« August 2004 Games | Main | Message from the creator of the All-World Trivia Challenge »
September 2004 Games
The September Issue of GAMES is on the streets. Feel free to discuss. It features another contest by Bob Lodge. (As if we didn't have enough to do!)
Comments
Great news about a Bob Lodger...any other contests in the September issue?
Posted by: Jim Miller | Jul 13, 2004 12:27:02 AM
Sept 2004 Contest:
I've generated the list of decreasing primes, up to 8 digits, with prime tails. Also palindromic +-1 primes. Available on request. There are still
n-gazillion factorial possible combinations.
Tim
Posted by: Tim Szeliga | Jul 21, 2004 9:37:55 AM
To Timothy...
GAMES contests like these are to be done on one's own...
DO NOT give out revealing information...
Keep it to yourself...
Posted by: Jim from Minnesota | Jul 21, 2004 11:24:00 AM
GAMES contests like these are to be done on one's own...
DO NOT give out revealing information...
Keep it to yourself...
If he wants to offer help to other solvers, what's wrong with that? Nobody is forcing you or anyone to accept his assistance. Lots of GAMES contests can only be reasonably won with the cooperation of others (Wish You Were Where, Nationwide Scavenger Hunt, etc.) It's not as if he posted the answer right here on the board and ruined it for everyone who wanted to do it on their own.
Posted by: Andrew | Jul 21, 2004 6:37:17 PM
To Andrew...
You misinterpreted what I wrote...
I said "GAMES contests like these"...
This contest can be solved on one's own...
Although it would take awhile...
It does not require any searching for obscure trivia or obscure items like the other contests you've mentioned...
It is a straight-forward logic problem with no red herrings...
Since nobody knows all the trivia in the world, I'm fine with collaboration on the types of contests you've mentioned, in fact, I encourage it...
I agree with you that the types of contests you've mentioned can sometimes only be won by people working together...
I've made many friends here because of it...
And I hope to make many more...
Posted by: Jim from Minnesota | Jul 22, 2004 6:57:44 AM
> You misinterpreted what I wrote...
So have you. If one were to eliminate the next-to-last sentence in my last post, the point would still stand: If he wants to give away answers to people who want them, that's no skin off your nose.
Posted by: Andrew | Jul 22, 2004 12:52:22 PM
I see you have changed what you wrote Andrew...
But let me ask you this...
"How would you feel if you worked long and hard to solve a GAMES contest only to see someone offer answers to anyone who comes along?"...
Posted by: Jim from Minnesota | Jul 23, 2004 7:12:41 AM
As long as I hadn't been the one who gave him the answers in the first place, I wouldn't care.
What did I change? There's no option to edit posts on this board.
Posted by: Andrew | Jul 23, 2004 4:54:31 PM
No one has asked, so the point is moot.
I'm working on the FIND_THE_FRACTION
puzzle anyway. The lists were just a
potboiler.
Today was a great day: I solved the bible numbers,
the key number, H, J, N, S and will take another crack at the T-labyrinth this weekend.
The most productive day since the first.
Posted by: Tim | Jul 23, 2004 6:07:02 PM
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
I think I did!
Thanks again, Bob!
Posted by: Sue | Jul 23, 2004 11:08:27 PM
GOTCHA! I found an error in the new
Games World of Puzzles Sept 2004 "Mixed Bag 11"
contest.
87. The only actress to win an Oscar and an Emmy in the same calendar year was once married to an actor who won an Emmy for portraying what author?
[The rest of the information in this post was deleted by the site hosts on 8/9/04. Please e-mail Tim for the additional information from this post.]
Posted by: Tim | Aug 6, 2004 4:01:23 PM
Tim...
Would you please refrain from printing out answers to ongoing contests?...
Thanks...
Posted by: Jim from Minnesota | Aug 6, 2004 5:44:12 PM
Jim makes a good point.
If you do find an error in a contest, post a comment ONLY that you have found an error (not what it is) and if people want to find out what it is they can e-mail you.
Also, I will remove the "extra" info in Tim's post
Thanks.
Posted by: JmSR | Aug 9, 2004 7:41:48 AM
I'm sowwwwy.
My exuberance took over.
I lost my head.
It'll never happen again.
Tell me what to do.
PUZZLE: Enclosed in this message is a
quote from a classic of world literature.
Citation, please.
Tim
Posted by: Tim | Aug 9, 2004 2:38:18 PM
On Mixed Bag 11, I have the following remaining:
I need answers to #1, #17, #18, #23, #28, #29, #46, #55, #59 and #76.
