"Cluedo" 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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MikeyG
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#41

Post by MikeyG »

Yeah, @benchen71, I knew everything from those 5 nudges. :lol:

Where are you, weapon???

Edit #1: Had to brute force it - technically, there was one key piece from an earlier nudge that helped me, but I still have to figure out why the answer is correct for the weapon! I currently have no idea, haha.

Edit #2: Oh my goodness, wow. As soon as I brute forced it, I went back to the grid, and I saw what I needed to.

What a puzzle!!!

Image
Less cross words, more crosswords.

Solve my latest "Pun of a Kind" Meta!: 92. It's a Breeze
Dplass
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#42

Post by Dplass »

Even with all the nudges and a kick and a shove from a friendly muggle, I'm never gonna get this one. Next week is a week 1, right?
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benchen71
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#43

Post by benchen71 »

Dplass wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 1:00 pm Even with all the nudges and a kick and a shove from a friendly muggle, I'm never gonna get this one. Next week is a week 1, right?
Yes, it is. :)
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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ReB
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#44

Post by ReB »

Finally crossed the MOAT after a private nudge showed me the path to complete the last third. Quite a remarkable construction.
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Guffman
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#45

Post by Guffman »

Sorry I got to this so late. It got such rave reviews during the Tuesday night Zoom.
Anyway, a really wonderful puzzle and so glad I gave it the attention it deserved.
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benchen71
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#46

Post by benchen71 »

Final solver update. The following sleuths correctly identified the culprit, room and weapon:

Tane
Jim Dean
CPJohnson
Cindy Heisler
Abide
Mikey G
ReB

That's a total of 50!
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
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#47

Post by benchen71 »

Rev. Green looked around at the others in the room, wondering who was going to break the uncomfortable silence first. There were some anxious looks: Mrs. White was looking very pale; Miss. Scarlett looked embarrassed (was that a sign of guilt?); and Mrs. Peacock was looking rather depressed.

Col. Mustard suddenly cried out, "Gadzooks, man! You called us together, Green. Are you going to put us out of our misery? Who killed Boddy?"

Rev. Green stepped forward, took a deep breath, and spoke...

Cluedo (solution).png

At that moment, the door opened and a police Inspector stepped in, moving quickly to Prof. Plum's side.

"Damn, your eyes, Green!" snarled Prof. Plum, as the Inspector hand-cuffed him. "You always were too clever by half. And I'd do it again, if given the chance!"

...

This was a fun meta to construct. I initially suggested doing something Cluedo-related to Josh and Mikey, as a possible follow-up for our "Let's Get Meta" collaboration: each of us could construct a meta revealing one of either the culprit, the room, and the weapon. But it didn't eventuate. And then I thought, why not put all three things into the one meta. I'm so glad you enjoyed the result! :D
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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KayW
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#48

Post by KayW »

This is an absolutely amazing puzzle, Ben. To paraphrase an old US commercial, it's THREE! THREE! THREE! metas in one.

I found PROF PLUM pretty quickly, and then combed through the corresponding clues to determine that LOUNGE was missing. But I'm afraid I literally "jumped the gun" on the weapon when I saw REVOLVER diagonally in the grid. I tried entering that answer into Crosshare THREE times. (LOL what's that definition of insanity? But at least I was trying slight differences in phrasing.) I finally messaged Ben and he confirmed that my answer was wrong. Hmm. Does that mean he could POSSIBLY have found a way to cram all the weapons but one into the grid, too? Why yes he did!

Brilliant.
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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TeamDoubleTow
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#49

Post by TeamDoubleTow »

Wow! We had 2 out of three as still but didn't see all the weapons. Very clever. I can't imagine how long it must have taken!
Team DoubleTow=Ali who posts here, Alex & Maya the hound(with occasional assistance from son)
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schmidzy
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#50

Post by schmidzy »

Such an impressive feat, Ben!

I totally missed seeing the letters spelling out PROF PLUM. Found the room quickly, and the weapon not too long later, and then hit a brick wall. I thought to myself, well, I've already used the clues, and letters in the grid; what's left? ... Aha, the meanings! So I started connecting items in the grid with the colors of the six game pieces:

Mrs. White - SNO
Mrs. Peacock - SLOE
Rev. Green - PEAR
Miss Scarlet - PAPER ROSES
Col. Mustard - ACETIC ACID (yes, yes, I know it's colorless, but the clue said vinegar and that can be yellowish!)

... Which, funnily enough, left our distinguished culprit himself, Prof. Plum.
MatthewL
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#51

Post by MatthewL »

Now that the solution has been posted, I just wanted to add to the kudos by saying this is one of the best metas I have ever seen. So incredibly clever in terms of hewing to the basic game play of Clue, and managing to get all that stuff into the grid -- I'm just in awe of the construction. Very, very well done!
Matthew
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BarbaraK
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#52

Post by BarbaraK »

schmidzy wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 8:39 am Such an impressive feat, Ben!

I totally missed seeing the letters spelling out PROF PLUM. Found the room quickly, and the weapon not too long later, and then hit a brick wall. I thought to myself, well, I've already used the clues, and letters in the grid; what's left? ... Aha, the meanings! So I started connecting items in the grid with the colors of the six game pieces:

Mrs. White - SNO
Mrs. Peacock - SLOE
Rev. Green - PEAR
Miss Scarlet - PAPER ROSES
Col. Mustard - ACETIC ACID (yes, yes, I know it's colorless, but the clue said vinegar and that can be yellowish!)

... Which, funnily enough, left our distinguished culprit himself, Prof. Plum.
I had the same solving experience except for a few different colors:
Green PEAR
Mustard (yellow) LARD
Plum SLOE
Scarlet (red) BARN or PAPER ROSES
White MICE or SNO or FETA

That left me with Peacock. I wasn’t too confident as it felt rather loose and the rest of the meta was so tight, but had to try it anyway. Twice:)
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.)
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Bird Lives
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#53

Post by Bird Lives »

I know my praise is a tad late, but it's still a great puzzle.

A comment on last night's Zoom reminded me that I had dropped this one after completing only the first step. I went back to it this morning and, without looking at the reveal, nailed the room and weapon.
Jay
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