The relay is much more grueling than it first appears, as it is actually an exercise in ambiguity. There are 8 separate paths through the 3 rounds of crisscross puzzles, terminating in 8 different ways to enter the contest. Thus, a solver can obtain up to 8 entries in the contest. If you entered the contest but didn't find all 8 solving paths, feel free to look for more paths, then come back when you're ready for spoilers. Here are some random pictures so you don't accidentally scroll down and see the spoilers before you're ready.
Are you ready for all the spoilers? Then let's go!
Round 1: The Missing Word
The grid has two solutions, each with a different missing word (SPLIT or TWICE):
Round 2: The Scrambled Word
As instructed, visiting https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-SPLIT/home or https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-TWICE/home takes the solver to a list of words for this round. Each URL yields a different list, and thus a different puzzle. Each crisscross has one unique solution; this time, the ambiguity is that the highlighted letters anagram to two different words.
SPLIT’s puzzle can yield BINARY or BRAINY:
TWICE’s puzzle can yield OPTION or POTION:
Round 3: The Trivia
As instructed, visiting https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-BINARY/home, https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-BRAINY/home, https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-OPTION/home, or https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-POTION/home takes the solver to a list of words for this round. Each URL yields a different list, and thus a different puzzle. Each crisscross has one unique solution; this time, the ambiguity is that the trivia clue has two answers.
BINARY’s puzzle yields the clue NAME OF TITULAR FOX IN DISNEY ANIMATED FILM. The answer can be ROBIN HOOD (referring to Robin Hood) or TOD (referring to The Fox and the Hound). Other fox characters appear in Disney animated films, including Honest John in Pinocchio and Nick Wilde in Zootopia, but they are not title characters.
BRAINY’s puzzle yields the clue TANNER FAMILY PATRIARCH IN CLASSIC SITCOM. The answer can be DANNY (referring to Full House) or WILLIE (referring to ALF). The Netflix sequel Fuller House is scarcely a “classic” by any stretch of the imagination, and focuses on a widowed single mother, and therefore does not yield alternative answers.
OPTION’s puzzle yields the clue SURNAME OF PRESIDENT FOLLOWING CLEVELAND. The answer can be HARRISON or MCKINLEY, since Grover Cleveland served two separate tenures as President of the United States.
POTION’s puzzle yields the clue RICHARD WHO WAS ONCE THE HOST OF FAMILY FEUD. The answer can be DAWSON or KARN.
As instructed, visiting https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-ROBINHOOD/home, https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-TOD/home, https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-DANNY/home, https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-WILLIE/home, https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-HARRISON/home, https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-MCKINLEY/home, https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-DAWSON/home, and https://sites.google.com/view/crisscrossrelay-KARN/home takes the solver to eight webpages. They all contain variants on this message:
“Congratulations! You survived all three rounds of the Crisscross Relay! I think. Anyway, to gain 1 entry in this contest, submit a Scrabble-legal 8-letter word whose nth letter appears in the word XXXXX. Only one word is allowed per entrant, but you may change your word before the contest deadline if you believe it would be advantageous. IMPORTANT: Mention this contest in the subject line of the email!”
The number n and the word are different on each page. To obtain the maximum puzzle number of entries, the solver must submit a word with its 1st letter in ABOUT, its 2nd letter in HORDE, its 3rd letter in CHALK, its 4th letter in BISON, its 5th letter in TOXIC, its 6th letter in WHALE, its 7th letter in PLATE, and its 8th letter in DEPTH. The only word in the North American Scrabble lexicon that fulfills all of these conditions is one which describes this puzzle's solving process perfectly: BRANCHED. (The United Kingdom Scrabble lexicon, as I was informed during the contest, includes the additional word TRANCHET.)
6 people got 8 entries (BRANCHED).
1 person got 6 entries (ABDICATE).
3 people got 4 entries (PLATELET, QUANTIZE, SHOOTOUT).
3 people got 3 entries (JAZZIEST, LEFTOVER, POSITION).
4 people got 2 entries (CAZIQUES, MAXIMIZE, QUINCUNX, STRONGER).
In total, 17 people got 83 entries.
The randomly-selected winner is Kevin Orfield! Congratulations! Additionally, $41.50 was donated to the Food Bank of West Central Texas!
Stay tuned next Monday for Let's Guess Three Words III!
