PUZZLE #106: Brick By Brick 2

PUZZLE #106

BRICK BY BRICK 2

Place the 2x3 bricks into the grid below so that a crossword puzzle with rotational symmetry is formed. Each of the Across and Down clues hint at answers that appear in that row or column, all of which are in order. Be careful with the rows marked with a 7, 8, and 9, as the bricks that are placed in those rows will be split in half by a blue line, which you can see in the diagram above. Also, the letters that go in the blue line's squares will complete one answer in every Down column, though you'll have to figure out what those letters are.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is the name of a video game that I got for Christmas yesterday

ACROSS

1) Simba's uncle
    Unimaginative dalmatian name
    Spanish-speaking kid from the Backyard Sports series
2) Euphonium's big brass cousin
    Snow queen who created Olaf
    Many characters in The Avengers (The British one, not the Marvel one)
3) Do as you're told
    Superhero name of Marvel's Janet van Dyne
    Pants-wearing member of the Warner Brothers (and Sister) from Animaniacs
4) 1957 Frank Sinatra musical film
    Like this answer
5) He "Goes to Washington" in a famous Jimmy Stewart film
6) Ease up
    Business card nos.
    Kon-Tiki, for one
7) Commissioner Bud who was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016
    The original protagonist of the Puyo Puyo series of puzzle games (Anagram of REAL)
    Norway's most populated city
8) THE FINAL ANSWER
9) Uncommon
    My Little Pony's Pinkie and family
    Meat Loaf's role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show
10) Crosswordese leftovers
      Oldest sister from The Loud House
      Oglers
11) Kidnappers' demands
12) Bugs, to Elmer Fudd
      _____ Things (Steven King novel)
13) Heroes character whose paintings can predict the future
      Related (to)
      Nestlé's bubbly chocolate bar
14) Drawing tool for Rudy Tabootie
      _____ Effect: Andromeda (upcoming video game)
      The world's most famous loch
15) Former Destiny's Child member Rowland
      Android from Star Trek: The Next Generation
      Lament for "poor Yorick"

DOWN
1) Word in a red octagon
    George Jetson's pooch
    John ____ (Keanu Reeves' comeback role)
2) Largest Caribbean island
    Joy who is the only original cohost of The View left
    Arthur who won Wimbledon in 1975
3) Cain's brother in DC's House of Mystery (Oh, and the Bible as well)
    Command & Conquer: Red _____ (strategy game)
    False god, according to Judges
4) Brandy's brother
    They make up a mosaic
    Base or basket suffix
5) Horseshoe-shaped letter
    "Weird Al" Yankovic song about I Love Lucy
6) Home for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
    With "The", Successor to "The '90s Are All That"
7) Sony console that originated as a CD-based add-on to the Super Nintendo
    Intel rival
8) Org. in the Spy Kids movies
    Corporate couplings
    Hypnotic Jungle Book snake
9) Touch a touchscreen, maybe
    Person who practices prestidigitation
10) Puzzled, or on the Pacific
      High IQ Society that turned 70 in 2016
11) USA Network series featuring Shawn and Gus
      Candy creator H. B. _____
12) On _____ with (equal to)
      The Price is Right announcer before Fields
      Sigourney's role in Ghostbusters (1984)
13) Peter Gabriel song about an anti-apartheid activist
      Remark to the audience
      Anime studio that did This Art Club Has A Problem! (Okay, it's a synonym for "perceive" or "touch")
14) Albanian coins
      Decorative buttons that Joanna hates to wear in Office Space
      Major or minor constellation
15) Spanish bears
      Paint shades
      Not a win

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!

ANSWERS: Lucky Sevens 2

Merry Christmas! I've got presents to open, so I'll keep this short. Here's all the people who have solved "Lucky Sevens 2" from a couple weeks ago:

• Eric Maddy ****
• YYW ****
• Chris Hendricks ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Mom ****
• Debbie Benford ****

And now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #105: Helter Skelter 2

PUZZLE #105

HELTER SKELTER 2

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) Bikini top
2) Super _____ Crag (The final stage in Global GUTS)
3) Topaz or Turquoise, e.g.
4) Customizable avatar created by Nintendo
5) Lick _____ (KISS album and song): 2 wds.
6) Diagram that sadly does not taste like apple or cherry: 2 wds.
7) Cumberbatch's role in The Imitation Game
8) Oscar from Sesame Street, for one
9) Children's book about a teddy bear looking for a button
10) _____ Jones (live-action/animated movie)
11) Busytown creator Richard
12) Downward dog discipline
13) Croc's cousin
14) High school in Grease
15) Finalizes, as a guess on Don't Forget the Lyrics!: 2 wds.
16) Title character in a 2016 stop-motion film by Laika
17) "Tar" in Spanish (which makes the name of a certain tar pit group rather redundant...)
18) Like the tin roof in "Love Shack"
19) Green Teletubby
20) Screamed
21) Law that's been heavily abused to unfairly take down Youtube videos and such: Abbv.
22) "Be that _____ may ...": 2 wds.
23) Full House surname

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!

