Games World of Puzzles January 2020

Welcome to 2020, puzzle lovers! If your New Year’s resolutions include doing more puzzles, then we can’t think of a better way to ring in the New Year than the January issue of GAMES WORLD OF PUZZLES. Just consider the cover, which points solvers to Raymond Young’s new puzzle, “The Web” (page 22). Circles and Strands replace Across and Down in this crafty crossword variation. Will you get tangled in confusion or will you sew everything up? You won’t know until you give it a try. Patrick Berry’s “Some Assembly Required” (page 54), which requires solvers to piece together a 14×14 grid, is a nice complement. Do you have the tools to complete the task? Puzzles like those should keep you plenty busy, but we don’t want our readers confined to their…

Each answer word in this crossword variation has two clues leading to it, using different meanings of the word. The clues are separated into Across and Down, but are otherwise ordered randomly. When you find two Across clues or two Down clues that seem to have the same answer, add up their clue numbers to determine the place in the grid at which the answer should be entered. For example, if the clue for 1-Across were “Metallic element” and the clue for 17-Across read “Starring role,” the answer would be “lead,” which would go in 18-Across (1 + 17). Note: Tags such as “Hyph.” and “2 wds.” have been omitted. ACROSS 1 Of superior quality2 Gilmore Girls actress Lauren3 Regain lost ground4 Forgo, with “with”5 Pall Mall purchasers6 Just okay7 Op-eds, for example8…

There is one place for each letter of the alphabet in the 26 empty squares of each blank column in the diagram below. Fill in each letter so that a word of at least five letters is formed reading across only. Not all of the letters to the left and right of the empty box are used; it’s up to you to determine which ones are needed to complete familiar words. Some letters may fit in more than one of the empty squares to complete words, but we only came up with one arrangement that would complete a word in each row. Maybe you’ll find a better solution. Proper names are not allowed. ANSWERS…

Here’s a list of fruits and nuts — two for each number. Their letters are in the correct order, but they overlap. All you have to do to find them is separate the letters. Example: MCAASNHGEOW — MANGO, CASHEW 1. P G U E A V C A A N 2. C P E H E A R N R U Y T 3. W B A L A N N U A T N A 4. A Q P U I R I N C C O E T 5. A K V O U M C A Q D U O A T 6. T A L A M N G O E N L D O 7. L P I E N E M A P O P N L E 8. F B I L…

ACROSS 1 Ship’s crane6 Former senator Thurmond11 Sharp knock14 Earth’s protective layer15 Waiting line16 Actress Gardner17 Significant other: 2 wds.19 Fellow20 Under the weather21 Father’s Day gift22 In no way at all: 3 wds.24 Requirement26 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory author Roald28 Model Macpherson29 Desert refuge31 Hawaiian wreath32 _ the hole: 2 wds.33 Sheep’s sound35 New car sticker letters37 The loneliest number?38 Radio station format: 2 wds.42 Interoffice phone no., for short.43 Pro sports org. from 1968–198444 Boggy area45 “Same here”47 _ Lingus49 Merchant John Jacob53 _ Jury (Spillane novel): 2 wds.54 Informal farewells56 Gone With the Wind setting57 Confessional phrase: 2 wds.60 Actress Sandra of Gidget fame62 Thumbs-down review63 Illuminated64 Tapestry, e.g.: 2 wds.67 Music producer Brian68 Arctic abode69 Eat to excess70 Labor Day month: Abbr.71 “Jack and the Beanstalk”…

Here’s a puzzle you’ll need a running start for. The answer to each clue is a word, phrase, name, or title containing the word RUN. For example, the clue “Kentucky Derby” would lead to the answer RUN FOR THE ROSES, while “Prohibition era smuggler” would be RUM-RUNNER. If you run short of ideas, turn to the answers on page 71. 1. Four-bagger ________________________________________________________________2. TV show, second time around ________________________________________________________________3. Airplane landing strip ________________________________________________________________4. Vice presidential hopeful ________________________________________________________________5. Wile E. Coyote’s prey ________________________________________________________________6. Second-place contestant ________________________________________________________________7. Absolutely ordinary ________________________________________________________________8. Futuristic Harrison Ford movie of 1982 ________________________________________________________________9. Civil War battle site in Virginia ________________________________________________________________10. Meadow where the Magna Carta was signed ________________________________________________________________11. Bureaucratic buck-passing, with “the” ________________________________________________________________12. “Walk This Way” rap trio ________________________________________________________________13. Over an extended time period ________________________________________________________________14. Position played by Emmitt…