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? We all like to play games, both the board kind (nice!) and the inter-personal relationship manipulative kind (not so nice!) So this meta is for all you game-players out there. Good luck at winning out in the end by finding the answer to the meta which is an eight-letter game that can be played by two people.
The easiest way to submit is on Crosshare (and you get instant feedback and unlimited attempts!) But you can also PM me with your submission. Either way, I'll compile a list of those who successfully solve the meta.
Last edited by benchen71 on Sun Jan 15, 2023 4:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Check out "The MOAT Mini Pack of Marching Bands" here. US$5 gets you 7 Marching Bands which, hard enough on their own, now contain metas too. And once again there's a mega-meta!
Well, that was a fun walk across the bridge! Hopefully that bodes well for the week, my first thought was NOT my typical “OK turn all the words into numbers, square them, take a cube root, compare that to atomic numbers, write out the chemical formula derived, find out what the dd/mm/yyyy that was discovered and use those numbers to find letter squares.
Nope this time I sais “Hey, what if…” and I was right.
Thanks Ben
Last edited by DrTom on Tue Jan 10, 2023 1:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges IF ASKED; metas should be about fun, not frustration. PM me what you have done so far, because often you are closer than you think, and I will try to help you move along.
If you want help with a meta, feel free to PM me. The more specific you are about what you have and what you want, the more likely I can help without spoiling.
(And if I help you win a mug, I’ll be especially delighted.)
Indeed “Well Done Ben..and that is not a rare occasion”
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges IF ASKED; metas should be about fun, not frustration. PM me what you have done so far, because often you are closer than you think, and I will try to help you move along.
DrTom wrote: Tue Jan 10, 2023 1:00 pm
Well, that was a fun walk across the bridge! Hopefully that bodes well for the week, my first thought was NOT my typical “OK turn all the words into numbers, square them, take a cube root, compare that to atomic numbers, write out the chemical formula derived, find out what the dd/mm/yyyy that was discovered and use those numbers to find letter squares.
Nope this time I sais “Hey, what if…” and I was right.
DrTom wrote: Tue Jan 10, 2023 1:00 pm
Well, that was a fun walk across the bridge! Hopefully that bodes well for the week, my first thought was NOT my typical “OK turn all the words into numbers, square them, take a cube root, compare that to atomic numbers, write out the chemical formula derived, find out what the dd/mm/yyyy that was discovered and use those numbers to find letter squares.
There's still a little while until the end of the first 24 hours, but this puzzle is proving to be a tough nut to crack! So far, the following solvers have successfully solved the meta:
Hector
Laura M
ChrisKochmanski
Cindy Weatherman
Meg
boharr
BarbaraK
DrTom
woozy
DIS
Tyrpmom
joe
Just 12 to get us going!
Check out "The MOAT Mini Pack of Marching Bands" here. US$5 gets you 7 Marching Bands which, hard enough on their own, now contain metas too. And once again there's a mega-meta!
DrTom wrote: Tue Jan 10, 2023 1:00 pm
Well, that was a fun walk across the bridge! Hopefully that bodes well for the week, my first thought was NOT my typical “OK turn all the words into numbers, square them, take a cube root, compare that to atomic numbers, write out the chemical formula derived, find out what the dd/mm/yyyy that was discovered and use those numbers to find letter squares.
Nope this time I sais “Hey, what if…” and I was right.
Thanks Ben
My method was surprisingly similar. I saw one entry in the grid and that "if it were mmmm it would be nnnnn and that would ggggggg" but it seems the think that is just a solvers whim. It felt too loose and I thought it wouldn't work and it gave me too much stuff but... dang if it didn't give me something I could work with. It felt too loose but I have since figured out why it works so very tightly.
I'd prefer it if the nutcracker were more bcbcbcbc rather than ssssssss, but it's does turn into a real solid fit.
Since that's a total of 15 - and I thought this would be a "week 2" puzzle! - I think it's time for some early nudges...
Check out "The MOAT Mini Pack of Marching Bands" here. US$5 gets you 7 Marching Bands which, hard enough on their own, now contain metas too. And once again there's a mega-meta!
1. There is a hint in the clue for 41 across: It takes two to do this (which is also a vague hint concerning something you need to do eight times in the grid to solve the meta).
2. Did you notice that there are no double letters in the entire grid?
3. Look for squares containing letters that can be doubled and still form words across and down.
4. The clues for 34 across and 25 down might help to discover one tricky letter!
Check out "The MOAT Mini Pack of Marching Bands" here. US$5 gets you 7 Marching Bands which, hard enough on their own, now contain metas too. And once again there's a mega-meta!
Ahhhhhh, finally! Needed the second nudge and got off the couch, thru the moat or out of the bag, whatever it is, I just can't remember anymore. But really cool concept, Ben!
Needed the third nudge (although the second one had me in the same ballpark and I probably should just have been patient ). Also needed to backsolve one letter, but finally got it. Fun stuff, thanks.
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
Nudged across the moat. Very clever. The meta, that is. Me, not so much 
). Also needed to backsolve one letter, but finally got it. Fun stuff, thanks.