ANSWERS: Chain Reaction: Branching Out

It's been almost two weeks since I've posted "Chain Reaction: Branching Out", and since then, eight of you have managed to successfully solve it, as you can see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Yossi Fendel ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Mom ****
• Debbie Benford ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****

Now just head below the break for the answers and some solver comments!

PUZZLE #104: Lucky Sevens 2

PUZZLE #104

LUCKY SEVENS 2

Stacked together below are seven Sevens made up of 7 squares each. The answers to each Seven start in their respectively numbered squares and continue along its path surrounded by a bold outline, going left and then down. Meanwhile, the answers to the Rows go straight across the grid, including those with only one or two letters in them.

Once you've filled in the grid, the letters in the colored squares (in the order of the Sevens that they appear in) will spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: A company known for a certain color

ROWS
i) Movie starring rapper T.I. that's set in Georgia's largest city
ii) Lumino City is the sequel to this indie game (Anagram of MULE)
iii) Samus' armored suit that appears in every Metroid game
iv) Many Rugrats characters
v) He replaced Letterman in 2015
vi) "Did you guys start without me?": 3 wds.
vii) With "The", "Firestarter" electronica group
viii) Green-skinned Green Lantern who shares her name with a green gemstone
ix) Busta Rhymes album featuring "Gimme Some More": Abbv.
x) Internet country code for America's northern neighbor
xi) Tau's shape

SEVENS
1) The Mindy _____
2) Padmé's queenly alter ego (wait, didn't I already use her four puzzles ago?)
3) Howie Day's biggest only Top 40 hit
4) Charles who invented the first mechanical computer
5) Entertainment magazine known for its distinctive headlines
6) Cogsworth's candelabra cohort
7) No fewer than: 2 wds.

I know a lot of these are tough clues, but remember: you can always ask for help or look up the clues yourselves. Anyways, 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!

ANSWERS: Sudokurossword 2

It's been two weeks since I posted a guest puzzle from Grant Fikes, and as you can see below, there's been a pretty big dip in solvers, at least compared to my usual average number of solvers. Maybe it's because of the holidays and people are too busy to take time off to solve puzzles on this site, maybe this particular puzzle proved too hard for most people, or maybe they just forgot. Whatever the reason, I'd like to remind people that if they so wish, I can send them a weekly email reminder telling them when my latest puzzle has been posted, so email me if you want to take part of this offer. Anyways, here's all four people that have solved this puzzle:

• Sam Levitin ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• YYW ****
• Giovanni Pagano ***

Now head below the break for the answers and some solver comments!

PUZZLE #103: Chain Reaction: Branching Out

PUZZLE #103

CHAIN REACTION: BRANCHING OUT

First, find the answer to each corresponding clue, all of which are in no particular order. Then place the answers into the white boxes in the diagram below (leave the pink box alone for now) so that reading right, each pair of boxes that are connected with a line create a two-word phrase.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is the seven-letter word that goes in the pink box to create three more two-word phrases.

* Betty White's character in The Golden Girls [4]
* Bike part that attaches to the sprockets [5]
* Candle composition [3]
* Charlie Parker's nickname [4]
* Crush or Squirt from Finding Nemo, for example [6]
* Crystal that powers some clocks [6]
* Emulating a bunny rabbit [7]
* Kind of ironic justice [6]
* Ms. Antoinette [5]
* Oasis location (if you're lucky) [6]
* Oil company with a red and yellow scallop as its logo [5]
* Puzzle magazine that debuted in 1977 [5]
* Reciprocal, like respect [6]
* Ringer at a boxing match [4]
* Soup can shape [8]
* Surprised or electrocuted [7]
* The Hot 100 has 100 of them [5]
* Tramp's partner in a Disney film [4]
* Wheel _____ Club (Program for Wheel of Fortune fans) [8]
* Where Gilligan was stranded [6]
* WNBA team from New York [7]

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!

ANSWERS: 4X Game 5: XX/XY 3

As I write this, I'm in the middle of not feeling very well. Mind you, it's not because only four people so far solved my Grant's puzzle from last Monday, but because I've had a bad bug for almost all of this past week. So I'll try to make this short and reveal the solvers for "4X Game 5: XX/XY 3" from thirteen days ago:

• YYW ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Debbie Benford ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Mom ****
• Brad Eldredge ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****

Now just head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #102: Sudokurossword 2 (Guest Puzzle by Grant Fikes!)

PUZZLE #102

SUDOKUROSSWORD 2

Guest Puzzle by Grant Fikes

You may recall a couple weeks ago that because of depression surrounding this recent election season, I didn't have a puzzle that week. Two of my regular solvers, Grant Fikes and Chris Hendricks, both suggested that I post a Guest Puzzle in case I have another week with no puzzle scheduled. Grant even sent me a Sudokurossword for me to use! I had already made a "4X Game" puzzle when he originally sent me this (and I also have a different one for next week as well), but I didn't want his effort to go to waste, so I accepted his offering, and now I'm posting it here for you guys to solve (though I ultimately changed three of his clues beforehand. I hope he doesn't mind)!

