9. The next question with the same answer as this one is question:
A. 10
B. 11
C. 12
D. 13
E. 14
No problem, you think, I'll just answer questions #10-14 and figure it out. Then you read question #10:
10. The answer to question 16 is:
A. D
B. A
C. E
D. B
E. C
And then you read eighteen more questions just like this, and your mind starts to whirl and you fall down and hit your head and pass out.
When you come to, if you feel like this isn't the kind of puzzle worth killing several hours over, here's one possible path of logic for solving it. For more answers, information about the puzzle, and links to similar puzzles, visit a page up by Propp here.
We had some really creative entries in Friday's Scrabble puzzle post. In an effort to come up with the largest amount of points one can earn from a word that represents that many points, readers came up with the following possibilities:
SEVENTYEIGHT (78 pts, by TBK)
ELEVENTY (110 pts, by BenK)
SEVENSCORE (140 pts, by JPK)
BOATLOAD (158 pts, by TBK)
Unfortunately, I can't count any of these because I was strict in my rules: all words have to be street-legal, and actually mean that exact number. (I think it'd be a fun puzzle to allow any creations, dictionary be damned, but that's for another post.)
My intended answer was SEVENTY, for 70 points, which was posted pretty early on by TBK. But, as I had hoped, someone came up with something even more clever, and legal, and that was Ben with FOURSCORE, for 80 points. Congrats to Ben, who gets the Cat & Mouse prize.
There are a bunch more posts in the comments worth reading. You all are a very clever bunch. It makes me think there's another puzzle in here somewhere. (If you have an idea for one, shoot me an email.)
There is only one thing to do in Solipskier: move the mouse up and down. All the other action happens automatically. The premise, I guess, is that you're God, drawing a mountain in front of a tireless hot-dogging skier, who will continue to ski as long as you continue to put a slope of snow in front of him. Add in randomly placed gates for your skier to soar through, and the ability to fly high, high off the top of the screen, both of which give you massive points if done right, and you've got the recipe for a day well wasted. If you don't kill your dude, the game could theoretically go on forever.
It great on the web, but I think it works even better as an iPhone game, so you can waste your time outside of work too. You use your finger instead of a mouse, which feels more natural and doesn't require you to keep the mouse button down the whole time. It costs $2.99 and is totally worth it.
As far as I can figure, the largest number you can spell using Scrabble tiles that is worth itself is TWELVE. (1 + 4 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 1 = 12.) In fact, I think it's the only such number. But twelve is only TWELVE's Platonic value -- it ignores the real-game implications of word and letter multipliers covered upon placement.
Which brings us to today's puzzle. Using the normal word-making and tile-laying rules of Scrabble, what's the largest number you can spell and place on the board that is worth itself in points?
Few things to keep in mind:
Explain how you reach your answer.
Ignore any points you'd get by making other cross-words upon placement. Only count points for the number-word itself.
I have an answer in mind, but I'd love to be proved wrong and find there's an even larger one out there.
Puzzle ends Tuesday morning at 9 AM, at which point I'll determine our winner.
Good luck! Post your answers in the comments. Largest legal answer wins our prize: $10 to spend at Cat & Mouse Game Store in Bucktown. It'll go a good way toward a new Scrabble set, or any of the other hundreds of games they have there.
In Febraury, Jane McGonigal spoke at TED on how games make the world better:
I saw Jane speak at SXSW two years ago, mostly about ARGs and the power of gameplay, and she was simply inspiring. I wasn't the only person to think so, and thanks to all the feedback she's gotten, she's decided to start a new site called Gameful, a "Secret HQ for Worldchanging Game Developers." Here's what that means, in her words:
Gameful is an online Secret HQ for gamers and game developers who want to help change the world and make our real lives better. Think of it as a cross between a professional network and a creative brainstorming space. The goal is to make it easy for anyone making or playing world-changing games to find collaborators, mentors, jobs, ideas, and funding. And of course, to discover fun new games to play.
Because it's not-for-profit, McGonigal and her teammates are raising funds to help with startup costs and hosting fees. To that end, they've created a Kickstarter campaign, where you can donate money in exchange for cool gifts and exclusive membership perks.
They've already reached their $2,000 goal (they've gone way beyond it, in fact), but the perks are still around for donors and the more money they get, the better the site and service will be. And the closer they'll come to saving the world with games.
You will not be surprised to hear that this optical illusion - made of actual, real-life, solid material -- won the 2010 Best Illusion of the Year contest. It's just paper and wood and gravity.
Yesterday on Weekend Edition, I was thrilled to hear Will Shortz use one of my creations as the weekly puzzle. You can hear the whole clip here (the good stuff starts at around 5:00):
Since Will was kind enough to praise my blog, here's a little praise in return: I grew up as an avid reader of GAMES magazine, of which he was editor at precisely the time I started geeking out with it (i.e. high school). I tuned into the Sunday Puzzle relatively late -- about 10 years ago -- but I'm pretty sure I haven't missed an episode of it since. Mr. Shortz is at least 90% of the inspiration for this blog and my life as a fan of puzzles. He's a gentleman and a scholar. And, on top of that, we share a kinship as born and bred Hoosiers.
To submit your answer to the above puzzle and enter to play the puzzle on the air with Will and Liane, follow the link on this page on npr.org.
If you're new to the blog and want to peruse some of the best stuff, there are some featured posts over on the right sidebar (-->) and here's the full list of all 34 original puzzles. You can subscribe to the blog via RSS, or follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Have fun!
Your eyes are about to deceive you. Have a look at this image:
There are three spirals, right? One pink, one green and one blue? WRONG. The green and blue are the same color. Go on, eyedrop it in Photoshop. You'll see.
