Coob Tube
Signals 2.0
By Sandy Weisz in The Signal
· 8 min read
Signals 2.0
I've been writing this newsletter for over 10 years, through many iterations. The list of subscribers started small and has since grown to 10,000 folks. When I started Raddle a year and a half ago, I also started sending a daily email to anyone who wanted a reminder to play. I soon realized it didn't make sense to have two email systems, but it took a long time to carve out the time to merge them together. I'm happy to announce it's done, and now Raddle and Signals are one big system. With it comes some new features:
- You can now connect your Signals account to Raddle: just log in, tap a button, and you're done.
- After doing this, your Raddle solve history will be saved on the server and you can sync your history between as many devices as you want. This was by far the most frequent feature request and I'm thrilled to have it working.
- Raddle reminder emails will now be sent via Signals. It's now one click on your account page to sign up for the Raddle Signal newsletter. Free members can get it weekly. By paying just $10/year, you can get reminders every day. This covers the cost of sending. Switch it on here.
- Signals has an entirely new look. The old design was the boilerplate that came with the system. This was a long overdue, and very welcome, change.
The new membership tiers
First off, a huuuuge thank you to all of you who are Boosters and Superboosters and throw me a few bucks every month. It was because of you that I could afford to spend time building out this new system.
Going forward, I'm simplifying the membership tiers. They are:
- Reader. Free. A free Reader account is necessary to have a Raddle account, or to see your name on any puzzle leaderboard. For future Raddle Mysteries and other puzzles on the site, an account will be necessary to submit your answer.
- Raddler. $10/year. This is for anyone who wants a daily reminder email to play Raddle. It covers the cost of sending a daily email.
- Supporter. $60/year. (Previously called Superbooster.) This gets you access to the Signals Discord, a regular Super Signal email, early access to new features, and most importantly, it supports my time as I build out puzzles and Raddle features for everyone.
Thank you!
It's been a busy summer getting this all wired up! Now that foundation is in place, I will be slowly building out new features that take advantage of this foundation. If you have any requests, just hit reply and send me a note. I read every email.
Exciting times are ahead. Thanks as always for reading what I write, and solving what I build. I'm glad you're here.
-Sandy
Puzzler
Every month I post a new bite-sized puzzle. Here's the latest one:
Take the name of a comedic TV host. The first two letters of their first name and the first two letters of their last name, taken together, make the last name of another comedic TV host. Who are they?
Submit your answer here 🗳Yours truly in Northwestern Magazine
Earlier this year I thought to myself, "I should submit a small blurb to my alumni magazine. I've been up to some stuff." I expected it to land among the long list of other alumni blurbs. Instead, I got a call that the magazine wanted to turn it into a feature story, complete with professional photo and accompanying video. I think it turned out pretty great, and to all my old college acquaintances who were wondering what happened to that nerd who liked to play games all the time: Hello! I made a career out of it.
Diana Babineau
Raddle Mystery #11
When I build out these Raddle Mysteries, I don't always get a chance to test them. So I do my best to calibrate them properly, and if I get it wrong, I keep adding hints to re-calibrate on the fly. With the latest Mystery, my first calibration was, um, way off. The good news is that the fifth hint (!) seemed to have unjammed a lot of folks, and we've now got a sizeable slate of solvers. I'm keeping the submission window open through the weekend to give you all a shot. Enjoy:
The Mystery League
The Incident at Galley House
There's been a murder! (A long time ago!) The Incident at Galley House is a mystery game that sees a researcher using a strange contraption to solve a series of long-unsolved murders from decades past. A much bigger budget remake of 2025's Type Help, a fully text-based browser whodunnit, this iteration is fleshed out with intricate visual design and voice-acting. It's been receiving rave reviews so far and I can't wait to get my hands on it.
Baba is You is Game
One of the best video games of all times is being turned into a board game. The Kickstarter launches September 15.
I helped with this Puzzmo Crossword, chapter 1
Solve this crossword made by my new friends Rob and Brooke, who I met in April at 2026 Crossword Con, and then read the constructor's note which features a fun story about how I met Rob and Brooke twice in the same day, and then led them in a rousing night of my favorite game, Blood on the Clocktower, which in turn inspired this puzzle.
I helped with this Puzzmo Crossword, chapter 2
Speaking of Puzzmo, my brother Bob had a month-long Puzzmo residency making minis in which every one one of the one-acrosses featured a fun bit of trivia. Since he's a nice brother, he invited me to join him for one, and we built a grid around one of my favorite factoids. (I also got to use the same trivium in a recent Raddle.)
Playing with Letters
I'm enjoying three new word games from my friend Gil: Forage, Rungs, and Threads. In Forage, you have 6 turns with a 3x3 grid of multi-letter fragments to earn as high a score as possible. In Rungs, you find 5 words, each 5 letters long, that snake across a 5x7 grid to form a word ladder. Threads has two steps. First, you're presented with 5 words which each contain buried within them a smaller, hidden word that you extract. Then from those 5 threads, you weave a letter from each into the final thread the clue describes.
Solution to the May Puzzler
Think of a US State capital. It partly shares a name with a onetime TV personality. Then think of one of that state's biggest cities. Change one letter in the city's name, and you'll get that TV star's successor.
The rest of this one is for members
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This one's for members of Signals. Join for free.