This puzzle comes in two parts. The first part is a sudoku, which you solve normally (the numbers 1-9 appear once in each row, column, and 3x3 box). Each row has a crossword clue next to it; the shaded cell corresponds to the crossword entry in which that answer belongs. (For example, a 5 means that the answer to that clue belongs in 5-Down in the crossword grid.) If you want to really challenge yourself, you can skip the sudoku entirely and try to fit in the crossword answers without knowing where they're supposed to go, but I wouldn't recommend that.

Once you're done, unscramble the shaded squares in the crossword to form the FINAL ANSWER: A nine-letter word

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!

PUZZLE #101: 4X Game 5: XX/XY 3

PUZZLE #101

4X GAME 5: XX/XY 3

Before we get to this week's puzzle, here's some backstory for it: in late August of this year, I sent GAMES Magazine four puzzles similar to "4X Games", though the ones I've sent them involved single X's instead of four of them crammed together. After months of silence from GAMES, I've decided to email them back last Monday, and a couple hours later, I finally heard back from them, and they've decided to ultimately pass on them (On the plus side, I finally got confirmation on the publishing date of my second set of "Word Sandwiches" puzzles, so look forward to seeing those published soon in the February 2017 issue of GAMES!) So after all that, I've decided to incorporate two of the unused puzzles into this week's puzzle (they're X #1 and X #3, in case you're curious).

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 this week's FINAL ANSWER: A three-letter song title

X #1

* da Vinci's The Last Supper or Michelangelo's The Last Judgment, e.g.

* Fluid that could make you tell the truth, supposedly

* Shrek and Fiona, for two

* The largest of the Florida Keys

X #2

* Honey badger

* Indian instrument played by Muriel from Courage the Cowardly Dog

* "_____ Roll" (The Price is Right game): 2 wds.

* Zeus' first wife

X #3

* _____ cum laude

* Jordan's capital

* One giving a title, perhaps

* Romulus' twin

Y #4

* Romanian Olympic gold medalist Comăneci

* The British call this type of car a "saloon"

* West Wing workers

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!

ANSWERS: Pent Words Squeezed in the Middle

Well, it's been two weeks since my 100th puzzle, and since then, ten of you have managed to successfully solve it, as you can see in the list below:

• Sam Levitin ****
• Adam Weaver ****
• Chris Hendricks ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• YYW ****
• David Cohen ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Mom ****
• Debbie Benford ****

Now just head below the break for the answers, along with a couple solver comments! See you tomorrow with a new puzzle!

ANSWERS: Line 'Em Up 3

It's been two week's since I've posted my Halloween-themed "Line 'Em Up" puzzle, and since then, twelve of you have correctly solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Eric Maddy ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• YYW ****
• Chris Hendricks ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Yossi Fendel ****
• Lynn Sweeney ***
• M. Sean Molley ****
• Mom ****
• Debbie Benford ****
• David Cohen ****

Speaking of Halloween, do you know what else is scary? This entire election season. I don't want to elaborate any further since I don't want to talk about anything political on this site, but this overlong election has exhausted and depressed me so much (to the point that I genuinely wanted to kill myself -- don't worry, I'm better now) that I haven't had the motivation or time to make any more puzzles for this site, and as such, there will be no new puzzle this week. Hopefully, there will be one next week, but for now, just head below the break for the answers to "Line 'Em Up 3" and some solver comments.

PUZZLE #100: Pent Words Squeezed in the Middle

**PUZZLE #100**

PENT WORDS SQUEEZED IN THE MIDDLE

It's my 100th puzzle! To celebrate, I'm going to do something a little different and a lot more elaborate: A combination of two puzzle types frequently seen on this blog! One is the first puzzle type I've made for this site, and the other is my first puzzle type published in GAMES Magazine!

The first half of this puzzle is a "Pent Words" that is to be solved normally. For directions on how to solve this puzzle, visit this link.

​ACROSS (Two answers per row)
1) Final Fantasy VII character with a huge sword
    Word preceding "city" or "circle"
2) Load a program or game onto a computer
    Time's Person of the Year for 2006
3) Store with a mascot named Bullseye
    Ray who played Laura Palmer's dad in Twin Peaks
4) Green Day album with "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"
    That '70s _____
5) One of 39 in the name of a Hitchcock film
    Horatian or Juvenalian form of humor
6) 1996 Olympic gold medalist Andre
    Competed on The Voice
7) Many Steven Universe characters, like Pearl and Peridot
    Shoelace hole
8) Extremely enthusiastic
    Become pale
9) It follows Kay
    Queen from Star Wars: Episode I with a lot of costumes
10) Cowardly creature from Oz
      Italian desserts

PENTOMINOES (Five letters per answer)
* Mobile Suit Gundam or My Neighbor Totoro, e.g.
* R&B singer Mary J. _____
* Comedian Mandel who created Bobby's World
* Judge's mallet
* Type of lily
* Country singer Black
* Lip-synching duo _____ Vanilli
* Stir from sleep
* Tomboyish princess from the Super Mario games
* Country Grammar rapper
* Antelope with twisty horns
* Compete in a contest where the loser blinks
* Like, so five minutes ago
* "Somebody _____ Used to Know" (Gotye song): 2 wds.
* Tennis player Melanie (Anagram of I UNDO)
* The Adjustment Bureau actor Matt
* Theater platform
* Chubby Checker's dance
* Place where the deer and the antelope play
* "Yecch!"

