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How Many Metas?

Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:49 pm
by Inca
Curious minds want to know:

How many metas do you do each week or each month?

As for me, I do only the WSJ meta. Very occasionally, almost never, I'll attempt another. I console myself with the belief that all the super solvers on here must do, or have done, way more of them than I. Time to find out if I am right or not.

Re: How Many Metas?

Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:55 pm
by Hector
A lot. Basically:
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Re: How Many Metas?

Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:59 pm
by SReh26
Inca wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:49 pm Curious minds want to know:

How many metas do you do each week or each month?

As for me, I do only the WSJ meta. Very occasionally, almost never, I'll attempt another. I console myself with the belief that all the super solvers on here must do, or have done, way more of them than I. Time to find out if I am right or not.
I do the same as you, only the wsj meta and -almost- never others except the wsj daily crossword.

I‘m also curious how else Muggles use their brilliance when not doing metas. Surely in very important ways I‘d think.

Re: How Many Metas?

Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:17 pm
by Joe Ross
WSJCC, MGWCC, & MMMM, for sure.

About 1/3 to 1/2 of MMMs, MEOWs, PBs. Will be adding MikeyG's PoaK & Ricky's LDs to the 1/3 to 1/2 Club, I plan & hope. Wish I could do them all as they are all excellent!

Subscribe to JJs & PGW but haven't gotten into the flow of solving them. They are also beyond excellent, but not in my habit, yet, and likely won't be with time constraints.

Other big, personal puzzle time-stealers are the "Saturday" WSJ Number Puzzles, which drop at 10 AM ET, Thursdays. That's a solid hour or three every week.

Re: How Many Metas?

Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 3:57 pm
by FrankieHeck
Metas I always do are WSJ, MMMM, MGWCC, PB, Fireball, and Mikey's. If PGW ever comes out of meta retirement, I would definitely add that.

I often do the Muggle Monday. I always at least attempt the Fill Me In and Lexicon Devil, but I'll not feel compelled to stick with them as long if I struggle. I also regularly do some puzzles on the calendar that aren't meta crosswords. I don't do the MEOWs at this time, because I do need a little bit of time for things like eating and sleeping.

Re: How Many Metas?

Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 4:32 pm
by Inca
SReh26 wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:59 pm
Inca wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:49 pm Curious minds want to know:

How many metas do you do each week or each month?

As for me, I do only the WSJ meta. Very occasionally, almost never, I'll attempt another. I console myself with the belief that all the super solvers on here must do, or have done, way more of them than I. Time to find out if I am right or not.
I do the same as you, only the wsj meta and -almost- never others except the wsj daily crossword.

I‘m also curious how else Muggles use their brilliance when not doing metas. Surely in very important ways I‘d think.
I do other crosswords as well: WSJ daily & NYT every day and Sunday (although I sometimes fall behind) I used to do (try to do) the WSJ cryptics but I don't have a printer here and they don't have a version I can do online

Re: How Many Metas?

Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 7:29 pm
by hoover
I'm basically a Monday-Wednesday-Friday (Thursday) kinda guy, i.e. Muggle Meta Monday, MEOW, and the WSJ. I've tried the MMMM a couple times but like I've said in another thread, I suck at post-1850s music. Once you start getting into that newfangled Bruckner, Saint-Saëns, and god forbid you go as late and wild-n-crazy as Schoenberg, I'm lost.

Re: How Many Metas?

Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 9:05 pm
by boharr
Almost always: WSJ, MMM, Pandora's Box, MEOW, PGW (if he comes back).
Often: Lexican Devil, MikeyG
Sometimes: Fill Me In, MMMM

Re: How Many Metas?

Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 9:13 pm
by SReh26
hoover wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 7:29 pm I'm basically a Monday-Wednesday-Friday (Thursday) kinda guy, i.e. Muggle Meta Monday, MEOW, and the WSJ. I've tried the MMMM a couple times but like I've said in another thread, I suck at post-1850s music. Once you start getting into that newfangled Bruckner, Saint-Saëns, and god forbid you go as late and wild-n-crazy as Schoenberg, I'm lost.
No Stravinsky for you, then? Chopin?

Did you recognize Preterosso‘s moniker? There was a composer who was known for that nickname.

Re: How Many Metas?

Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 2:02 am
by oldjudge
I’m with Hector. I do every one I can find. With some whose constructors are a little iffy I limit the amount of time I will spend on the meta to about an hour. If I don’t see the answer by then, or at least a clear path, I put it away and may or may not return to it.

Re: How Many Metas?

Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 7:51 am
by BarbaraK
Of the weeklies, I do WSJ and MGWCC always and MMM and Pandora often.

Others, I do MMMM, Fill Me In, and Fireball.

If those are quick and I end up with extra time, I’ll look at one of the others, but that doesn’t happen too often.

Re: How Many Metas?

Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:57 pm
by TMart
WSJ, MGWCC always, and MMM most of the time each week. I'll sometimes do MEOW and Pandora, but not very often. I also do MMMM every month, which I really enjoy, and sometimes I'll spend a little time trying to finish some of the handful of half-completed metas I've tried to construct but can't quite get over the finish line.

But I've spent signficantly less time on metas overall since the grandson arrived 8 months ago. Eating and sleeping is overrated. :lol:

Re: How Many Metas?

Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 3:48 pm
by femullen
I do only the WSJ meta. And when I say "do," I mean I fill out the grid and then dig holes. If you mean "do" as in "do to completion," I do only about 40% of the them.

Other than that, I have a full-time job, a long commute, a family, dogs, service organizations to serve, a lawn to mow, smallmouth bass to bother... I don't know how people find time for more than one meta. Well, unless you're Al Sisti, and they take you only ten minutes.

Re: How Many Metas?

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:13 pm
by C=64
I like doing Pandora's Blocks because Will produces quality puzzles which are checked by an editorial team. I stopped doing most of the amateur and one-man-show metas because it's not worth the frustration when there's an error in the puzzle or the esoteric mechanism hasn't been vetted by anyone besides the creator.