General Category > News & Announcements
Weekly Puzzle / Trivia contest
erwin:
Hi all,
There will be a weekly puzzle / trivia contest, starting next Sunday at 27th July, 9pm EST, and will run for at least two months. The contest goes as follows:
-A category will be chosen for the week, and there will be eight items from the category selected.
-There will be cryptic clues for each of the eight items, and players will try to guess what the items are.
-The first correct guess for each item wins a bronze token, as well as the first person to guess what the category is.
-So in total, you can win up to 9 bronze tokens per week.
An example:
Gunmen's favourite doll;soft grass
could be a clue, and this would correspond to: Moll; lea, and you would guess that the answer is: "Molly".
If you want to submit in your own puzzle, feel free to do so!
erwin:
We've started the first puzzle / trivia contest early, since we have active players Vryce, Shannara, Tairn, and Wolfsbane. Here are the clues, and answers.
Category:
1. Female seductress, structure for burning
2. Key resolves this,home for avians
3. Forum dweller
4. Ricoletti's wife,drug slang,boys after military training
5. Table tennis rhyme
6. Italian dessert, powers of three
7. Yellow stinger with half a laugh might be drawn to flame
8. European country, curved headgear, fantastic story
Kvetch has donated 9 bronze tokens, and Pix donated 1, and they go to the following players:
Tairn: 4 (answered 4,6,7, simultaneously guessed category with Shannara)
Shannara: 4 (answered 1,3,8, simultaneously guessed category with Tairn)
Wolfsbane: 1 (answered 2)
Vryce: 1 (answered 5)
Answers are below (spoilers):
Category: Monsters
1. Female seductress (vamp), structure for burning (pyre): Vampire
2. Key resolves this (lock), home for avians (nest): Loch Ness Monster
3. Forum dweller: Troll
4. Ricoletti's wife (abominable - it's a Sherlock Holmes reference) ,drug slang (snow) ,boys after military training (men): Abominable Snowman
5. Table tennis rhyme: King Kong
6. Italian dessert (gelato), powers of three (cube): Gelatinous cube
7. Yellow stinger (bee) with half a laugh (hee) might be drawn to flame (moth): Behemoth
8. European country (Hungary), curved headgear (horns), fantastic story (tale): Hungarian Horntail
We took about 21 minutes for this contest - great job everyone!
We'll have the second contest at Sunday around the same time - hope to see more players there!
erwin:
Hi all,
Here are this week's clues (as modern haikus). Remember, a bronze token for the first person (either on gossip to brag or by sending me a note) for each item, and another bronze token for the category! Prizes will be given out once all clues and category are solved.
Category: ???
1.
Theft for survival
Redemption
Cat and mouse both die
2.
A mask hides many things
Not just my face
But distortion in my soul
3.
Eight people in my way
Carefully planned murders
Left plans in cell. Oops.
4.
My ambitious mother
Pushes the best for me
I do strip teases now
5.
Innocent woman
No money or connections
Dies in rope trick
6
Country girl in city
Establishes ambition, dies young
A nation mourns
7
Unwanted and unloved
Girl develops psychic powers
Finds a new home
8
Tries to help people
No good deed goes unpunished
Crap.
Happy puzzling!
erwin:
This week's puzzle was apparently too hard, and number 3, 5, and 8 were left unsolved. However, Bane has answered 1,4, and 7 ; Hesper has answered 2, and guessed the category, and Kvetch has answered 6.
Here are the answers:
The category I was looking for was Musicals, but I accepted Broadway plays from Hesper, since *technically* all of them showed on Broadway.
So for a bit of culture (and because when we MUD, we should also learn something new ;), here are the answers, some explanations, and YouTube links!
1.
Theft for survival
Redemption
Cat and mouse both die
The answer to this is Les Miserables. This describes Jean Valjean, the main character in the musical, where he stole a loaf of bread for his sister's child (and was sent to prison for 19 years). After his release, he strove for redemption. Javert, one of the prison guards, did not believe he could turn over a new leaf, and was hunting him down over the course of the musical. Sadly, both die in the end. This was the first ever musical I watched, and it holds quite a few memories for me.
Here's a Youtube link to the 10th anniversary of Les Mis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAVrm3wjzq8
2.
A mask hides many things
Not just my face
But distortion in my soul
This was the first to be guessed by Hesper (and other players), and of course, this is the Phantom of the Opera. It is set in France as well (did you know Les Miserables, and the current Phantom were derivatives of previous musicals?), and tells the tale of Christine, Raoul, and the Phantom. In the song "Down Once More", the Phantom sings: "This face which earned a mother's fear and loathing, a mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing..." to which Christine sings back: "..it's in your soul, where the true distortion lies".
Here's a Youtube link to the 25th anniversary of Phantom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8gEw57r98Q
3.