---

After you complete the above "Pent Words" grid, there will be five Pentominoes that have numbers marked in them. Take the words in each marked Pentomino and transfer them to the correspondingly-numbered Centers in the "Squeezed in the Middle" puzzle below (For directions on how to solve one of these puzzles, visit this link). After that, use the clues for the Wholes to get the FINAL ANSWER reading down in the brown squares: A fictional character

CENTERS
1) [Pentomino #1]
2) [Pentomino #2]
3) [Pentomino #3]
4) [Pentomino #4]
5) [Pentomino #5]

WHOLES
* Carol who turned the letters in the UK version of Wheel of Fortune (Yeah, you'll probably need to fill in everything else first...)
* Escape artist who died on Halloween
* Last name of Hermione
* "Much _____!" ("Thanks!")
* Pertaining to pants

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! (Since there are two puzzles, it'll be on two pages)

ANSWERS: Mixed Doubles 3

My 100th puzzle is tomorrow! 

...Oh yeah, I posted a "Mixed Doubles" puzzle not too long ago. I should probably put the people who have solved that one here:

• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Chris Hendricks ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• YYW ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Mom ****
• Debbie Benford ****

Now just click on "Read more" below for the answers!

PUZZLE #99: Line 'Em Up 3

PUZZLE #99

LINE 'EM UP 3

Happy Halloween, everyone! I promised you at the start of the month that I'd have a Halloween-related puzzle for you guys, so here it is! And since this is also puzzle #99, that means that next week will be my 100th puzzle, so be sure to look forward to that!

Place the answers to each numbered clue in the squares to the right of each corresponding number. (a number in brackets following each clue will tell you how many letters are in each answer). Once you have the answers, align them properly in the grid so that going down, a two-word phrase will be spelled out by the two red columns in the grid's center.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is a two-word phrase that's appropriate for today's date (Halloween)

1) Electrical unit named after a German physicist [3]
2) Dead Space character named after Mr. Asimov [5]
3) Celestial body that can fry a vampire [3]
4) Seven deadly things [4]
5) Corpse Bride director Burton [3]
6) Cookie that gets orange-colored cream every Halloween [4]
7) Knuckles, for one (That's not very Halloween-y... uh, he gets chased by a ghost in Sonic Adventure 2!) [7]

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!

ANSWERS: Chain Reaction: Extra Links 3

Happy Halloween's Eve, everybody. Thirteen days ago, I posted my third "Chain Reaction: Extra Links" puzzle, and since then, ten of you have solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Eric Maddy ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Yossi Fendel ****
• Chris Hendricks ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Mom ***
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Debbie Benford ****
• YYW ****

Now just head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #98: Mixed Doubles 3

PUZZLE #98

MIXED DOUBLES 3

Each answer word in this crossword variation has two clues leading to it, using different meanings of the word. The clues are separated into Across and Down, but are otherwise ordered randomly. When you find two Across clues or two Down clues that seem to have the same answer, add up their clue numbers to determine the place in the grid where the answer should be entered. For example, if the clue for 1-Across and the clue for 16-Across both have the same answer, the answer would go in the box labeled 17 (1+16). To make things harder, tags such as "Hyph." and "2 wds." have been omitted.

There is an extra clue in both lists of Across and Down clues. This week's FINAL ANSWER is the answer to both of the extra clues, which you can get by rearranging the letters in the grid's pink squares.

ACROSS
1) Insect that you can hear chirping in an empty audience?
2) City with Universal Studios Florida
3) Ms. Hawthorne from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Trials and Tribulations
4) Allows someone to leave
5) Chitty Chitty Bang Bang actor Dick
6) Like a spotty past
7) Beard named after a Flemish painter
8) 1998 comedy film starring Dave Chappelle
9) Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor with brownies and cookie dough
10) Tick off royally
11) Mexico's national flower
12) "Turn Up the Radio" glam metal band
13) Sweet-smelling stick
14) Casanova
15) Bat-and-ball sport with a bowler
16) Enjoyed a lollipop
17) Magazine that became available in Braille in 1970
18) Trounced
19) He played Paris in Troy (2004)
20) Celebrity's signature, say
21) "The printer ate my homework", and others

DOWN
1) Scared stiff
2) The first grunge band to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
3) Bird with colorful tail feathers
4) RPG video game series whose mascot is called Vault Boy
5) Signed on the dotted line
6) The only female robot on Mystery Science Theater 3000
7) Nickname for both Pelé and Josephine Baker
8) Precious stone
9) 1959 musical featuring "Everything's Coming up Roses"
10) Last name of a blue Clue character
11) The end of the world as we know it
12) GameCube or Genesis, e.g.
13) Pattern for a racing flag
14) Fracture a femur
15) Leave a military formation
16) "You Were Meant for Me" singer
17) Like forests whose trees have turned to stone
18) Give solace to
19) Pirate ship once captained by Jack Sparrow
20) Buddhist's bliss
21) Opening shot in billiards
22) 1998 PlayStation game starring Bruce Willis
23) Traced over a comic book artist's pencil lines, perhaps

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!

