XWord Muggles Forum

I caught the theme immediately as I was solving back on Friday. Two days later, I still have no idea what to do with it!

No nudge requested yet. But I do have a Q: do only solo solves count towards streaks / leaderboard etc?

(I have no streak ATM, as I haven't gotten a MGWCC right since June 3)

ricky wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 5:17 pm I caught the theme immediately as I was solving back on Friday. Two days later, I still have no idea what to do with it!

No nudge requested yet. But I do have a Q: do only solo solves count towards streaks / leaderboard etc?

(I have no streak ATM, as I haven't gotten a MGWCC right since June 3)

All solves count on the leaderboard and the streak leaderboard. The difference is the swag and notoriety at year's end.

Beamed up (or rather will be, once the board updates) thanks to a couple of kindly nudges that allowed me to climb out of the deep rabbit warren I was busy exploring.

Man, that was a battle! Beam me up!

is it a solo solve if someone tells you that the road you have taken that doesn't seem to lead anywhere is indeed a dead end?
Is it a solo solve if they tell you that about two dead-end roads? Three?
How many such roads must man walk down, before it's not a solo solve? (Do I get a Nobel for asking?)

Beamed up. Had the "pieces" quickly, but couldn't assemble without a meta whisperer. Clever, as always.

Bird Lives wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 9:46 pm is it a solo solve if someone tells you that the road you have taken that doesn't seem to lead anywhere is indeed a dead end?
Is it a solo solve if they tell you that about two dead-end roads? Three?
How many such roads must man walk down, before it's not a solo solve? (Do I get a Nobel for asking?)

Back when Matt added the solo solve question, he posted a bunch of info about it. It basically amounted to if anyone tells you anything, it's not a solo solve.

But that never made it into the FAQ, so anyone who signed up in the last 2.5 years didn't have any easy way to know that. So much as I love having another column in my spreadsheet to track the solos each week, I do wonder how meaningful it really is.

Beamed up here too, but not without a patient, careful nudger eliminating false lights and flashing the right one so I could pick it out! (Thank you!)

Is there a button for 5+ ? Diabolical. The obfuscations! The one-way signs posted the wrong way!

Based on comments above and the fact that others who were nudged did post a solve, I shall post mine too (not solo).. but not without a tinge of sheepishness.

Officially requesting a nudge. Happy to lay out the pieces I already have / strategies I've already tried.

Good morning All,

If any kindly souls out there see this in the next hour or two I too would greatly appreciate a nudge. I’ve been down many a promising rabbit hole but nothing has quite worked. I’m also happy to share my progress and what I’ve tried.

Thanks in advance!

BarbaraK wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 10:47 pm

Bird Lives wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 9:46 pm is it a solo solve if someone tells you that the road you have taken that doesn't seem to lead anywhere is indeed a dead end?
Is it a solo solve if they tell you that about two dead-end roads? Three?
How many such roads must man walk down, before it's not a solo solve? (Do I get a Nobel for asking?)

Back when Matt added the solo solve question, he posted a bunch of info about it. It basically amounted to if anyone tells you anything, it's not a solo solve.

But that never made it into the FAQ, so anyone who signed up in the last 2.5 years didn't have any easy way to know that. So much as I love having another column in my spreadsheet to track the solos each week, I do wonder how meaningful it really is.

I went looking for that specific information on Matt's site, and thought it interesting that I couldn’t find it. Matt has, however, put a link to our forum in his FAQs.
Edit: either I missed it or Matt just put something in his FAQs about what a solo solve is.

Here's what Matt said on January 18, 2019:

3) Solo solve on a puzzle means that you got ZERO outside help. No nudges, no winks, no hints, not one little letter. [Clarification, 12:10 PM: This means no help from other HUMANS. You can Google anything you like.]

FrankieHeck wrote: ↑Tue Jun 29, 2021 9:04 am Here's what Matt said on January 18, 2019:

3) Solo solve on a puzzle means that you got ZERO outside help. No nudges, no winks, no hints, not one little letter. [Clarification, 12:10 PM: This means no help from other HUMANS. You can Google anything you like.]

• Good enough for Matt, good enough for me

• Good enough for MGWCC, good enough for WSJCC & muggles' ship/shore status

• On his entry form, Matt should change the default setting for "Solo solve?:" to "No"

I am as nudge friendly as anyone else but try to preserve AHA! moments as best I can. The value added to new muggles' accelerated skills & enjoyment and the sharing fun for even the saltiest of solvers can be incredible.

Joe Ross wrote: ↑Tue Jun 29, 2021 11:05 am I am as nudge friendly as anyone else but try to preserve AHA! moments as best I can. The value added to new muggles' accelerated skills & enjoyment and the sharing fun for even the saltiest of solvers can be incredible.

This!

I explain I prefer to nudge in small doses rather than ruin the solve.
Always easier to nudge a bit more than to put the AHA! back in the puzzle.

BarbaraK wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 10:47 pm
But that never made it into the FAQ, so anyone who signed up in the last 2.5 years didn't have any easy way to know that. So much as I love having another column in my spreadsheet to track the solos each week, I do wonder how meaningful it really is.

I can’t believe that I suggested that anything in or potentially in my meta spreadsheets might be meaningful and got no reaction. Are you all just humoring me?! Figure I’m too far gone to even be worth teasing about my nutty geekiness?

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, so how about if I paraphrase that fount of wisdom, Mr. Ed:

A nudge is a nudge, of course, of course,
And no one is solo when nudged, of course,
Unless, of course, you have no chance of medaling anyway.

Because, as noted above, solo doesn’t affect anything except eligibility for year end prizes. (And data on meaningless spreadsheets:)

Joe Ross wrote: ↑Tue Jun 29, 2021 11:05 am

• On his entry form, Matt should change the default setting for "Solo solve?:" to "No"

I did get burned by this recently -- was so happy to be unstuck (on a week 2 no less, IIRC) that I totally spaced checking the 'no' under solo solve. Sent a quick email telling Matt to reduce his solo count by one.

^ but I'm sure anyone winning a prize at year's end who failed to switch the button to NO would graciously defer their swag... right??

BarbaraK wrote: ↑Tue Jun 29, 2021 12:01 pm I can’t believe that I suggested that anything in or potentially in my meta spreadsheets might be meaningful and got no reaction. Are you all just humoring me?! Figure I’m too far gone to even be worth teasing about my nutty geekiness?

Yeah, too polite to say anything. One of my friends is an actuary who keeps excel charts on things such as baby gender guesses and the like. I try not to laugh where she can hear me.

It's impressive that well more than half of the solvers this week opted into the non-solo-solve button. This suggests that the typical meta solver is not reluctant to admit when we've had help, which squares with my experience around here, and so I think that Barbara's solo solves column probably does track something meaningful---certainly more meaningful than total solvers, which depends on how willing folks are to offer and seek help, and to submit when helped.

As I mentioned to someone in PMs, one path that caught my eye was that 2 of the 4 coins are obliquely referenced in clues ("Ike" and "one-fourth") and I searched far and wide but couldn't find the other two... What really made me think I was onto something there was that their grid entries (ETO & DREI) weren't "real English words" and looked like, if I could find a penny & nickel clue, they might have 9 letters combined in their entries that when put together would spell something real (like the actual eventual answer did). I also thought the "template" could mean to use the symmetrical match of the grid entry, and the opposite-grid-locations for those 2 seemed plausible for that use (IDO / STET).