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? Australia is known for its barbies (what we call barbecues) thanks to that Paul Hogan tourism ad with the famous line, "I'll slip another shrimp on the barbie for you!" What might be less well known is our Swap 'n' Go gas bottles. However, I don't think that will matter in this meta, the answer to which is a seven-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.
Last edited by benchen71 on Sun Nov 06, 2022 4:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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!
SeamusOL wrote: ↑Tue Nov 01, 2022 1:33 am
The references in 37/38 across are incorrect though.
Thanks for picking that up. I've updated the puzzle on Crosshare, but I don't think I need to update the files.
For those of you solving with the PUZ file and the PDF, the errors are not meta-related!
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!
Okay... that was weird. But getable. Although I resisted the mechanism for a long time.
I guess I should change my signature, and start promoting this meta: Hungry Little Creature. I was going to sent it to people for testing but I dropped the ball on it.
This one is playing harder than I thought it would. It seems @Abide was right to reject this as a possible MMM! At the end of the first 24 hours the following solvers have been successful:
Cindy Weatherman
Darth
Hector
JHSeeman
Dave C
woozy
dplass
Br1
whimsy
Meg
ChrisKochmanski
BrennerTJ
That's only 12, which is definitely less than I would have hoped for for a "week one"!
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!
benchen71 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 02, 2022 2:40 am
This one is playing harder than I thought it would. It seems @Abide was right to reject this as a possible MMM! At the end of the first 24 hours the following solvers have been successful:
Cindy Weatherman
Darth
Hector
JHSeeman
Dave C
woozy
dplass
Br1
whimsy
Meg
ChrisKochmanski
BrennerTJ
That's only 12, which is definitely less than I would have hoped for for a "week one"!
Full disclosure, I got a hint/nudge from @woozy, thanks!
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!
1. There are no hints in the grid. The only signpost is the puzzle title, and the key word is "swap". Ignore the rest. There is absolutely nothing to be gained by swapping "N"s around.
2. Concentrate on the entries with clues that end in "?"
3. Did you notice that the entries for the clues that ended in "?" had two parts? (Either two linked grid entries, or two words in the one entry.)
4. You're looking for gases.
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!
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