ANSWERS: Moving Staircases 5

It's been about two weeks since I've posted my fifth "Moving Staircases" puzzle, and since then, ten of you have successfully solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Eric Maddy ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Yossi Fendel ****
• YYW ****
• Mom ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Chris Hendricks ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Debbie Benford ****

Now just head below the break for the answers, as well as some comments from my solvers!

PUZZLE #97: Chain Reaction: Extra Links 3

PUZZLE #97

CHAIN REACTION: EXTRA LINKS 3

For this puzzle, there are seven golden "links" that link together six two-word phrases when reading down. However, it's completely blank, save for some dashes that reveal how long each word is (four dashes translate to a four-letter word, for instance). To help you figure out these words, though, there are some extra silver links with words already in them which, when combined with the golden link to the left or right of it, make another two-word phrase. In the above example, the two-word phrases with silver links in them are "Chain Restaurants", "Gut Reaction", "Time Zone", and "Fruit Flies", so the final "golden chain" is "CHAIN - REACTION - TIME - FLIES".

Once you've completely filled in the chain, scramble the letters in the orange squares to get this week's FINAL ANSWER: a seven-letter word.

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!

ANSWERS: Eat Your Words

It's been roughly two weeks since I've posted my first "Eat Your Words" puzzle, and since then, nine of you have managed to successfully solve it since then, as you can see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Mom ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Chris Hendricks ****
• Debbie Benford ****
• YYW ****

Now just head below the break for the answers, along with some comments from my solvers!

PUZZLE #96: Moving Staircases 5

PUZZLE #96

MOVING STAIRCASES 5

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 a two-word hit song from the 1980s) 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.

SHORTS

* 2016 video game from the creators of Limbo

* Buffoons, archaically (HINT: It's the answer to "Dryly humorous" with an "S" at the end)

* Dan who created Community and Rick and Morty

* Fictional author Snicket

* Seven and the _____ Tiger (Duran Duran album)

* The Rainmaker (1997) actor Jon

* The Twilight Zone often had one with a twist

LONGS

* Fifth _____ ("Work from Home" group)

* French newspaper whose name translates to "The World": 2 wds.

* Honda hybrid that preceded the Prius in the US by seven months

* Invalidating or nulling

* Pulled along the ground

* Signs up for a college class

I know a lot of these clues seem tough, but remember that you can always look up the answers if you so wish. Anyways, 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!

ANSWERS: Dilly Dally

It's been almost two weeks since I've posted my first "Dilly Dally" puzzle, and since then, ten of you have solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Eric Maddy ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Chris Hendricks ****
• Mom ***
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• M. Sean Molley ****
• Debbie Benford ****
• YYW ****

Now head below the break for the answers, as well as a couple comments from my solvers!

PUZZLE #95: Eat Your Words

PUZZLE # 95

EAT YOUR WORDS

You may recall that last year around this time, I had a "Halloween Month" theme for my puzzles. Unfortunately, there's not going to be a similar theme this year, but I will at least have a horror-themed FINAL ANSWER for the puzzle set to be published on Halloween. That one also happens to be my 99th puzzle, meaning that my 100th puzzle is also coming up very soon! While we wait for that, let's have a look at the directions for this week's puzzle:

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 (okay, a word and a proper name). Have one of these words eat the other to get the FINAL ANSWER: The name of a video game.

​
NUMBERED WORDS
1) The Who sang about a magic one
2) SpongeBob's pet snail
3) "_____ Words" (My first puzzle on this site)
4) Oboe mouthpiece
5) L.A. Law actress Susan
6) What Milk Chocolate M&M's were called prior to 2000
7) Woody or Buzz Lightyear, e.g.
8) Writing that can be "purple"

EATEN WORDS
* Barred baby bed
* Bile-producing organ
* Certain trigonometric functions
* Convert a video game to run on a different console
* Giant insect seen in Them!
* Like Shaq or Yao, height-wise
* Profit's opposite
* Rumble in the Bronx actor Jackie

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!

ANSWERS: Anagram Magic Square 2: Adding & Anagramming

Before I reveal the answers to "Anagram Magic Square 2: Adding & Anagramming", I just wanted to let you know that one of my regular solvers (Lynn Sweeney in this case) recently commissioned me to create a crossword puzzle using neuroscience terms for a college class she teaches. I did so, and she was definitely pleased with the final product, and her students seemed to like it as well! So if you want to commission me or collaborate with me, let me know through email or any other way you can, and once we work things out, you can pay me through my PayPal "Donate" button on the sidebar to the right. So with that shameless self-promotion out of the way, here are the eleven solvers of my puzzle from thirteen days ago:

• YYW ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Lynn Sweeney ***
• Alex Milton ****
• Chris Hendricks ****
• M. Sean Molley ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Mom ****
• Debbie Benford ****

Now click on "Read more" below for the answers and some comments from my solvers!

PUZZLE #94: Dilly Dally

PUZZLE #94

DILLY DALLY

Each answer in the grid below consists of two 5-letter words that both start with the same letter, like WATER WHEEL.

Once the grid has been filled out, hidden inside and going up, down, or diagonally will be the FINAL ANSWER: A video game title that also consists of two 5-letter words starting with the same letter.