I have answers to these but am still looking for their respective matches: #15, #24, #25, #50, #57, #72, #81, #85, #89 and #96. Fortunately, I have the same number of unmatched answers as missing answers, so I think all of my answers are correct so far!
I've solved about half of the cryptogram and will work on the other half once I get more of the answers (those of you who who've worked on the cryptogram will understand where I'm coming from on this).
A few of the questions seem very "Bob Lodge"-like (with no disrespect meant to Mr. Hook, a consummate puzzle creator on his own), especially questions 16, 27, 58 and 65. I don't recall past Mixed Bag contests having such wordy questions (like in a Bob Lodge contest), but rather them being more straightforward.
I'm not looking for any answers or hints yet. Just wanted to provoke some discussion.
Posted by: MartinD | Aug 11, 2004 1:35:07 PM
I found another error in Sept 2004 GWOP Mixed Bag #11.
#46. What was the first theatrical production
to open the same night in US & England?
My sources show "The Lady or the Tiger" in the 1880s, which doesn't fit the required answer structure. If he's thinking of something even earlier, I haven't found it yet. My guess is that he missed this and found something later.
Frank Stockton, the author, was at the Broadway premiere. He didn't pull a Phil Collins-on-the-Concorde and also attend the London opening.
I also have my doubts about #52, the name of the victorious team in the first college football bowl in which No 1 ranked team defeated the No 2 ranked team.
Posted by: Tim | Aug 11, 2004 4:41:02 PM
#52 works. Read the question closely. There are some extra words in there on purpose.
Martin
Posted by: MartinD | Aug 11, 2004 5:00:13 PM
Finished!!
That is, I cracked the crypto,
found the answer and mailed it off.
A few of my 96 answers were flat-out wrong,
I made transcription errors and still have
a few missing answers.
But I completed the main question.
Thats what I love about these puzzles --
you can work frontwards and backwards,
find the answer and still have work to do
mopping up.
Posted by: Tim | Aug 12, 2004 4:11:15 PM
I am done as well. I solved the cryptogram without having the answer to #46, but today I finally found the answer to it as well. By the way, Tim, the answer I have is in the same time period you mention above.
Posted by: MartinD | Aug 12, 2004 6:05:49 PM
I've always wondered why I could never find anyone discussing these contests on the Internet; now I have!
I'm wading through this contest myself, but have a long way to go: still researching #5 (have the letter though), #23, 28, 46 (have letter), 53, 59 (have letter), 65 (have letter) and 75 (have letter). Unfortunately, I also have 14 other "answers" unmatched, which means that at least three are wrong. (The only citation I can find for #22 is from an old computer game, and the word that yields doesn't look like it will fit.)
Glad to hear that the rest of you have aced it: it gives me hope!
Posted by: Bill in Canada | Aug 19, 2004 8:21:54 AM
Where is this "GAMES World of Puzzles"? I have had a subscription for over 10 years and I am ashamed to admit, I don't know what you guys are talking about.
Posted by: DonV | Aug 19, 2004 11:04:07 AM
Bill, you seem to be caught up on the same answers that took me the longest to solve as well (except #53, which is from one of my all-time favorite TV shows, so I knew that one right away). A little perseverance should get you there. You didn't ask for any hints, so I won't give any.
DonV - GAMES World of Puzzles is a sister publication to GAMES that I believe runs bimonthly as opposed to GAMES Magazine, which is monthly. It is stricly puzzles (no glossy pages, as in GAMES). It is harder to find on the newsstand than GAMES, but is also available by subscription.
Posted by: MartinD | Aug 19, 2004 11:55:46 AM
Thanks for the offer, MartinD; if I need hints, I will be sure to ask. I've really only been at this since Sunday, so it is too early to give in yet.
Since posting the earlier message, I have narrowed it down a bit more, knocking off #5 and 23, and correcting the wrong answer for #22 (my Dad was quite a fan of the originators of that one, so I probably should have gotten it by osmosis). I have decided that "author" in #24 is a trick, but haven't yet found the full text of the sonnet to check it. I had assumed I knew the first part of #53 instinctively, but that hadn't helped in finding the namesake; I now realize I may have been looking for the wrong name. In any event, I'm down to six with no answer and 10 to be matched (so two still wrong, with one of them possibly being #24). To paraphrase an associate of one of the answers I DO have: "Some fun, huh?"
DonV - I had a slightly different take on your message, based on my own experience with subscriptions to GAMES/GWoP. Is it possible that you weren't so much asking "What is this magazine of which you speak?", but rather "Where the #%&*@ is my copy that should have arrived in my mailbox at the same time that it hit the newsstand?" (My last issue of GAMES came two weeks after I saw it in the stores!) If that is the case, I hope you will find this contest to be worth the wait.
Posted by: Bill from Canada | Aug 19, 2004 6:38:35 PM
Exactly
Posted by: DonV | Aug 20, 2004 4:06:38 AM
Some years back GAMES and GWOP each had 6 issues a year, and they were in alternating months, so a subscription to BOTH got you one or the other each month. All GWOP have the same non-pictorial cover, differing mainly in color. Now GAMES has expanded to 10 issues per year. If you look at the mastheads you can see it is all the same folks, and each still has a main contest each issue, with cash plus T-shirts as prizes. Some of my T-shirts are GWOP. (I've got to find that purple one!) GAMES is up to issue 204, while the new GWOP is #69. Sometime soon I'm going to start digging and see what I have.
Posted by: Bob Lodge | Aug 20, 2004 12:44:20 PM
I am confused...
with answer #63...could be paired up with either #10 or #70 (so far that i have done)...how did you guys that aced it figure it out...
I have 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 31, 34, 35, 36, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 49, 50, 51, 53, 57, 60, 63, 64, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 84, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 94, 95, and 96.
willing to trade answers (The_Steppum@hotmail.com)..
TIP: alot of answers (over 25 that I have gotten) are googleable :)
Posted by: The_Steppum | Aug 21, 2004 11:31:30 AM
Wow - I googled for a phrase associated with #87 and this link was returned. Looks as if google is onto you guys! ;)
Steppum, you figure out which answer matches #63 when you solve the first part of the cryptogram.
I've got about 15 of these left - mostly the same ones everyone else reports having been stuck on. Back to google...
Posted by: Dan H | Aug 31, 2004 9:12:25 PM
ok...update for you folks...
i have figured out the first part of the cryptogram...
and i need these answers:
1: need answer ONLY
17: need answer ONLY
18: need answer ONLY
21: need letter ONLY
22: need ALL
23: need ALL
24: need letter ONLY
25: need letter ONLY
27: need answer ONLY
28: need ALL
29: need answer ONLY
30: need answer ONLY
32: need answer ONLY
33: need ALL
34: need letter ONLY
46: need answer ONLY
50: need letter ONLY
52: need ALL
55: need answer ONLY
56: need ALL
58: need ALL
59: need answer ONLY
60: need letter ONLY
61: need ALL
62: need ALL
64: need letter ONLY
65: need answer ONLY
68: need answer ONLY
72: need answer ONLY
76: need answer ONLY
83: need ALL
85: need letter ONLY
86: need answer ONLY
90: need answer ONLY
93: need answer ONLY
If anyone has any of these, and needs ones that i have and is willing to trade answers, or if anyone is nice enough to help give me clues as to what the heck i am supposed to put in Google...you may e-mail me at: The_Steppum@hotmail.com
thanks
Posted by: The_Steppum | Aug 31, 2004 10:11:59 PM
also... 2: need letter ONLY
Posted by: The_Steppum | Aug 31, 2004 10:13:23 PM
I, too, am having trouble with some answers on the Mixed Bag 11 (the contest I love to hate). All I would like are some hints, not actual answers. PLEASE!!!
#4, #6, #11, #13, #17, #18, #19, #28, #33, #46, #50, #53, #55, #57, #59, #60, #65, #70, #75, and #76. I have spent WAY too much time at the computer on this danged thing, and boy do I need help if I'm gonna make the Oct. 1 deadline.
Also, do #29 and #81 go together, or is it #77 and #81?
And does #30 go with #86, or does it go with #64?
I wish someone could check my answers!
Posted by: anna | Sep 3, 2004 12:56:43 PM
Anna, I too am spending way too much time on my computer over this. I love it!!. I have quite a few life to solve, and have just started matching answers. I am banging my head over #1, #17, #18, #27, #28, #29, #33, #53, #56, #59, #65, #68, #76, and #87. I would be willing to share any hints I can give with you. The postings above have been helpful.
Posted by: blueangellk | Sep 6, 2004 5:52:08 AM
Like some of you, I found the final answer Mixed Bag 11, but am still scratching my head over some of the trivia questions. Especially #29, which has an obvious (but WRONG) answer. What's the right one? Aargh! I need 17, 18, 29, 46, 55, 59, 65, 76.
A couple of hints, and I hope they're sufficiently vague:
27. A comedian had 3 sitcoms in 3 different decades, all named after him. The final episode of the 80's sitcom ended with the main character waking up in bed, in the 70's sitcom. He turns to his wife and says "I just had the strangest dream..." I'm sure it made the news as one of the funniest sitcom finales of all time.
53. Google the phrase "in search of an exit".
What can I say, I watch lots of TV.
Posted by: Billy Goat | Sep 6, 2004 9:21:41 PM
Phew, finally completely done. All questions answered and paired. Crypto cracked. This was harder than I thought it was going to be...however, it was Henry Hook so I should have guessed that going in. Now to spend more time Median-81-ing. Pleasures abound.
Posted by: Stephen | Sep 7, 2004 12:26:19 AM
Phew, finally completely done. All questions answered and paired. Crypto cracked. This was harder than I thought it was going to be...however, it was Henry Hook so I should have guessed that going in. Now to spend more time Median-81-ing. Pleasures abound.
Posted by: Stephen | Sep 7, 2004 12:27:44 AM
i finished this last week...right before the hurricane struck my house...but alot of unanswered questions...i cheated a little and used a cryptogram helper off the internet that i googled...after that was easy...
still having toruble with the games october 2004 hidden contest...someone PLEASE e-mail me with a beginning step...
Posted by: The_Steppum | Sep 7, 2004 6:22:55 PM
AHHHH! I was so pleased at the progress I made. I figured I had enough info to crack the crypto. And then the speed bump appeared! Now it seems that I HAVE to find those "impossible ones".
Posted by: Paula | Sep 10, 2004 1:20:57 PM
Well, it's past midnight in Fort Washington PA, so I assume it's safe to discuss the Cross Number Conundrum if you wish. I'll be happy to answer any questions and confirm solutions. Of course, this is one puzzle where an answer that fits all the criteria must be correct, so I wouldn't expect any wrong answers unless a requirement was overlooked.
Posted by: Bob Lodge | Oct 4, 2004 10:59:46 PM
I put my answer up at http://members.cox.net/seanriddle/gamesgrid.jpg, if anyone wants to compare.
Sean
Posted by: Sean Riddle | Oct 4, 2004 11:31:56 PM
Thanks, Sean, we got the same answer.
Posted by: KHF | Oct 5, 2004 12:47:24 PM
Sean, thanks for the Games grid on your site. I've been anxious to see if my solution was correct....and it is!!!
Good luck, Sean!
Posted by: Toni | Oct 6, 2004 5:00:26 PM
By the way, Bob, can you confirm Sean's answer for us?
Posted by: Toni | Oct 6, 2004 5:03:19 PM
Toni- I'm interested in seeing if there is an alternative correct answer. I sure didn't see one, but I have to admit I didn't look very hard after I found my answer.
Posted by: Sean Riddle | Oct 6, 2004 7:24:49 PM
I had my answer, which is the same as Sean's, confirmed as being correct. Also, I solved the problem by computer, and the program was set up to print out all possible combinations of numbers that would follow the clues.
The program generated exactly one mathematically posssible combination of numbers that followed the clues.
Posted by: KHF | Oct 6, 2004 7:38:00 PM
Agreed. I believe the solution to be singular in nature.
Posted by: Jay Winter | Oct 6, 2004 8:58:41 PM
Yes, of course his answer is correct, as it fulfills all the requirements of the clues. And I'm confident I worded the clues to confine it to this unique solution. At first I did not include the clue about only one number connecting to only one other, which made 23 possible configurations of an UL corner (1A and 1D), a LR corner (the colored cell) and an additional vertical entry. (Can you find all 23?) But this proved too complicated to winnow down to a unique solution, and I finally added that clue, which eliminated 15 of the 23 in one shot!
Posted by: Bob Lodge | Oct 7, 2004 1:10:37 PM
432wsxcvbgf 5tgbnmju76 5tgbnmju765 8ik,mj 567yhnbvf 4rfvbnhy65 4rfvbg 7um 1qaz23ew zaq123edcs 321qasdcxz 432werfvcx 4rfv 654rtyhnbv 5t7u zaq123sd 4rfvbn xsw234rfvd 456tgb 3edcvb 3edcvbgt5 6yhn 654rfvbnmjh 6yhn 5t7u , 3edcvbrt54 bgt567uj89ol. Zaq123edcs 5tgb 7ujk 6yhn 4456tgb 7ujklo98 xsw234rf56yhn dfgt543ecvb zaq123edcs zaq123edcvbgt5 zaq123edcxz 3efv5t 6yhnm,ki87 3edcvbgt5 1qazxcdevbgt5 5tgb 7ujm,. 7ujm,. 654rfvbnhg 3edcvbrt54 456tgb nhy678i90p;/ 5thn7u nhy678ik,./;p0 bvcde345tr 2efbxdr5 34567tgb 32wsxc 4rfvb 6yhnm,ki8 543edcvbrt 9o.
to my puzzle.
Posted by: Billy Gordon | Oct 7, 2004 7:19:41 PM
1QAZ23EWSDCX 4RFV 7UJM., 3EDCVB 46RTFV ASD
1QAZ23EDCVBGT5 2WSX34ERCV 6YHN78IK,J 567YHN
789UJM,. 234WSXCVFR 1QAZXS 890IK,./OP
Posted by: Sean Riddle | Oct 7, 2004 11:54:22 PM
NOTE: This puzzle is just a diversion, as the M81 answers are posted in two days. I am pretty sure that the correct answer has already been sent, so anyone seeking a diversion can follow my puzzle. No emails yet, but I see at least on person has gotten the code.
Posted by: Billy Gordon | Oct 8, 2004 5:22:11 PM
Actually, no one has sent a correct answer for the Median-81 Race. So the competition rages on. Also, if I don't have any correct answers by 10/10, I won't reveal the answers. The final date for the contest (after which there will be no winner without a correct answer) is 10/25. Then we'll have a week or so and then the next contest will swing into gear, otherwise I'll reveal them as soon as some submits the correct answer.
But, no... no one has solved (or at least sent in for) M81.
Posted by: JmSR | Oct 8, 2004 5:27:47 PM
Oh. Well, I better get to work!
Posted by: Billy Gordon | Oct 8, 2004 5:59:21 PM
If you've gotten past step 2 of my puzzle, you might want to check out this- http://www.neopets.com/games/conundrum.phtml
Posted by: Billy Gordon | Oct 10, 2004 12:05:08 PM
Question about an alternative "Conundrum" answer.
Answer spec:
Keep the larger rectangle the same. Remove the 3down "17". Put 3down "53" in the second to last column. It satisfies all criteria (unless my memory is wrong). The 53 3down creates a meaningless 3across "50". I don't see anything that prohibits this.
Then, again, this could be the 5,322 time that I've been wrong for the first time.
Posted by: Jim O'Connor | Oct 19, 2004 9:39:11 AM
Jim- The clue for D (your 3 down) says it is the only # that connects to only one other #, but in that location would it be considered connected to both 2D and 4A? Also, in "conventional crossword numbering and spacing", a word without a clue would be illegal. Lastly, clue E says that it is the only composite # in the puzzle (not answer, but #).
Posted by: Sean Riddle | Oct 19, 2004 10:06:53 AM
Thanks Sean,
I'll play devil's advocate and be ornery, as long as possible.
1. 53 3down only connects to 4across
2. The crossword clues are not listed in true form. You're right, though. There is no clue for 3across.
3. hmmm, lastly but not leastly.... hmm... 50 is not prime.... hmmm... still thinking....
That last one appears to be the most convincing. I'll concede to the facts. Not a solution!
Jim
Posted by: Jim O'Connor | Oct 19, 2004 10:28:22 AM
1299 entries, more than 99% correct.... Oh, well. Anyone here get a t-shirt?
I'd like more statistics, like they gave for "Wish You Were... Where? 5". What was the average number of entries per person who entered? How many entries did the winner submit?
Posted by: Sean Riddle | Nov 29, 2004 6:26:57 PM
Can someone clarify the instruction in the contest that we "can enter into the contest as many times as we would like, but each entry has to be mailed separately?" Does this mean you can mail off 100 letters with the solution and you increase your chances of winning by one hundred??
Posted by: Auburnate | May 31, 2007 7:47:42 AM
Yes. They don't want to have someone make 10,000 entries and send in one package, so the mailing separately requires you to pay postage for each--even a postcard is now 26c--and practically limits it, especially now that the prizes are $500 instead of the formar $1000. But if you think you found a hard to find answer and want to send in a few dozen entries, you have that many chances in the drawing! I once sent in 80 entries, when it was 20c each to mail them, and won a T-shirt for my trouble. Some contests make other restrictions, such as the Where are you? postcard challenges that you have to send on an original ''Wish you were here'' postcard.
Posted by: Bob Lodge | May 31, 2007 2:53:14 PM
Post a comment
Commenters please note: do NOT discuss ANY contest information for a currently active contest outside of what is printed in GAMES magazine.
