Can you storm the castle by getting across the MOAT? A weekly meta crossword constructed by forum member Ben (aka benchen71). These metas range from relatively easy to more challenging, depending on how many Australianisms he puts in them! Puzzles are posted in a new thread every Tuesday, with nudges appearing on Saturdays, and the solution coming out on Mondays. (At least, that's the plan. Given he lives in Australia, and they are so far ahead of the US time-zone-wise, things may get posted early!)
Can you storm the castle by getting across the MOAT? "Here you are, folks, the Queen of Hearts is the winning card. Watch it closely. Follow it with your eye as I shuffle. Here it is, and now here, now here, and now—where? If you point it out the first time, you win; but if you miss, you lose!" Can you take on the street hustler and win, by coming up with the answer to the meta which is an apt description of Three Card Monte? Put your money down and we'll find out...
PM me with your submissions or submit on Crosshare. Either way, I'll compile a list of those who successfully solve the meta.
Last edited by benchen71 on Sun Dec 12, 2021 4:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta!
whimsy wrote: ↑Tue Dec 07, 2021 1:08 am
Coming in for a landing!Captureziplineovermoat.PNG
Thanks for one I could get, Ben!
First solver! Well done, whimsy!
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta!
My first task will be to Google three card monte to see how it is played....it's a card game, right? Or, is it a betting thing? (sigh) Not a card player here. This is another meta subject for which I am at the mercy of Google and friendly muggles (along with French, most sports, rap music, and board games other than Clue and Monopoly).
Thanks for the puzzle, Ben. The world of metas is still helping me cope with the pandemic and its associated fallout. How are things, Covid-wise, in Australia?
Stormed the castle - fun puzzle, @benchen71! Thank you!
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 contest-style (meta) crosswords that we've created to help raise money for cancer-related organizations - get the bundle at http://crosswordsforcancer.com
Crossed the moat! Good puzzle, Ben, tho you should have prefixed with some sort of trigger warning: you never know if there are any muggles that might have had bad experiences with 3-Card Monte waaaay back in the day. In NYC. In the '80s. Before Times Square got cleaned up. But there probably aren't any. None that would admit it, certainly. But you never know. Anyhoo, good puzzle!
Fun one, did not hurt my unsymmetrical brain like last week
Crosshare told me what I already knew.
Thanks Ben
New Australian beast I full expect to see in a MOAT
It is very fast and appears to be operated by a miniature version of itself - VERY scary
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
rjy wrote: ↑Tue Dec 07, 2021 11:35 am
Crossed the moat! Good puzzle, Ben, tho you should have prefixed with some sort of trigger warning: you never know if there are any muggles that might have had bad experiences with 3-Card Monte waaaay back in the day. In NYC. In the '80s. Before Times Square got cleaned up. But there probably aren't any. None that would admit it, certainly. But you never know. Anyhoo, good puzzle!
Sounds like there's a story there... Allow me to issue a heartfelt apology for not including a trigger warning!
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta!
CPJohnson wrote: ↑Tue Dec 07, 2021 7:22 am
My first task will be to Google three card monte to see how it is played....it's a card game, right? Or, is it a betting thing? (sigh) Not a card player here. This is another meta subject for which I am at the mercy of Google and friendly muggles (along with French, most sports, rap music, and board games other than Clue and Monopoly).
Thanks for the puzzle, Ben. The world of metas is still helping me cope with the pandemic and its associated fallout. How are things, Covid-wise, in Australia?
You don't actually know how to play Three Card Monte to solve the meta. Perhaps I should have wrapped that in spoiler tags, but I'm happy to have it out there for all to see!
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta!
rjy wrote: ↑Tue Dec 07, 2021 11:35 am
Crossed the moat! Good puzzle, Ben, tho you should have prefixed with some sort of trigger warning: you never know if there are any muggles that might have had bad experiences with 3-Card Monte waaaay back in the day. In NYC. In the '80s. Before Times Square got cleaned up. But there probably aren't any. None that would admit it, certainly. But you never know. Anyhoo, good puzzle!
Well I learned to play it in Philadelphia, right down by city hall. A nice young man showed me how easy it was and I saw another guy winning on a regular basis. Quite a learning experience and one I remember to today, guess I should have tried to play that guy with the ping-pong balls under the cups instead...
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
rjy wrote: ↑Tue Dec 07, 2021 11:35 am
Crossed the moat! Good puzzle, Ben, tho you should have prefixed with some sort of trigger warning: you never know if there are any muggles that might have had bad experiences with 3-Card Monte waaaay back in the day. In NYC. In the '80s. Before Times Square got cleaned up. But there probably aren't any. None that would admit it, certainly. But you never know. Anyhoo, good puzzle!
Well I learned to play it in Philadelphia, right down by city hall. A nice young man showed me how easy it was and I saw another guy winning on a regular basis. Quite a learning experience and one I remember to today, guess I should have tried to play that guy with the ping-pong balls under the cups instead...
gullibility test.jpg
The worst thing was - before I saw what was going on with the meta - I poked into Wikipedia to see if there was any angle to Three Card Monte that I needed to recall for the puzzle. The explanation could just have well have been written by an eyewitness to my experience, point by point, a textbook example. Live and learn...
Here's where we stand at the end of the first day:
whimsy
DJB
Laura M
Meg
Dplass
Capn Rick
dannyvee
Mwoychick
rjy
Cindy Weatherman
boharr
hoover
ImOnToo
DrTom
Sharkicicles
ChrisKochmanski
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta!
