PUZZLE #289: Helter Skelter 5

PUZZLE #289

HELTER SKELTER 5

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) Villain from The Great Mouse Detective who was voiced by Vincent Price

2) Non-profit org. that provides roadside assistance

3) Tactical military shooter series by Bohemia Interactive (don't worry, another answer fully overlaps this one)

4) Ms. Monroe whose first film appearance was in Dangerous Years (1947)

5) Eye part that can be brown, blue, or green

6) Frozen polar covering on both Earth and Mars

7) Geese and ducks and such

8) Speedy vehicle that goes forwards and backwards?

9) Larry Bird, back when he played for the NBA

10) Where in Time is _____ Sandiego? (educational computer game)

11) Seven-digit riches

12) Fluid measurement equal to two tablespoons

13) Second-largest member of the deer family (after the moose)

14) Type of destiny where "what goes around comes around"

15) Website that can help you trace your family tree

16) Hexagonal piece of land from Catan

17) The one for Starbucks depicts a twin-tailed mermaid

18) Brian May's instrument

19) _____ ego

20) Prayer beads

21) Board game where you move four colored pawns by drawing numbered cards

22) Precipitates

23) Footwear that can be turned into a simple puppet

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 link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Word Squares: Projectors 4

Before I reveal the answers to "Word Squares: Projectors 4", I have some great news to share with you all: I'M FINALLY BACK HOME! Yup, exactly five weeks after a flood hit my house, it's been repaired enough to the point that it was declared safe to go back inside, and that's exactly what I did last Tuesday! Sure, a lot of stuff was lost, but most of it can be replaced (I already bought some new and used video game consoles to replace the ones that were beyond saving, including a hard-to-find Nintendo Switch), and it also turned out that only the basement was affected by the flooding; the first floor and everything in there (including the work computer that I was so worried about) was left completely untouched, so I'm pretty grateful for that! I'm also grateful for everyone who offered their support for me during those past several weeks, so thanks a bunch for that!

So now that all of those news are out of the way, here are the nine people who solved my puzzle from thirteen days ago:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Cindy Heisler ****
• Joe Bernard ****
• Kevin Orfield ****
• Tyler Hinman ****
• Stephen Potter ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Mom ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****

Now head below the break for the answers as well as a couple solver comments! 

PUZZLE #288
LINE 'EM UP 9

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 an athlete inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame

1) Shakespearean tragedy called "The Scottish Play" among superstitious thespians [7]

2) "Careless Whisper" duo [4]

3) Ceramic cookie container [3]

4) Netflix series set in a Missouri mountain range [5]

5) _____ Pocket (line of tiny dolls) [5]

6) Insect on boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios [3]

7) Like Monday crosswords, difficulty-wise [4]

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 link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Mini-Marching Bands 4

It's been thirteen days since my fourth "Mini-Marching Bands" puzzle was posted on this blog, and nine people since then have successfully solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Cindy Heisler ****
• Joe Bernard ****
• Kevin Orfield ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Patrick Jordan ****
• Stephen Potter ****
• Mom ****
• Lynn Sweeney ***

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #287: Word Squares: Projectors 4

PUZZLE #287

WORD SQUARES: PROJECTORS 4

Before I get to this week's puzzle, I should let you know that this was the first puzzle I've made since the worst flood my home state has seen in recent memory forced me to evacuate my home and everything in it, including my work computer. Now, while I did get a new laptop since then in order to keep doing these puzzles until I can get back to my still-being-repaired home, I had to download some new software in order to make printable versions of these puzzles since I don't have access to the programs I usually use to make them. Fortunately, I succeeded in that task, so what this means for you is that the printable versions will look a little different than normal going forward; instead of .PNG images made in an old copy of Macromedia Fireworks and then converted to .PDF files, the printable versions that I will provide for the time being will be pure .PDF files that were made in LibreOffice (basically a free version of Microsoft's Office applications). So with all of those news out of the way, here are the directions for this week's brainteaser:

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 late 2000s video game.