1) Manual transmission that many drivers struggle with
2) Spinning purple Tiny Toons character
3) Actor who voiced Phoebus in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame
4) Alternative to rye bread
5) Repetitive-sounding Washington city
6) "The Three Billy _____" (fairy tale)
7) The Kingsmen hit whose lyrics not even the FBI can decipher
8) Slogan for an extremely durable line of toy trucks
9) March Madness round before the Final Four
10) LeVar Burton's role in a famous 1977 miniseries

Remember that you're free to look up any of the answers without penalty. Anyway, 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!

ANSWERS: Line 'Em Up 2

It's been roughly two weeks since I posted my second "Line 'Em Up" puzzle, and in the process, gave some free publicity to Phrase Shift by Hyper Hippo, which lead designer Chris Hendricks appreciated very much! He's also one of the twelve people who have solved it since then (two of them solved it together), as you can see in the list below:

• Eric Maddy ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Yossi Fendel ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Chris Hendricks ****
• Lynn Sweeney ***
• M. Sean Molley ****
• Mom ****
• YYW ****
• Alex & Eric Milton ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****

Now head below the break for the answers, as well as a couple comments from my solvers!

PUZZLE #93: Anagram Magic Square 2: Adding & Anagramming

PUZZLE #93

ANAGRAM MAGIC SQUARE 2: ADDING & ANAGRAMMING

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 movie hinted at by this clue.

1) "Lucky" cereal bits
2) Fake oasis, perhaps
3) Container tossed by Donkey Kong
4) Matilda (1996) actor and director Danny
5) Enchanting elixir
6) Wander Over _____ (short-lived Disney series)
7) Motor for a Mazda or Mitsubishi
8) Frequent kidnapper of Princess Peach
9) Hue after blue in the rainbow
10) PJ's little sister in Goof Troop (or a handgun)
11) Spiky sea creature
12) Jefferson's coin
13) Comics company that created Colossus and Carnage
14) Harold had a purple one in a children's book
15) "Beauty School Dropout" musical
16) Monty _____ (British comedy troupe)
17) Bird on a box of Froot Loops
18) Puzzle video game where you can do a T-Spin
19) MSNBC host Maddow
20) Anne Bonny, for one
21) Ticket-drawing event for charity
22) The Grinder co-star Fred
23) Much smaller
24) Pointer on a PC screen
25) Part of TCBY

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!

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!

PUZZLE #92: Line 'Em Up 2

PUZZLE #92

LINE 'EM UP 2

This next puzzle is inspired by one of my newest solvers, Chris Hendricks. You see, Chris works at a video game company called Hyper Hippo (best known for the idle game AdVenture Capitalist), and he told me about a game that his company made called Phrase Shift, a variety word puzzle game that's kinda similar to my "Line 'Em Up" puzzle. Unfortunately, it's doing very poorly (less than a hundred people so far have downloaded it through Google Play, for instance), but while I have yet to purchase it myself, it certainly looks like something I'd like to play, and I'd like to get the word out! If you like this type of puzzle, support this project by downloading it through Apple's App Store or Google Play for only US$1.99!

Oh yeah, I don't want to get falsely accused of bribery or anything like that, so I'll add a DISCLAIMER: None of the preceding has been paid for in any way by anyone at Hyper Hippo; I just want to give exposure to a game that desperately needs it. So with that out of the way, here's my latest version of my puzzle that's a lot like that game I've been giving free advertising to:

Place the answers to each numbered clue in the squares to the right of each corresponding number. (a number in brackets following each clue will tell you how many letters are in each answer). Once you have the answers, align them properly in the grid so that going down, a two-word phrase will be spelled out by the two red columns in the grid's center.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is the name of a well-known actor

1) Baby beagles [4]
2) Stellaluna, for one [3]
3) Red Hot Riding Hood animator Avery [3]
4) Horned sea mammal [7]
5) Singer who did "Breathe Me" and "Chandelier" [3]
6) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides actress Penelope [4]
7) Tiny arch-rival of Mr. Krabs [8]

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!

ANSWERS: Family Reunions 2

I know I'm supposed to reveal the answers to "Family Reunions 2" today, but first, I just wanted to let you know that my own family just got a little smaller this past week; my pet cat Maurice has been part of my life since I was in middle school, but old age got to him, and he had to be put down. I'm definitely gonna miss him...

In Memory of Maurice: 2003-2016 [Picture taken on Christmas 2008]

Sorry if I made anyone sad with this post. I don't have any way to smoothly segue from that, so here's the list of solvers for that puzzle I mentioned earlier:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• YYW ****
• Lynn Sweeney *
• Chris Hendricks ****
• M. Sean Molley ****
• Debbie Benford ***
• Alex Milton ***

And as usual, the answers and solver comments are below the break.

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!

