MGWCC #808 — "Follow the Instructions" by Ben Chenoweth

An excellent puzzle written by one of the innovators of the meta crossword format. It comes out every Friday at noon and increases in difficulty throughout the month. Available for modest subscription (worth every cent) here: www.xwordcontest.com
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Joe
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#41

Post by Joe »

benchen71 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 29, 2023 1:37 am Awaiting the beam... [I don't want to lose my solver streak! :D]
I'm aboard. Glad you were able to solve it, Ben!
Happy to give nudges. If you notice I've solved, please tell me about avenues you've explored so I can nudge you in the right direction and not off a cliff.
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Qmark
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#42

Post by Qmark »

Beamed up at #169. Solo solve. Thanks Ben! Another great puzzle.
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ajk
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#43

Post by ajk »

benchen71 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 29, 2023 1:37 am Awaiting the beam... [I don't want to lose my solver streak! :D]
:lol: :lol:
Check out this very cool project by many of your favorite muggles to raise money to fight cancer. You get a fun puzzle bundle and good causes get $. Win-win: Crosswords for Cancer
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HeadinHome
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#44

Post by HeadinHome »

Meg wrote: ↑Tue Nov 28, 2023 9:52 pm Nice puzzle, Ben. In Australia, is the movie "Elf" on TV 24/7 for 6 weeks before Christmas? Just curious.
17A?? “I KNOW him!!!”
The other Wendy. :roll:
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HeadinHome
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#45

Post by HeadinHome »

Found this challenging on my own for quite a while, seeing things that looked promising but weren’t, and completely missing step 1 which should have been easy. BUT, a group solve got that started for me, and I was instrumental in finding the next step… which got us there. A true team effort… epitome of group solve. That was fun!

Submitted and was confirmed almost immediately on the Gaffney page… seems to be working fine.
The other Wendy. :roll:
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KayW
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#46

Post by KayW »

👽🛸 Beamed.
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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boharr
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#47

Post by boharr »

Beamed.
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HeadinHome
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#48

Post by HeadinHome »

benchen71 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 29, 2023 1:37 am Awaiting the beam... [I don't want to lose my solver streak! :D]
Wow Ben… now we know how you keep those streaks going… write your own puzzle and “solve” it. Whatever gets you to the top, man. :lol:
The other Wendy. :roll:
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woozy
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#49

Post by woozy »

Joe Ross wrote: ↑Tue Nov 28, 2023 12:12 pm MGWCC #808 dropped. It's a Week 1 by @benchen71!
Somehow managed to miss this announcement. In my opinion it certainly was not a week 4 but in no way was it a week 1. I'd say it was an somewhat easy week 3 or maybe a kind of hard week 2. I'm inclined for a week 3 as the metanism is no explicitely given or hinted at and has to be noticed. But it is most certainly not a week 1. (Although ... I guess "You Built this City" [which was harder than this] has thrown the concept of a week 1 out the window... and was it a permanent rip in the fabric of the universe? Time will probably never tell.)
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
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woozy
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#50

Post by woozy »

HeadinHome wrote: ↑Wed Nov 29, 2023 11:46 am
benchen71 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 29, 2023 1:37 am Awaiting the beam... [I don't want to lose my solver streak! :D]
Wow Ben… now we know how you keep those streaks going… write your own puzzle and “solve” it. Whatever gets you to the top, man. :lol:
I wonder how many people come back to a puzzle they constructed months ago and find they can't solve it at all....
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
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dlonoff
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#51

Post by dlonoff »

benchen71 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 29, 2023 1:37 am Awaiting the beam... [I don't want to lose my solver streak! :D]
Should've gone for the 1Across badge 😜
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DrTom
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#52

Post by DrTom »

Soooo close, got the first part and had a second part that was logical, fit the prompt, fit the mechanism and was dead wrong. Thanks to @lbray53 for steering me away from disaster. I'd LIKE to believe I would have seen it on my own if I kept looking but my mind was set on what I thought was correct...sigh!
Last edited by DrTom on Wed Nov 29, 2023 1:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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!
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MikeyG
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#53

Post by MikeyG »

benchen71 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 28, 2023 4:40 pm Thanks for the great feedback, everyone! I woke up to find that Matt had selected one of the five puzzles I sent him. I had no idea which one he was going to select, if at all. And to find he also decided to make it a "downs only / no instructions" puzzle - wow!

And congrats to @MikeyG for being "1 Across"! I guess doing all those MOATs and thereby being somewhat familiar with my puzzling style paid off! :D
Pretty impressed to hear you had five puzzles at the ready...although I think you said you're like a year ahead in the MOATs! :o

I will say that for the WSJ, I always pause and think, "Are we due for a Shenk or a Gaffney?" before I start. If you asked me what their differences are, I'm not sure I could articulate, but sometimes, getting into a creator's mind helps. Pete's music metas, several MMM-ers, etc. And part of it's just luck. :lol:
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 92. It's a Breeze
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Andrew Bradburn
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#54

Post by Andrew Bradburn »

Would appreciate a nudge from someone. I have step one, but finding the end point has been elusive so far. Nothing 100% for sure. Doesn't feel like a week 1.
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Cinny
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#55

Post by Cinny »

I was in a deep rabbit hole(which I thought made perfect sense), until @Boharr pulled me free. Beamed up!
Cindy Heisler
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HoldThatThought
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#56

Post by HoldThatThought »

Available, if needed. For an hour or so, anyway.
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ship4u
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#57

Post by ship4u »

Beamed! Nice meta. Thanks, Ben. Not the easiest of instructions to follow, for me anyway... :)
Don & Cynthia

We are always happy to get to know other muggles and help in any way! PM's are always welcome. The next best thing to winning a mug is helping a fellow muggle win a mug!
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Joe Ross
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#58

Post by Joe Ross »

Imageed
at 205. Joe Ross 11/29 - 15:21
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DrTom
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#59

Post by DrTom »

Luckily I had help from a gentleman; in at #193
Gentleman.jpg
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!
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Andrew Bradburn
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#60

Post by Andrew Bradburn »

Thanks to BarbaraK and HoldThatThought for nudging me in the right direction. In at 210.
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