"Anomalies" by benchen71

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!)
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benchen71
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Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:50 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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#21

Post by benchen71 »

Final batch of solvers before the answer reveal:

Pair O Ducks
jbird
ReB
Deepak B

That's a total of 44.
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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benchen71
Posts: 2438
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:50 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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#22

Post by benchen71 »

Here's the solution to "Anomalies":

Anomalies (solution).png

The "checkerboard" squares above are black squares that I have colour-coded so that they match their rotationally-symmetrical letters.

This grid was tricky to construct, but very rewarding. I especially enjoyed getting most of the meta answer letters into theme-related grid entries.
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:
Dplass
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Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2019 10:09 am

#23

Post by Dplass »

I have trouble trying to construct regular grids...making a non symmetric with meta built in must have been really really tough!
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ajk
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#24

Post by ajk »

lol oops, I missed the I from IRREGULARITIES because I was only considering the paired rows, and VARFORM seemed to kinda fit. Ah well. :)
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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