January 20, 2017
Name a food in 7 letters. Change one letter, anagram it, and you’ll have an
activity that this food will allow you to do more of, according to a certain
person.
Sandy Weisz
🗝 Puzzle in a building 🏢 Escape with Zelda
Happy 2017, the first prime year since 2011, and the last until 2027. MIT Mystery Hunt is just a few days away, and for the first time in my life, I’m going. Can’t believe it took me this long. If you’ll be there too, let’s find
January 09, 2017
Take a famous 20th century author. Combine a common nickname for his first name
with the first letter of his last name, and the result will be the name of a
retail store. What names are these?
🗝 Dec 28 puzzle event 🦄 Speaking about Holiday Bullshit
Chicagoans! We’d love to see you at our first public puzzle event, Creatures on the Loose!, next week on the 28th, at the Revolution Tap Room. Follow the first link below.
If you’re not in Chicago (or even if you are), we’d love to see you send
December 19, 2016
Name something that you might walk on in the forest. Replace one of the letters
with something you might walk on at the beach. The result will be something you
might walk on around an angry person.
🗝 Brainteasers // ARG update // Other games 🦃
Hello, again. Happy Thanksgiving, for those of you celebrating. If you’re looking for dinner table topics beyond the US election, I hope these links, and the puzzle at the end, can help.
Puzzler
Name a famous 20th century musician. Change one letter in his first name to get the
November 24, 2016
Name a famous 20th century musician. Change one letter in his first name to get
the first name of a 20th century TV character. Change one letter in the
musician’s last name to get the first name of the actor who played that
character. Who are these people?
🗝 Brain busters from Bletchley 🤔 (A poem ( in ) a Venn)
Thanks for sending all the great ideas about where I should hold hunts. Still going through them and getting back to people. Please keep sending on ideas!
Puzzler
In honor of the playoffs, here’s a baseball puzzle. Name a professional baseball team. Swap the first two letters and — phonetically
October 20, 2016
Name a professional baseball team. Swap the first two letters and — phonetically
— you’ll end up with the name of a different pro baseball team. Which two teams
are these?
🗝 Curse of Peg Leg Sullivan 👻 Decemberists board game
Question for you: Where should I host my next puzzle hunt? Could be a museum, a park, neighborhood, gathering space, restaurant, underground bunker, hotel lobby, anything. Hit reply and let me know. I’m looking for ideas.
Puzzler
Think of someone who has won multiple Oscars. Change one letter in
October 12, 2016
Think of someone who has won multiple Oscars. Change one letter in their first
name, anagram it, and you’ll end up with the number of Oscars that person won.
This is also possible with a different person’s last name. Who are these people?
🗝 Hunt a killer in the Maryland woods 👻 The nutso Voynich Manuscript
Thank you for taking the time to read these. If you find something online that you think I’d like, please hit “reply” and send it. I’d love to see it. Or you can post it on my Facebook page.
If you live in Chicago, you’d be wise
September 30, 2016
Name a noun in four letters. Like most nouns, you can turn this noun into its
adjective form by adding a Y, but in this case you first have to swap the noun’s
last two letters. What noun & adjective are these?
George R. R. Martin's New Mexico multiverse 🔎 Agatha Christie, in stamp form
Happy fall. Here is some stuff I enjoyed this week.
Puzzler
Name two actors who played father and son in a recent movie. One actor shares his last name with a popular brand. The other’s last name is a word used to describe a person who uses that brand.
September 22, 2016
Name two actors who played father and son in a recent movie. One actor shares
his last name with a popular brand. The other’s last name is a word used to
describe a person who uses that brand. Who are they?
Ada Lovelace, puzzlemaker 👏🏼 Online and real puzzle hunts 👏🏼 Snarky C418
I just got back from the XOXO Festival in Portland, which is always a whirlwind of inspiration and friendship. Got to do one puzzle room while there, Spark of Resistance, which was great, go do it if you’re ever in Portland. Came away with lots of new inspiration for
September 14, 2016
Name something you find in nature, in six letters. Take the first syllable, say
it twice, and you’ll end up with the name of a TV character. Do the same for the
second syllable, and you’ll end up with the name of another TV character. What
is it
Looking for playtesters // Indie crosswords on the rise // Escape Room Top 10
Fall is here. Apparently that means it’s team-building season. To that end, I need your help — I’m building a few puzzle games for clients and I need playtesters. I will be running 60-minute playtesting sessions at my office in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood on October 22, 23 and
September 06, 2016
Name a titular character from 20th century American fiction, first and last
name, nine letters total. Rotate one letter 180°, then anagram to get the names
of two adjacent countries. What character and countries are these?
Master Theorem returns // Ron Swanson, jigsawer // Escape from the Playa
This Saturday sees the launch of Mark Halpin’s annual Labor Day Puzzle Extravaganza. I was introduced to Halpin’s work two years ago, when I helped some friends with the 2014 set. Ever since, my wife and I have been slowly exploring his back catalog (see below), which is