"Verbectomy" - October 3, 2021

Available by emailing a request to PandorasBlocksWMC[at]gmail[dot]com, these meta puzzles are distributed by email every Sunday. Pandora's Blocks crosswords are intended to spread the popularity of meta crosswords, however, they are not just for beginners and run the gamut it terms of difficulty.
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Jeremy Smith
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#21

Post by Jeremy Smith »

🦕🦕🦕
My younger sisters had this game growing up.
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whimsy
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#22

Post by whimsy »

Success.
Capturedinofree.PNG
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benchen71
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#23

Post by benchen71 »

Nice one!
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! :shock:
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BrennerTJ
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#24

Post by BrennerTJ »

🦕
🤞🐰
-Tamara
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oldjudge
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#25

Post by oldjudge »

Tamara—Was Stony your nickname?
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woozy
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#26

Post by woozy »

Ooookay.....

I got it correct....

Now can someone tell my why????????


.......

Some people refer to answers as 100%er where when you get the mechanism and it yields an answer you know for certainty that your answer is correct.

Unless I'm missing something entirely, I'd be generous to call this a 56%er. Am I missing something entirely?
Latest meta: Never forget... and never mind (A WSJ retaliation)
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hcbirker
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#27

Post by hcbirker »

Finally got it. Was stumped for awhile until I remembered something.
Heidi
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joequavis
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#28

Post by joequavis »

1 out of 10, huh? Does that ratchet up a bit if you've never heard of the game?
Lost after step 0.5
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BarbaraK
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#29

Post by BarbaraK »

joequavis wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 5:34 pm 1 out of 10, huh? Does that ratchet up a bit if you've never heard of the game?
Lost after step 0.5
Google is your friend
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C=64
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#30

Post by C=64 »

Finally! The meta mechanism is clear, but it took me forever to finally envision the game that applies. 🦖🚂
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joequavis
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#31

Post by joequavis »

BarbaraK wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:31 pm
joequavis wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 5:34 pm 1 out of 10, huh? Does that ratchet up a bit if you've never heard of the game?
Lost after step 0.5
Google is your friend
Ok thanks I didn't think that would work...
DINO'd but not my favorite
Punguin
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#32

Post by Punguin »

Two weeks in a row with no idea where to begin since my guess was wrong. This is a "1"? Last weeks was a 5 and I still don't even understand it. I think these last two metas are the ones that jumped the shark for me. Oh well.
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woozy
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#33

Post by woozy »

C=64 wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:58 pm Finally! The meta mechanism is clear, but it took me forever to finally envision the game that applies. 🦖🚂
I got the game easily enough be it is fair? The mechanism gives you words associated with the game but not the game itself. And the mechanism imitates the end result of the game (you are left with a grid with all the objects removed from it--much like you would in the game). And the title hints at the game. But the game itself is never revealed. Is that fair? Others seem to think so but it leaves me feeling it is incomplete.
Latest meta: Never forget... and never mind (A WSJ retaliation)
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RPardoe
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#34

Post by RPardoe »

In my mind, there is a key factor that separates "easy" from "moderate" puzzles - is the answer extracted from letters in the puzzle or not. This one was one of those that I would call more moderate as the answer has to be pulled from the given clues. Along those lines - guess you also felt Al's MMM (Leap of Faith) was also incomplete for the same reason. All the statements you applied to Verbosity, could apply there as well.

Rather than use this thread to talk about puzzle ratings / mechanisms / etc - perhaps this is a topic for a dedicated thread?
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