Count Off Into Teams

Available by emailing a request to PandorasBlocksWMC[at]gmail[dot]com, these meta puzzles are distributed by email every Sunday. Pandora's Blocks crosswords are intended to spread the popularity of meta crosswords, however, they are not just for beginners and run the gamut it terms of difficulty.
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KayW
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#21

Post by KayW »

:crossed_swords: :rabbit: :sauropod: Nudged out of the tar pits. Yes, that was tough! Thanks, Will
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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DrTom
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#22

Post by DrTom »

Wow, I cannot remember when I was so frustrated and then so amazed at the same time. This puzzle is easily the rival of "Word for Word" for its complexity and ingenuity (and in the end simplicity) at the same time. Even when I had some of the steps in hand I still had a tough time getting out of the box. I can't really count this as a solve, but I will certainly take credit for the journey. EXCELLENT job Will.
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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benchen71
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#23

Post by benchen71 »

Dinoed, after a nudge from @DrTom. Tricky puzzle!
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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Cap'n Rick
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#24

Post by Cap'n Rick »

That was quite a mechanism, Will! Needed the Friday Muggle ZOOM group - particularly @BarbaraK - to point me in the right direction, but I'm out of the box!
Ahoy! Check out my meta puzzles here! Check out "Smooth Sailing Sundays" here!
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ReB
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#25

Post by ReB »

Out of the box, part of which was of my construction while trying to solve - with thanks to BarbaraK earlier today in the Zoom group to start me off - though I created some unnecessary obstacles due to carelessness. Remarkable that Will could pull this off in a standard 17x17 grid.
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Bird Lives
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#26

Post by Bird Lives »

Awesome puzzle. I thought of how it must work when I first filled in the grid, didn't have the precise technique, put it aside and forgot about it till it was brought up in the Zoom.
Jay
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Abide
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#27

Post by Abide »

I needed an ejector seat button but am finally out. Very clever idea!
The site is just a web page, a meeting place, a clubhouse - it's the group that's special.
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rjy
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#28

Post by rjy »

I’ve got a major piece done, but 25m to go and not sure I can bring this in for a landing…
Ray
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rjy
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#29

Post by rjy »

Post-deadline dino here, required WAY too many nudges so the AHA was muted, but not my admiration for the construction. Kudos, Will!
Ray
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Laura M
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#30

Post by Laura M »

It all makes so much sense when it's explained! I started on the right track but counted to 2 and to 4 (because when do you ever need 3 teams? You'd think I would have tried it though...). I also spent some time finding which 3- and 4-letter words in the grid could be formed from each of the 12-letter words, but somehow I never put the concepts together. Nice puzzle, anyway!
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woozy
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#31

Post by woozy »

Laura M wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 3:02 am It all makes so much sense when it's explained!
When/where will it be explained?
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
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whimsy
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#32

Post by whimsy »

woozy wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 2:26 am
Laura M wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 3:02 am It all makes so much sense when it's explained!
When/where will it be explained?
In general you can get a solution/explanation for a Pandora puzzle when a new one appears.

https://pandorasblocks.org/metapuzzles

However, neither of the two most recent solutions have been posted yet, which I attribute to the fact that they are going to be discussed in the next
Outside the Blocks podcast. Expected to come out this Sunday --

https://outsidetheblocks.buzzsprout.com/

(Info about Outside the Blocks under Acapulco Lounge thread. Hope this helps even though you might have to wait a bit.)
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damefox
Posts: 484
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#33

Post by damefox »

whimsy wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:37 pm https://pandorasblocks.org/metapuzzles

However, neither of the two most recent solutions have been posted yet, which I attribute to the fact that they are going to be discussed in the next
Outside the Blocks podcast. Expected to come out this Sunday --

https://outsidetheblocks.buzzsprout.com/
I think the main issue is not the forthcoming podcast but just that @AnswerPfinder sometimes forgets to update the website. BUT, if you are subscribed to the email list, you get an email with the full solution one week after the puzzle goes out. So subscribers to the email list received solutions to both of the previous two puzzles. If you want to subscribe to the list, you can do that by scrolling to the bottom of the Pandora's Blocks website and typing in your email.
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AnswerPfinder
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#34

Post by AnswerPfinder »

damefox wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:49 pm
I think the main issue is not the forthcoming podcast but just that @AnswerPfinder sometimes forgets to update the website.
Me??? Forget to do something???? NEVER!!
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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Dplass
Posts: 1739
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2019 10:09 am

#35

Post by Dplass »

whimsy wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:37 pm
woozy wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 2:26 am
Laura M wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 3:02 am It all makes so much sense when it's explained!
When/where will it be explained?
In general you can get a solution/explanation for a Pandora puzzle when a new one appears.

https://pandorasblocks.org/metapuzzles

However, neither of the two most recent solutions have been posted yet, which I attribute to the fact that they are going to be discussed in the next
Outside the Blocks podcast. Expected to come out this Sunday --

https://outsidetheblocks.buzzsprout.com/

(Info about Outside the Blocks under Acapulco Lounge thread. Hope this helps even though you might have to wait a bit.)
Waiting multiple weeks for solutions is a turnoff to me.
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