ANSWERS: Word Squares: Projectors

Boy, I must've did something right with my first "Projectors" puzzle, as a lot of you have managed to solve it since I posted it two weeks ago! Take a look:

• Eric Maddy ****
• YYW ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Lynn Sweeney ***
• Adam Weaver ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• Mom ***
• Debbie Benford ****
• Alex & Eric Milton ****
• Giovanni Pagano ***
• Chris Hendricks ****
• M. Sean Molley ****

Now before you go down the break to look at the answers (and a couple solver comments), I wanted to let you know that I'm testing out weekly email reminders! I'm already giving these out to two of my solvers, but if you want to get an email every week telling you when my latest puzzle is published in case you forget, let me know either through email or commenting on this blog!

PUZZLE #90: Family Reunions 2

PUZZLE #90

FAMILY REUNIONS 2

For this puzzle, just change the group of 10 words below into a "family" of different words (that is, words or proper names that all have something in common) by dropping one letter from each word and then rearranging the remaining letters. For example, if three of the initial entries are SMEAR, HATRED, and TURBANS, you could drop the E from SMEAR to get MARS, drop the D from HATRED to get EARTH, and drop the B from TURBANS to get SATURN, all in the category "Planets". Also, it should be noted that one of the answers consists of two words. (Maybe it's the MMA fighter in #9 that already consists of two words?) In case you stink at scrambling, you can always try sites like AnagramScramble.com to help you out. As an additional help, you can ask me through email to reveal the category for you, though it will cost you one of your four "hint stars" to do so.

Once you're done, the letters that have been deleted from each word will unscramble to spell out this week's FINAL ANSWER: a ten-letter word that also fits the category

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!

ANSWERS: Slot Machine

It's been two weeks since I've posted my first "Slot Machine" puzzle, and ten of you have solved it since then, including a couple who haven't solved any of my puzzles in a while! Turns out they forgot about this site, so I'll try to give them a weekly reminder until I finally set up that Patreon. (Apparently, that site can automatically email backers about when Creators update, so that's yet another incentive to sign up!) Anyways, here's that list of people who have all successfully solved it:

• Mom **
• Grant Fikes ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• YYW ****
• M. Sean Molley ****
• Tyler Hinman ****
• Lynn Sweeney **
• Adam Weaver ****
• Giovanni Pagano ****

Now head below the break for the answers and some solver comments, if you're curious as to what they had to say.

PUZZLE #89: Word Squares: Projectors

PUZZLE #89

WORD SQUARES: PROJECTORS

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. In the example above, the Projectors spell out SAMPLE.

This week's FINAL ANSWER is the name of a Pokémon you can catch in Pokémon Go.

CLUES
* Bike without pedaling, say
* "Good _____!" (Charlie Brown's catchphrase)
* Prefix for "Galactic"
* "Better in Time" singer Lewis
* Eyelid application
* Television inventor John _____ Baird (Answer hidden in APOLOGIES)
* Actress O'Donnell who voiced Terk in Disney's Tarzan
* Pine (for)

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!

NO ANSWERS: Here's Some Brief Ramblings Instead

This is unusual; normally, the answers to the puzzle from two weeks ago gets posted here, but since I didn't have a puzzle two weeks ago, I don't have anything to post here! Well, not quite; I've been thinking about having some sort of email service that automatically reminds some of my regular solvers about when I post my latest puzzle, but as usual, I don't know how to do such a thing! If you know how I can set up a service like that, let me know through either emailing me or commenting on this post!

Oh, and this is officially my 200th post on this blog! Yay for me!

PUZZLE #88: Slot Machine

PUZZLE #88

SLOT MACHINE

Sorry I'm late! I forgot to schedule this one! Now let's get started!

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
* Something that made its debut in the year this puzzle's author was born: ? wds.

ROWS
1) Suicide Squad member named after the Japanese sword she wields
    Cable network that airs reruns of American Ninja Warrior
2) Sandy golf hazard
    With "The", MTV reality show about the Prince of Darkness and his family
3) Like all prime numbers (except 2)
    15th-century prince nicknamed "The Impaler"
    Blues musician Muddy _____
4) Egg-shaped
    Swirly sweet on a stick
5) Micro machines?
    It frequently has a backup strategy: 1 wd. and a ltr.
6) Island country that's southeast of India: 2 wds.
    Actor Elba who voiced Chief Bogo in Zootopia
7) Barely make, with "out"
    It changed its name to Tokyo in 1868
    Emulated Rosie from WWII
8) 2002 Kid Rock song featuring Sheryl Crow
    Canadian one dollar coin
9) Suffix for "serpent"
    Female tailor (Insert reference to Rarity from My Little Pony here)
10) Yankovic and Gore
     Singing syllables: Hyph.
     Genetic chain (HINT: It doesn't start with a "D")
11) Egyptian queen with a famous bust (Get your mind out of the gutter!)
     Reward, archaically (Yeah, no one's gonna know this; just write down DEEM backwards)
12) "Shake _____" (The Cars song): 2 wds.
     Main character of Assassin's Creed: Unity (Anagram of the first answer in Tumbler #6)
     San Diego baseball player
13) They're inserted into Intellivisions
     U2 album featuring "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