Eight people in my way
Carefully planned murders
Left plans in cell. Oops.
This was not guessed by anyone at all - but it is a relatively new musical, which came out on Broadway last year. It's A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, and was inspired by the movie Kind Hearts and Coronets, which was inspired by the book Israel Rank: the Autobiography of a Criminal. This musical is set in Victorian England (presumably), where the protagonist decides to murder people in the way to his inheritance. It's extremely funny too, and reminds me of Gilbert and Sullivan operas when I watched it last year. Guess what happens in the end?
Anyway - here's a YouTube link to the soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44nHi_rXIxI&index=2&list=PLGA_rouGAHXbcV02UDT0a9rDQzdZTgPyM
4.
My ambitious mother
Pushes the best for me
I do strip teases now
The musical here changes location to the United States - and of course, this is Gypsy. It's loosely based on the life of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous burlesque striptease artiste in the 1950s. The musical shows how young Gypsy Rose Lee became the striptease artiste eventually. Surprisingly, I can connect with some of the characters in this musical....
Here's a Youtube link to the Gypsy soundtrack for the movie (not the Broadway production alas): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpOhdv2DV6s
5.
Innocent woman
No money or connections
Dies in rope trick
This is a hard one, and no one guessed this. The musical is Chicago, and is set in the United States, in the city of - you've guessed it, Chicago. From the Wikipedia entry, the musical is a "satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice, and the concept of the celebrity criminal". But the entire musical follows the protagonist (can we even call her that?) Roxie Hart - from when she shot her lover, to her prison time, and after she gets acquitted. What's the haiku about?
Well, in the prison she gets sent to, everyone (except one) is guilty of murdering their spouses / lovers, but no one gets hanged. Except the innocent Hungarian woman, who dies in a "rope trick"....
The Youtube link is to the movie soundtrack (well - it's continuous!) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxyzp6LoeQo
6
Country girl in city
Establishes ambition, dies young
A nation mourns
We now take a detour to South America, for this musical is Evita, guessed by Kvetch. I goofed up a bit because I was sleepy when I hosted this last Sunday, and when Shannara said "Marilyn", I said she was close, and then slightly later realized I screwed up - I was thinking of Madonna, who played as Evita in the movie. The musical depicts the life of Eva Peron. The musical depicts Eva's rise to Colonel Juan Peron's wife, and "leader" of Argentina - and actually humanizes her.
Here's a Youtube link to the Evita soundtrack (Madonna is singing!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVyU_gdCnek&list=PL5AC61F8206235E52
7
Unwanted and unloved
Girl develops psychic powers
Finds a new home
After going from France to England, to America, and then to South America, we go back to England again with Matilda. Probably most people has read Roald Dahl's Matilda, so I won't say much. Except maybe the set design, dances, and some special effects which I like - I watched this in January this year, and this has got to be one of my favourite musicals. For those of you in England, go take advantage of the £5 rush tickets and watch this musical - you'll never get to watch a musical that cheap across the ocean!
Here's the Youtube link to the Matilda soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCQst9ruq0w&list=PLnnZSd9hTNDiDTfWIgDh4752-42QmfoZY
8
Tries to help people
No good deed goes unpunished
Crap.
I thought this was the easiest actually, only because of the "No good deed goes unpunished", but way too many people were guessing Spiderman and Batman. This is none other than Wicked. It's the only musical in this contest which is set in a fictional world of L. Frank Baum - Oz. But instead of chronicling the adventures of Dorothy, we see the viewpoint of the "Wicked Witch of the West", who really isn't.. wicked through the musical. She's looked down upon because of her green skin, and is misunderstood when she tries to help people (hence her song: "No good deed"). And in the end she dies - or does she? Watch the musical and find out!
The Youtube link to the soundtrack is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li8cryWN2ew&list=PLD52A49BC06032D3D
And there we go - all eight musicals! See you this weekend for the third contest.
erwin:
Here are the puzzles for the third week.
First - the clues
1. Bovine computing device
2. Rat-catcher disaster
3. Criticizing clothing concealing predator
4. A hounding growth from within.
5. Terribly large insect
6. King's pendant
7. Egyptian sheep
8. Explosive spider
Now here are the solutions
Category: Words containing animals
1. Bovine computing device - Calculator
2. Rat-catcher disaster - Catastrophe
3. Criticizing clothing concealing predator - Lambast (to criticize)
4. A hounding growth from within - Endogeny
5. Terribly large insect - Giant
6. King's pendant - Medallion
7. Egyptian sheep - Pyramid
8. Explosive spider - Dynamite
Shannara wins 5 tokens (guessed Category, 1, 5, 6, 8)
Serimia wins 1 token (guessed 2)
Stile wins 1 token (guessed 7)
Ivana wins 1 token (guessed 3)
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version