MGWCC #817 — "Keep It Simple"

[markhr]

Like others, after identifying most of the overly specific clues, I found that if I alternated the Across and Down answers I got PATH OF L to start with. That strongly suggested the answer. I anagrammed the rest and found I had everything but a the second S of RESISTANCE (I missed SHOWS).
I finally concluded it was like an electrical current, flowing from PANDA down through TEXTS, then back up again.

Very odd but imaginative construction, worthy of a week 4.

[boharr]

WSJ story today (behind paywall):
From Wordle to Gordle, Fans Do Anything to Keep Their Streaks Alive
People go to great lengths so they don’t miss playing games that reset daily, from setting alarms at 12:01 a.m. to hiding in a bathroom stall on vacation. ’It’s emotionally damaging for me when I lose a streak.’

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/wordle-go ... lista_pos1

Gifted Unlocked Article

[KayW]

WSJ story today (behind paywall):
From Wordle to Gordle, Fans Do Anything to Keep Their Streaks Alive
People go to great lengths so they don’t miss playing games that reset daily, from setting alarms at 12:01 a.m. to hiding in a bathroom stall on vacation. ’It’s emotionally damaging for me when I lose a streak.’

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/wordle-go ... lista_pos1

Gifted Unlocked Article

I don't worry about streaks because I often solve on different devices or platforms. But the worst part is - the temptation of all those other games mentioned in this article that I haven't yet tried. I could end up spending my whole day on these things!

[SamKat9]

There's no way I could keep up with a daily streak. Now something weekly like MGCWC is more feasible for me.

[lbray53]

So in reading Matt's explanation of the solution for this puzzle, it seems most people solved it backwards. That is, we simplied the clues instead of realizing that all of the superfluous information in the clues made the solution to those clues simple. Even using the information, the last couple of letters were wonky in my opinion. Mostly because the previous ones followed the very strict down/across/down/across pattern.

[MajordomoTom]

agree, it worked until the "NCE" and then ... NON and CAN'T don't intersect

[Bird Lives]

The strategy I eventually arrived at was to take use the entries whose clues were unnecessarily long. My criterion was not hard/easy but long/short. This gave me all or nearly all the right letters. They seemed to be out of order in the grid. But then I thought of the title. Maybe the path from first letter to 21st was one that involved no resistance, i.e., it did not have to go around or through black squares. Maybe the path also did not cross itself. That worked until the last one or two letters, and I figured that was close enough.