A weekly meta crossword on the forum started by member Josh (aka madhatter5). These puzzles are often very creative with solving mechanisms out of the norm and skewing towards the more challenging. Puzzles are posted every Wednesday, and the solution appears the following Tuesday.
I know this looks like a Benchen71 take-over. But don't worry: MEOW programming from other contributors will continue next week! Until then...
I remember as a child enjoying those "spot the difference" cartoons that would appear on the comics and crossword pages of some newspapers. This meta is the exact opposite of those cartoons. The answer to the meta is an 8-letter word.
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.
Nudges are here.
The solution will be posted Tuesday.
Last edited by benchen71 on Thu Oct 19, 2023 6:28 pm, edited 1 time 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!
Shannon PS: If you want help with a meta, PM what you have so I can help without spoiling too much. I've received lots of help in the beginning and I love to pay it forward!
The end of the first 24 hours brings us 17 solvers who managed to extricate the cat from the bag!
SeamusOL
Laura M
markhr
Pair O Ducks
rjy
Hector
SamKat9
merlinnimue
kurtalert
woozy
DIS
Tyrpmom
boharr
Meg
Cindy Weatherman
I K Snamhcok
Johnny Luau
I'm planning to release the nudges tomorrow morning, Australia time.
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!
Right church, wrong pew. I was SURE I had the mechanism but it was another brand of the same thing...silly me. Ben has thrown us some pretty interesting mechanisms. Now I need to see if I have anything even remotely as good for next week. So, the cat is out of the bag and wondering, "OK, what do I do next?"
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.
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. No hints in the grid, but the puzzle title should help.
2. The grid is separated into 9 4x4 sections. You're looking for an 8-letter answer. You do the math!
3. The opposite of "spot the difference" is "spot the same".
4. Take each pair of 4x4 sections in order and look for one letter that's the same in each pair.
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!
Yep, that last one did the trick. Had been doing something similar a different (unsuccessful) way. Can’t really say “stormed,” but concealed myself in a barrow of cabbages and snuck in a side door. Tnx!
Nudges didn't help. I was already doing nudge #4, and in two different ways (interpretations). In one way I don't get enough pieces, and in another way I get too many, and in both cases the pieces don't spell anything or even anagram to anything.
Hang on, I found a THIRD way to do what I was trying to do, and this one worked. Wow, that is the least obvious of the three mechanisms (IMHO). I'll explain after the reveal.
I don't have anything clever to say, but if I did, it would go here.
Eli
Had the right idea from the start, but needed the last nudge to define the process, as there were multiple mechanisms that were all plausible - and the correct one was not one I had considered.
Until then...
Nudge 4 did it for me, too. Thanks, Ben!