TUMBLERS
1) Rugrats or Rocko's Modern Life, for example
    Color of an old-timey photo
2) Narrow passage of water
    Species of Arthur or D.W.
3) Sisters' daughters
    "I'm Like a Bird" singer Nelly
4) Spigot for suds
    The Incredibles character who can turn invisible
    Escalator part
5) Mess up
    Tom or Schwarzenegger from True Lies
    Erykah who sang "On & On"
6) Late You've Got Mail director Ephron
    Blood-collecting heart parts
    Infamous '70s horror/art film based on a book by [last answer in Tumbler #13]
7) Sister of Yakko and Wakko from Animaniacs
    Moscow citadel
    Cotillion ball honoree, for short
8) Birds whose heads can rotate 270 degrees
    _____ Craig (Scottish island) (Anagram of ALIAS)
    Clothes, slangily (HINT: It rhymes with a '90s bottle cap fad)
9) Rotation point in a lever
    "Fat _____" (Sum 41 song)
    =
10) Suffix for "bowl" or "pan"
     Big _____, California
     That squiggly line seen in words like "Piñata"
11) Grape juice for adults?
     Joined forces with someone
12) The Spirit cartoonist Will who has a comic book award named after him
     Last word of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
     Rice-A-_____ (The San Francisco Treat!)
13) In medias _____
     Spots for saunas
     Masochistic Marquis who wrote The 120 Days of Sodom: 2 wds.

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). 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!

ANSWERS: Link-Letters 2

It's been almost two weeks since I've posted my second "Link-Letters" puzzle, as well as almost one week since I pretty much poured my heart out on all the things related to this blog that have been eating at me. I did get some replies to that post, but unfortunately, not much of it seemed to help. For instance, Grant Fikes said that "I wouldn't know where to begin to get a signal boost and an enduring readership. For now, just interact with the puzzle community a lot and keep posting content.", but I don't know exactly how to interact with the puzzle community outside of the people solving my puzzles, and even then, I still don't know what to do with the people who haven't solved in a while, either.

At least I made a step towards fixing one of my problems; starting with tomorrow's puzzle, I am now going to try to use a test-solver more frequently to see if my puzzles are too hard or not. You might know him: Joseph DeVincentis is Grant's regular test-solver, and he's tested out a couple of my puzzles before, so hopefully, his input will decrease the difficulty a tad for my puzzles!

Now with all that out of the way, let's see the people who have figured out that "Link-Letters" puzzle which could've benefited more from a test solver:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Eric Maddy ****
• Mom ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Debbie Benford ****
• YYW ****
• Adam Weaver ****

Now head below the break for the answers! Nobody commented on this specific puzzle, so instead, I've included a couple messages sent to me regarding last week's post.

ANSWERS: Patchwords (And Some Ramblings)

Before we get to the answers to the "Patchwords" puzzle I made in celebration of my sister's wedding, I just wanted to discuss some things:

Firstly, I have a link to my Paypal account on the top of the sidebar to the right, and so far, absolutely nobody has donated even a penny to it. So since Paypal is clearly not working out yet, I'm thinking that maybe I should explore alternate possibilities of revenue, like Patreon. The problem is that if I did join Patreon, I wouldn't know where to begin! What would I say in my reason for being on Patreon? What kind of goals and rewards should I include? (Outside of none at all; I don't want to name names, but there are fairly successful Patreons out there that don't reward their backers or produce anything of note, and those tend to be... well, let's just say they know about the "Wounded Gazelle Gambit" and leave it at that) I know that Grant Fikes has a Patreon, but I probably shouldn't copy his rewards outright; I know this blog was heavily influenced by his, but that would be a little too on-the-nose, so to speak. If I do decide to join Patreon or somewhere similar, I think I'll leave my Paypal button there in case someone wants to pay me for a one-off commission or something.

My second quandary is about having people stay on this site: I've had more than a few people solve my puzzles, but also more than a few people who haven't solved any of my puzzles in a while. (Case in point, only six people have solved my latest puzzle so far, half of whom I know in person and was present when they solved it) Are the puzzles too hard for them? Are the clues too esoteric? Are they too busy with other things? Did they just plain forget? I was thinking of having a survey or something like that, but once again, I don't know what I should ask on it or who I should give it to.

Another question I have is this: How do I promote this blog? I don't belong to any social networking sites (Deviantart doesn't count, and even if it did, I haven't updated my profile in years), mostly because I don't want to risk coming in contact with unreasonable, short-tempered, "Everything Is Offensive"-type people. I've had a couple meta-crosswords promoted through Matt Gaffney's site, but I don't think that's going to happen anymore. I was thinking of making a TVTropes page for this site, but somehow, I fear that it'll be ignored and/or die out quickly. Are there any other possibilities that I'm not thinking of?

I want as many people as possible to respond to these questions plaguing me, so let me know what you think either through email or commenting on this blog. And because I want as many readers as possible to look at and reply to this post (and because my puzzle buffer is completely empty as I write this), I'm taking the week off, meaning that there will be no new puzzle tomorrow. I'll most likely have one next week, so look forward to that!

Oh yeah, that "Patchwords" puzzle! Here's all the people that solved it:

• Eric Maddy ****
• Grant Fikes ****
• YYW ****
• Alex & Eric Milton ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Mom ****
• Debbie Benford ****
• Adam Weaver ****

Now head below the break for the answers, as well as something involving this puzzle you might have missed!