PUZZLE #363: Chess Words 2

PUZZLE #363

CHESS WORDS 2

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 common two-word phrase

  Queen's Rook: Q _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                a1 
Queen's Knight: W _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                b1 
Queen's Bishop: P _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                c1 
         Queen: S _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                d1 
          King: M _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                e1 
 King's Bishop: K _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                f1 
 King's Knight: F _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                g1 
   King's Rook: C _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                h1

CLUES
• 2003 Ben Affleck movie

• _____ bag

• Brew up an intricate plot

• Coins that were formerly 90% silver

• Guppies' glass home

• Provide a much-needed kick in the butt, perhaps

• Red echidna created by Sega

• Suppress

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: Dial Tunes 3

"Dial Tunes 3" from two weeks ago may have been on the elaborate side, but that didn't stop a whopping twenty of you from solving it, as detailed below:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Joe Bernard
• Dave C.
• Kevin Orfield
• Ray Youstra
• Sam Levitin
• Al Sisti
• Karen Spencer
• Tamara Brenner
• Michael Lebowitz
• Mindy Moore
• Tommy Weigle
• Tyler Hinman
• Stephen Potter
• Meg Duvall
• Mom
• Peter Abide
• Wendy Walker
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #362: Triangle Tangle 3

PUZZLE #362

TRIANGLE TANGLE 3

To solve this puzzle, enter the 4-letter answer to each clue into the diagram either from top to bottom or diagonally upward. There are two numbers starting each clue; each answer begins in the triangle marked with the first number, and ends in the triangle marked with the second.

Once the grid has been filled in, there are two more words hiding in the topmost row of letters and the bottommost row of letters. Combine them both to get the FINAL ANSWER: the name of a video game series

1-2) Tulip seed

2-3) When tripled, "yadda yadda yadda"

3-4) "Purple _____ all in my brain" (Jimi Hendrix lyrics)

4-5) Fitch who co-founded Abercrombie & Fitch

5-6) Trajectories for softballs or stories

6-7) Lightning bolt on Harry Potter's forehead, for one

7-8) Cheers at a college football game

8-9) Blade in prison

9-10) Laboratory tube

10-11) Fill with cargo

11-12) Cheese named after a Dutch town

12-13) The only graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize

13-14) National sport of Japan

14-15) Leave out

15-16) Rocket Power character who often provides "ancient Hawaiian sayings" (or "Mambo King" Puente)

16-17) _____ Spunkmeyer (cookie brand)

17-18) One might say "ONE WAY"

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: Diagramless Crossword 5

Happy Sunday-Before-Thanksgiving, everyone! On a more relevant note, it's been thirteen days since "Diagramless Crossword 5" was posted on this blog, and eighteen people have successfully solved it since then, all of whom are listed below:

• Grant Fikes
• Joe Bernard
• Dave C.
• Kevin Orfield
• Tyler Hinman
• Sam Levitin
• Karen Spencer
• Meg Duvall
• Alex Sisti
• Stephen Potter
• Tamara Brenner
• Patrick Jordan
• Ray Youstra
• Mom [Hints Used]
• Michael Lebowitz
• Lynn Sweeney
• Tommy Weigle
• Mindy Moore

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

PUZZLE #361: Dial Tunes 3

PUZZLE #361

DIAL TUNES 3

First, answer as many of the numbered clues as you can and enter them into the first grid. Each clue ends with an arrow indicating the direction its answer should be entered: from top to bottom [↓], from bottom to top [↑], or even either way [↕]. For example, if the answers were JIB [↓], IRE [↓], SAD [↑], EVE [↕], AT [↑], and O [↕], you would enter them like this:

Next, try to decode the message (in the form of song lyrics) by replacing every circled letter with another letter that shares the same number on a telephone keypad, which we've provided on top of these directions (for example, B can be replaced by A or C). The decoded message should be entered into the second grid, as shown here (note that the bold vertical lines indicate divisions between words):

(From "Row, Row, Row Your Boat")

The FINAL ANSWER is the name of the song containing the decoded lyrics.

Place the answers to the following clues here

1) Journey _____ the West (classic Chinese novel) [↓]

2) Letter after lambda [↑]

3) Measurement of a Mensa member: Abbr. [↑]

4) "Best Costume Design in a Musical", for one [↓]

5) Extremely fast The Incredibles character [↑]

6) Chick-_____ (fast food chain that wants you to "Eat Mor Chikin"): Hyph. [↓]

7) Stimulate, as an appetite [↓]

8) Native American in Arizona [↑]

9) Banker's offer in a Howie Mandel-hosted game show [↑]

10) Tacky light shaped like a leg in A Christmas Story [↓]

11) Grain in a Cheerio [↓]

12) Metric unit of elec. [↑]

Place the decoded lyrics here

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: Snake Charmer 6

It's been roughly two weeks since "Snake Charmer 6" was posted on this blog, and a staggering twenty-one people since then have successfully solved it, and they're all listed below:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Dave C.
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Meg Duvall
• Karen Spencer
• Ray Youstra
• Dan Simonds
• Wendy Walker
• Sam Levitin
• Mom
• Michael Lebowitz
• Patrick Jordan
• Mindy Moore
• Tamara Brenner
• Elliott Frankfother
• Tyler Hinman
• Lynn Sweeney
• Peter Abide
• Tommy Weigle

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

PUZZLE #360: Diagramless Crossword 5

PUZZLE #360

DIAGRAMLESS CROSSWORD 5

Diagramless crosswords are solved by using the clues and their numbers to fill in the answers as well as the black squares. When completely filled in, the black squares in the grid will have diagonal symmetry, meaning that they'll look the same when rotated upside-down. As a help, the first number has already been placed in the grid.

Once everything's filled in, two of the across answers will spell out a clue that will lead you to the FINAL ANSWER: A fictional being's name.

ACROSS
1) _____ Saigon (Tony-winning musical)

5) Language spoken in Vientiane (or someone who lives there)

8) Have lofty ambitions

11) Super stumper

14) First-ever, as a voyage

15) Diminishes the value (of)

18) "Scarborough Fair", for one

19) PART ONE OF THE FINAL ANSWER'S CLUE

21) Long-gone days of old

22) _____ and the Last Dragon (Disney movie)

23) Whirled around in a swivel chair, maybe

25) Justice Dept. agency that Clarice Starling works for

28) Acorn, eventually

29) Telephone booth stuffing in the 1950s, for one

30) Face mask thickness measurement

31) Grandson of Adam and Eve

33) Belonging to you and me

35) Agatha Christie: And _____ There Were None (2005 adventure game)

39) PART TWO OF THE FINAL ANSWER'S CLUE

45) "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" singer Keys

46) Facial cosmetic item that dates back to ancient Egypt

47) Toy company that popularized the yo-yo

48) Hosted a variety show, say

49) Believe to be true without any sort of fact-checking

50) Piglets' pen

51) Greek goddess of discord who appears in The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy

DOWN

1) Deadly black snake

2) Bartender on The Love Boat

3) Like milk that one shouldn't cry over

4) Walk like a crab

5) Roughly 2.11338 liquid pints

6) Has the same opinion

7) Easternmost country in the Arabian Peninsula

9) With 10-Down, posterior

10) See 9-Down

11) Tense and nervous

12) Villainous Romulan played by Eric Bana in Star Trek (2009)

13) Increase in interest

16) "¡Gracias!": 2 wds.

17) "_____ 'hello' to my little friend!" (memorable Scarface quote)

20) "Right Down the Line" singer Gerry

24) Burst a balloon

26) Shrieking creature from Ireland

27) Affirmation at an altar: 2 wds.

32) Rigorous, as some rules

34) Native American tribe that lent its name to the 45th state

36) Sue Bee product

37) Fencing sword with more than two vowels

38) Steve Urkel, for one

39) Winter ailments

40) Lather, _____, repeat

41) Transpire

42) Florida city where a CSI spinoff was set

43) Striped Christmas candies

44) "Slippery" trees

45) Programming language named after Mrs. Lovelace

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: Slide Show: Double Feature 3

It's been nearly two weeks since "Slide Show: Double Feature 3" was posted on this blog, and sixteen people since then have figured out its Final Answer, all of whom are listed below:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Dave C.
• Kevin Orfield
• Tyler Hinman
• Sam Levitin
• Karen Spencer
• Wendy Walker
• Michael Lebowitz
• Patrick Jordan
• Mindy Moore
• Stephen Potter
• Mom [Hints Used]
• Meg Duvall
• Lynn Sweeney
• Tamara Brenner

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #359: Snake Charmer 6

PUZZLE #359

SNAKE CHARMER 6

One of the clues in this puzzle contains a word 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!

Enter the answers to each clue in the grid, starting in the correspondingly-numbered space and ending in the space before the next consecutive number. The chain of answer words will overlap itself, winding their way twice around the snake-shaped grid.

Once you've filled in the grid, unscramble the green squares to get the FINAL ANSWER: An eight-letter word

1) Draco Malfoy's house at Hogwarts

2) Tailed animal in an exercise wheel

3) Film company that distributed the Hunger Games movies

4) Retired wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve

5) Kinda ashy-colored

6) Violent whirlpool

7) Country that shares Lake Titicaca with Peru

8) Pays an artist on DeviantArt to make a picture, perhaps

9) Former Nickelodeon sitcom about a Latina teen who wants to become a singer (anagram of ANITA)

10) Get fuzzy, as vision

11) Master _____ (main character of the Halo video games)

12) Way to drive without heeding danger

13) 2005 Johnny Knoxville film endorsed by the Special Olympics committee: 2 wds.

14) Huge amounts of money for Warren Buffett, say

15) Fancy French cake

16) Flat fish with a spiny tail

17) Moby-Dick narrator

18) Rolled-up turnover filled with cheese and pizza toppings

19) Media company that re-merged with CBS in late 2019

20) _____: Impossible (1960s TV series)

21) Like clothing capable of getting splotches

22) Redhead from Riverdale

23) Spots on the previous answer's face

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!