#591 - "Back and Forth" - September 27, 2019

[BrianMac]

Guest Constructor Month Puzzle #4 of 4, by Rich O'Malley.

This week's contest answer is the constructor's favorite number.

Have fun!

[FrankieHeck]

Oh, no. Numbers...

[Meg]

Well, it’s a week 4.

[hcbirker]

There's so many things to look at, I don't know where to start! (Heidi)

[Laura M]

I have several bits and pieces that seem to belong to unrelated metas, so nothing makes sense. This one may be beyond me. Right now, I'm selfishly glad that this thread isn't full of "beam me up" posts! (Yet...)

[Cindy]

I have several bits and pieces that seem to belong to unrelated metas, so nothing makes sense. This one may be beyond me. Right now, I'm selfishly glad that this thread isn't full of "beam me up" posts! (Yet...)

Truly. How many metas are going on here.

[BarbaraK]

Hmm. Didn’t really enjoy the grid. And 6 people on the leaderboard after 7 hours.

This might be a good one to not waste time on. Don’t know if I’ll actually manage that, of course. Guess we’ll see.

[Hector]

Just got to this, and, baffled by all of the clues. 6? 7? Anniversary gifts? Wha?

[Toby]

I have never seen so many different kinds of clues, all leading nowhere or so it seems. Even though it is week 4, I hope Matt will give us a hint.

[TMart]

No idea- this one seems like it will be either completely brilliant or completely random. Lots of dead-end paths so far, and I’m getting stuck on illogical leaps and guesses. My brain hurts at this point.

[ky-mike]

...and only 8 people on the leader board as of noon Saturday. I'm certain to spend too much thought on this between now and Tuesday.

[RPardoe]

I submitted my answer early this morning....the 8 people are since midnight last night. Matt hasn't updated in quite some time (as of the time I posted this message).

Postscript - leaderboard updated, solution confirmed. But still only 15 total solves at this point.

[Cindy]

I believe I have it but I will wait awhile.

[damefox]

Has anyone tried asking Rich O'Malley what his favorite number is?

[RPardoe]

Theodreiser must have done so to solve in 11 minutes. I couldn't even get the grid done that quickly.

[Hector]

Has anyone tried asking Rich O'Malley what his favorite number is?

One of our muggles did so on twitter. No luck!

[Toby]

I'm on board thanks to hint from another solver, but I didn't really like this puzzle. Too many false leads, and one step that -- unless I'm missing something -- requires just a lucky guess on how to execute it.

[ChrisKochmanski]

I'm on board thanks to hint from another solver, but I didn't really like this puzzle. Too many false leads, and one step that -- unless I'm missing something -- requires just a lucky guess on how to execute it.

Agree. I finally got it, but with a very big hint from someone else, who also apparently had help from others.

Yes, I see one path where, if I had really focused on something in particular, and tried some things, maybe quite a few things, I might have stumbled upon the path. But "might" is a big word. Reconstructing this, it's not very likely at all I could have gotten to the solution without the big hint.

Hmm ... Not sure I feel right in submitting. My path, I think, went past a typical group solve. I'll think about it.

[Orsys]

Yay, can't believe I got it!

[John]

For those who received hints, who did you ask? I would like a hint to this puzzle. It seems like a lot of people had help with this one.