Kochmanski
• Mom
• KeoFam
• Steve Gunter
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers!