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? This was a fun puzzle to envisage and then try to construct. That said, the first version I came up with was waaaaay too hard. After implementing the excellent suggestions from a very helpful test solver, this edited version should, at the very least, be doable without nudges. There might still be a challenge or two in completing the grid, so good luck (or good googling!) The answer to the meta is a thing that has rotational symmetry.
PM me with your submissions or submit on Crosshare. Either way, I'll compile a list of those who successfully solve the meta.
Last edited by benchen71 on Tue Mar 29, 2022 2:47 am, 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!
At the end of the first day, here's the list of solvers:
noneuclidean
rjy
markhr
Yep, it's officially a harder one! A fitting 5th-week-of-the-month puzzle.
Last edited by benchen71 on Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:38 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!
Keep at it! Nudges appearing tomorrow morning (Aussie time).
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!
I had to be led to the answer, even though solution, once again was hiding in plain sight in my notes. So, I guess I crossed the moat, but got soaking wet and the gate to the castle remains closed for me. Pretty clever in retrospect.
My avatar proves that it is sometimes better to be lucky than good!
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 is a hint in the central entry, and instructions in two other clues.
2. The title suggests that the letters in the word SYMMETRY can be rotated around the centre of the puzzle, with some letters from one entry getting rotated into another entry and then "gibing".
3. From 28D, the letters R, M, R and Y need to rotate 180 degrees into 11D. From 58A, the letters T, E, T, E and E need to rotate 180 degrees into 17A.
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!
Got it with the nudges, confirmed on Crosshare. Would not have got it without assistance and am glad we didn’t get the waaay too hard version Ben mentions above!
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 contest-style (meta) crosswords that we've created to help raise money for cancer-related organizations - get the bundle at http://crosswordsforcancer.com
Funny. I did think of all those nudges but I just couldn't get them to work. I think because I wasn't writing on paper and doing in my head and because -redacted-. I did notice I got -redacted. Clever and well-done. A bit intricate.
