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benchen71's Metas on a Tuesday (MOAT)

Can you storm the castle by getting across the MOAT? This was another night-time meta idea that survived the cold light of day. That said, constructing the grid was far harder than I anticipated which has probably upped the difficulty slightly. There are definitely some unusual entries in this grid! But I love this metanism, so hopefully you get as much joy out of it as me! The answer to the meta is a two-word phrase.

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.

Poles Apart - Crosshare
Poles Apart - PUZ
Poles Apart - PDF
Poles Apart - spreadsheet

Nudges are here.
The solution is here.

Made it across the moat. Fun one - thanks, Ben!

I think I see where I'm supposed to go with this but I'm stuck for now.

Edit: Crossed the MOAT after I typed this. Very clever!

MOAT crossed.
Woke up and decided to take today off. Nice to be able to sit with my coffee and leisurely enjoy this one.

Moat crossed and castle stormed!

Moat crossed!

Moat crossed, castle stormed, pole vaulted. Thanks, Ben!

I have tried two techniques which seem like polar opposite approaches. Neither is working!

That was a tricky one!

Crossed the moat!

We're nearly at the end of the first 24 hours of solving, and here is the first batch of solvers:

Laura M
Berto
Alex Sisti
KayW
Hector
SamKat9
DebbieC
imontoo
Ergcat
merlinnimue
heidi
MatthewL
boharr
markhr
kurtalert
Meg
Cindy Weatherman
CPJohnson
JM
Katiedid
Darrell

21 on the first day puts us squarely in "week 3" territory!

Crossed the moat. Thanks, Ben!

Got a decent nudge last night but still not going anywhere.

Crossed! Stormed!

With a nudge.

Just 3 more solvers, bringing us up to 24:

Cindy Heisler
I K Snamhcok
Alvibu67

I think I'll expedite the nudges...

Nudges, in order of increasing blatancy:

1. Given the puzzle title, 28 down has to be a hint.

2. The direction of this hint suggests that you're going to need to focus on down entries.

3. Did you notice that the distribution of "N"s is somewhat more restricted than usual?

4. When it comes to what letters to include, be generous (ie. "greedy" searching).

benchen71 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2023 5:44 pm Nudges, in order of increasing blatancy:

1. Given the puzzle title, 28 down has to be a hint.

2. The direction of this hint suggests that you're going to need to focus on down entries.

3. Did you notice that the distribution of "N"s is somewhat more restricted than usual?

4. When it comes to what letters to include, be generous (ie. "greedy" searching).

I must be extremely dense, I already had all that. Still lost outside the castle, that path to the drawbridge must be around here somewhere.

I re-read the prompt. Took a guess. Guessed correctly. Took a long while to backsolve. It was kind of something I was thinking about but had too many fuzzy bits for me to pin down.

woozy wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2023 10:01 pm I re-read the prompt. Took a guess. Guessed correctly. Took a long while to backsolve. It was kind of something I was thinking about but had too many fuzzy bits for me to pin down.

I followed your lead and guessed… incorrectly. Will keep noodling

Since the nudges release, there have been 7 solvers, bringing us up to 31:

woozy
Mr Tex
MrTheHan
SeamusOL
Carolyn
DrTom
LindaPRmaven