Monday, September 28, 2015

PUZZLE #43: Word Squares: Overlap

PUZZLE #43
WORD SQUARES: OVERLAP

Examples of Word Squares from 3x3 to 8x8 from Wikipedia

Word squares have words in them that can be read both across and down. Below are four 4x4 grids with different colored borders, each of them overlapping with each other at the corners. Each clue is sorted by the grid that they're placed in, though otherwise, the clues aren't in any particular order.

Once you've finished this puzzle, the overlapped tiles (highlighted below in gold) will unscramble to spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: a four-letter word


RED GRID
* Not the home team
* Tihs, for example
Mario _____: Double Dash!!
* Skee-ball lane feature

GREEN GRID
* 100 cents in Cyprus
* "_____ Called Malice" (song by The Jam)
* Forehead
* Wink Martindale game show where contestants want to "go home with nothing!"

BLUE GRID
* Bullets and such
* Frozen snowman
* Someone that Mr. T pities?
* VIP vehicle

YELLOW GRID
* Envelope part that gets its licks?
* Resident _____ (video game series that turns 20 next year)
* Runt's cohort from Animaniacs
* Rebelle toy maker

Oh, and don't forget that last week's puzzle is a contest, so be sure to solve that one before next Sunday to get your chance to win a copy of GAMES Magazine signed by me! Anyways, once you solve this week's puzzle, send the FINAL ANSWER 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). 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 27, 2015

ANSWERS: Moving Staircases 2

Since it's been thirteen days since I posted my second "Moving Staircases" puzzle, it's now time for me to post the answers! Since there was a BONUS CHALLENGE attached to this one, this solvers list will work a tad differently than normal; the people who solved this puzzle's BONUS CHALLENGE gets plusses next to their name, while those that didn't will just get stars like usual.
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Grant Fikes ++++
  • Adam Weaver ++++
  • Lynn Sweeney ++½ (The half was for the placement of the bottom-most "Short" and "Long")
  • Mom ++++
  • Tyler Hinman +++
  • Cayden Curtis ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • YYW ****
  • Paolo Pasco ****
  • Giovanni Pagano ++++
Now just go below the break for the answers to the main puzzle, the BONUS CHALLENGE, 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!

Sunday, September 20, 2015

ANSWERS: 4X Game: XX/XY

Before I reveal the answers to "4X Game: XX/XY", I'd like to share some news regarding my last puzzle: a while ago, I sent GAMES Magazine three "Moving Stairc--" er, "Shapeshifters" puzzles, and just last Tuesday, I finally got confirmation that they're acceptable for publication! I haven't received a publication date just yet for these puzzles, but it's still pretty neat nonetheless! And to celebrate, I'm going to do something special regarding tomorrow's puzzle! (though I'm not revealing what it is quite yet; you'll just have to wait and see) Anyways, let's reveal the people who solved "XX/XY":
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • YYW ****
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • Debbie Underwood ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Mom ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
  • Cayden Curtis & Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Paolo Pasco ****
  • My sister Alex ****
Now just head below the break for the answers, along with a few solver comments!

Monday, September 14, 2015

PUZZLE #41: Moving Staircases 2

PUZZLE #41
MOVING STAIRCASES 2


The two staircase-shaped halves of a "Moving Staircases" puzzle are designed to be pushed together in two different ways, horizontally and vertically. A horizontal push creates shorter words ("Shorts"), while a vertical push creates longer words ("Longs"). The example above shows a completed grid and the grids that result from pushing it both ways. The lists of clues given for the Shorts and Longs are not in order; it's up to you to determine where the answers go by working back and forth between the two lists.

Once you've completely filled out the grid, the FINAL ANSWER (the name of an anime that I finished watching not too long ago) will be hidden inside it; one of the words is hidden horizontally (is it a Short or a Long? that's up to you to find out!), while the other is hidden vertically! (I should also point out that the vertical word is less than five letters)

There's also a BONUS CHALLENGE this week: see if you can figure out what got me watching that anime in the first place! (Highlight the empty space for a Free HINT: It's mentioned in one of the clues)


SHORTS
* Blooper from the Super Mario games, for example
* Callie's sister in Splatoon (alright, they're technically cousins, but still...)
* Cliff protrusion
* Cut off ties
* Noise rock band with the album Sisterworld (okay, you're not gonna know this one; it's another word for "Fibbers")
* Oil company with a red and yellow scallop as its logo

LONGS
* Blue mouse Pokémon
* Extremely harsh
* Sister _____ ("We Are Family" group)
* Shaves a sheep
* The "L" in "LCD"

Remember, if you're stuck on any of the clues, you're always free to look them up (provided you actually don't mind doing so). Anyways, 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, September 13, 2015

ANSWERS: Chain Reaction: Extra Links

It's been thirteen days since I've posted my first "Chain Reaction: Extra Links" puzzle, so now it's time for me to reveal the people who have solved it within that time frame:
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • My sister Alex (with a little help from Mom) ***
  • Eric Maddy ***
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Debbie Underwood ****
Now just click on "Read more" below for the answers, along with some solver comments and a few pictures!

Monday, September 7, 2015

PUZZLE #40: 4X Game: XX/XY

PUZZLE #40
4X Game: XX/XY

Yep, it's another "4X Game" puzzle, except that this time, one of the X's has been changed to a Y! Read the directions to see how that changes things!


Below, there are 3 "X"'s and one "Y"; the "X"'s each contain four 5-letter answers, and the "Y" has three. Each answer is entered at an angle (save for one of the words in the "Y"), following one of the arrows as it does so, and the last three letters of one answer will be the first three letters of another, albeit in reverse order. In the example above (I know all the answers are three letters instead of five, but hopefully you'll still get the idea), the words in the "X" are MAP, PAT, TAR, and RAM, and the words in the "Y" are ROT, TON and NOR. However, to make things even harder, none of the clues are numbered or in order, so you'll have to figure out which word goes in which angle, but don't worry, as each "tip" of each "X" or "Y" (the outermost letters) will contain the same letters as the "tips" of its neighboring "X" or "Y". Going back to the example above, the rightmost "tips" in the "X" contain the letters "R" and "T", so the leftmost "tips" in the "Y" has the same exact letters, in the same exact placement.

Once you're done, unscramble the letters in the "tips" that have no neighbors (the yellow squares) to get one of three 3-letter words; this week's FINAL ANSWER is the only one of those three that starts with a vowel.



X #1
* "It's _____!" (Memorable quote from Admiral Ackbar): 2 wds.
* Mattress that stop-motion sheep don't want you to sleep on
* Fathers a foal
* Arc de Triomphe's locale

X #2
* "_____ Blue" (Song from Hoodwinked!): 2 wds.
* Kia Optima, e.g.
* A dodecagon has twelve of them
* Unsafe at Any Speed author Ralph

X #3
* Teen Titans member born in Azarath
* Party like no tomorrow
* Reading Rainbow host _____ Burton
* "Not in a bajillion years!"

Y #4
* "Day" that this puzzle was initially posted on?
* _____ No. 1 (fighting game that originally came with a demo of Final Fantasy VII)
* Baymax from Disney's Big Hero 6, for example

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 6, 2015

ANSWERS: Nonplussed

It's been thirteen days since I posted my "Nonplussed" puzzle, so now it's time for me to reveal the answers! But first, as always, here are the people who have solved it during that time frame:
  • Eric Maddy ****
  • YYW ****
  • Grant Fikes ****
  • Adam Weaver ****
  • Lynn Sweeney ****
  • Mom ****
  • Tyler Hinman ****
  • Sam Levitin ****
Now just head click on "read more" for the answers, along with some solver comments!