Nemo Morgan
What's new in the world of puzzling for September 2023.
Hello! Now that Summer is over (😢), it's time for me — like the “seasonal” aisle at your local Walgreens — to shift directly into Holiday Party season. Winter is the busiest time for the team-building side of The Mystery League. Everyone's looking for something fun to do, and my job is to convince folks that the thing they really want are these puzzles…
If you or your boss are in the position to hire for team-building activities, I'd be thrilled for you to consider The Mystery League. Feel free to reply directly to this email and ask any questions you've got; I'll be happy to answer them. Thank you! ❤️
September Puzzler
Every month I offer a new bite-sized puzzle. Here's the latest one:
Think of two well-known seamen, both four letters. The first two letters of one name are the last two letters of the second. The other two letters in each name appear consecutively in the alphabet. Who are they?
Submit your answer here 🗳Wordward Draw
sMackenzi
Wordward Draw is an extremely fun and extremely addictive word game that challenges you to find all 105 four-letter words in a secret word ladder. You do this by guessing one word at a time, changing a letter or anagramming your word each time. You're told a few of the target words, but most are secret. Each time you get a target word, you get a satisfying little animation. It's got an aesthetic and simplicity that feels inspired by Baba Is You — though the scope is (blessedly) much, much smaller.
Kevin's Puzzles
Kevin Orfield makes a new puzzle every week aimed at beginner puzzle-solvers, with subjects that are appropriate for all ages. If you're new to puzzle hunts and want a very gentle on-ramp to the core concepts of the form, Kevin's Puzzles are a great place to start.
Fiddler on the Proof
Zach Wissner-Gross
Besides being an A+ newsletter name, Fiddler on the Proof, published by Zach Wissner-Gross is also filled with deviously difficult mathematical puzzles every week. This is the spiritual successor (as Zach puts it) to 538's Riddler column. If you are the kind of person who was always complaining about having too little math homework, this one's for you.
Mark Halpin's Labor Day set
The annual Labor Day puzzle extravaganza from master puzzle crafter Mark Halpin is always a highlight of the puzzling year. This year's set, Two on the Isle, was released a week ago, and it does not disappoint. It is a set of twelve (mostly word-based) puzzles, and a meta. My wife and I have done eight so far, and each one has been a gorgeous construction. They definitely skew hard, but if you're up for the challenge, I can't recommend these strongly enough.
Back on my Hey Riddle bullshit
Just your local sand-based puzzle maker, asking some riddles to my friends. This time it's about fitting a musical artist and one of their well-known songs together into a sentence. Segment starts at 50:15.
The Latest Promptmanteaus
Over at @mysteryleague on Instagram, I'm continuing to pump out promptmanteaus and asking you all to guess them. Recent games included (seen below, L to R) Buddy Hollisa Frank, Moon Walka Waka, and Jack Blachilles.