CLUES

* _____ Bi-Flex (bone joint supplement)

* Current CBS Evening News anchor O'Donnell

* Fishing reel part

* He sang "My Boo" with Alicia Keys

* MP3 players that came in Shuffle and Nano models

* Ms. Delacour from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (HINT: It can also precede "de lis")

* Single statistic

* Whether by land _____...: 2 wds

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 link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Drop Tower 7

Roughly two weeks have passed since "Drop Tower 7" was posted on this blog, and ten people since then have successfully solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Joe Bernard ****
• Cindy Heisler ****
• Kevin Orfield ****
• Tyler Hinman ****
• Patrick Jordan ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Stephen Potter ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Mom ****

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #286
MINI-MARCHING BANDS 4

The answers in this grid march both across the Rows and around the Bands. Each row contains two answers, clued in order. Their dividing point is for you to determine, except in Row 5, where the two answers are separated by a black square. The answers in each Band will be entered clockwise, starting at a lettered square (A-D) and ending in the space below that square. The dividing points in each band's string of words are also for you to determine. Each square will be used twice; once in a Row's word, and once in a Band's word.

Once you've filled everything in, read the letters on the diagonal dashed line for the FINAL ANSWER: The name of a music video and movie director

ROWS
1) South Korean singer who did "Gentleman" and "Gangnam Style"
    Angelic child depicted in many Precious Moments products
2) Language where we got the words "bangle" and "bungalow"
    Desert in southern Mongolia
3) Voice higher than baritone
    Hello Neighbor: Hide and _____ (indie horror video game)
4) "Pretty Boy" Floyd, for one
    Coach Riley who owns the trademark for "three-peat"
5) S-shaped molding often seen in architecture and crosswords
    Baptism or bat mitzvah, e.g.
6) Cinnamon-brown pear
    Gets warmer, as in a game of "Hot and Cold"
7) Farming prefix (HINT: Switch the middle two letters to get the name of a Best Picture Oscar winner)
    Pine tree's seed producers
8) Pluribus, as in "e pluribus unum"
    _____ Jam: A New Legacy (upcoming film starring LeBron James and Bugs Bunny)
9) Cartoon character with a blue beehive
    Like tales of Paul Bunyan (or Paul Bunyan himself)

BANDS
A) Lover of Eros/Cupid
    Inventor of a cube with six colors
    Cover a surface by repeatedly using a single tile shape
    Cricket's father's mother in Big City Greens
    Payphone location
B) _____ Girls (folk rock duo who appears in the crossword documentary Wordplay)
    Frequently flog, like a dead horse
    Summary of previous episodes
    Jewish version of a church
C) Like myths involving Loki (not the Marvel one)
    Keyed instrument played by Alicia Keys
    Painfully tight undergarment that Pirates of the Caribbean's Elizabeth hates wearing
D) _____ of Arabia (film that won seven Academy Awards)

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for two versions you can print out: a .PNG and a link to a .PDF!

ANSWERS: Lucky Sevens 9

It's been thirteen days since "Lucky Sevens 9" was posted on this blog, and ten people since then have successfully solved it, as you can see in the list below:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Cindy Heisler ****
• Kevin Orfield ****
• Tyler Hinman ****
• Stephen Potter ****
• Joe Bernard ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Patrick Jordan ****
• Lynn Sweeney ****
• Mom ****

Now head below the break for the answers as well as a solver's comments!

PUZZLE #285: Drop Tower 7

PUZZLE #285

DROP TOWER 7

Starting with an 8-letter word on top of the "tower", drop one letter and rearrange the rest to form a 7-letter word. Continue this process until only a 2-letter word remains. Since the tower is completely blank, use the randomly-ordered clues to figure out the words that go in each row.

Once the grid is completely filled in, look inside it for this week's FINAL ANSWER: a six-letter word that can be read going down and in a straight diagonal line.

CLUES
* Change, as the Constitution
* Father of Rod and Todd Flanders in The Simpsons
* Great _____ (Marmaduke's breed)
* Largest moon of Jupiter (and the entire Solar System)
* Postal abbr. for "The First State"
* Subtitle of the highest-grossing Avengers movie
* Take down a peg

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for two versions you can print out: a .PNG and a link to a .PDF!