A guide to recurring Wordy Wednesday formats
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Wordy Wednesday 585: Pent Words 117

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WORDY WEDNESDAY #583
DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 15 (answer)
Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cathy Bowen **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Michael Lebowitz **
Nan **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Bartholomew Gold **
Kevin Orfield **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Tower **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #584
SNAKE CRISSCROSSS 27 (hint)
As of this writing, 14 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #585
PENT WORDS 117
(click here for a PDF version)
In this puzzle, you must divide the grid into pentominoes (regions containing five cells each), and write a letter in each cell. The rows, reading from left to right, will contain the words hinted at by the Across clues. The letters in the pentominoes, in reading order (left to right starting with the top row), will form the words hinted at by the Pentominoes clues; these clues are presented in no particular order. (In the example, the rows spell PLANT, SHARE, and BITES, and the pentominoes spell the words PLANS, TREES, and HABIT.) Use the ACROSS answers to determine where the pentominoes are.
ACROSS (two answers per row):
1 The mascot of the Baltimore Ravens / “Here is the church, here is the ____. . .”
2 Hallow / “Stayin’ ____” (Bee Gees hit)
3 Tall marsh grasses / Barber’s tool
4 Fixed gaze / Singer and rapper who played James Madison’s crystal flute in 2022
5 Harley Quinn’s pet Bud or Lou, for example / Frasier’s last name
6 Some periodicals, briefly / Holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ
7 “Able was I ____ I saw Elba” / Quivering motions
8 Place to land a copter / Was victorious
9 Metamorphoses poet / Photography need
10 Parch / Celebrity chef Lagasse
PENTOMINOES:
* HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* THE OTHER HALF OF THE FINAL ANSWER
* Mistake
* Cosmetics businesswoman Lauder
* ____ de menthe
* Regions
* Actor Kagasoff of The Secret Life of The American Teenager
* Remnant from the distant past
* Book following Daniel
* Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and ____ (Simon & Garfunkel album)
* A Latin dance or a chip dip
* Football great Drew
* ____ throat (bacterial infection)
* Gas in the upper atmosphere
* It has a fulcrum
* Enraged
* Ends of a magnet
* Slow-moving gastropod
* Female title
* Concur

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .
* What's a 7-letter word for "Heraldic clover shape"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!
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Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6, Episode 9 (Meta): Line 'em Up

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PREVIOUS EPISODES
Introduction (what these puzzles are and why they're called "Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6"): click here
Episode 1 (A High-Tec Puzzle): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 23 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 2 (Hopefully Not "Sew" Hard): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 21 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 3 (Color My World): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 20 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 4 (Another Baseball Baffler): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 19 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 5 (Confusing Columns): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 23 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 0 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 6 (Arcane Archipelago): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 15 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 3 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 7 (Work Your Magic): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 20 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 8 ("Ken" You Solve This?): puzzle PDF, hint PDF (new!)
* 21 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece.
 
The total number of points scored is 8425. Thus, the current money pool for the Palm Beach County Food Bank is $84.25. Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match this donation, meaning that the Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $337.00. If you haven't already, you may solve the above puzzles for 25 points, possibly with the aid of the hint. These 8 answers will also be necessary for solving the meta below.

KEVIN’S PUZZLES AT HOME
SEASON 6, EPISODE 9 (META):
LINE 'EM UP
What does it take to solve these puzzles? If you correctly line up their answers, you’ll be able to read the central columns to find out.

(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of the puzzle.)

Submit your answer to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com for 100 points, and stay tuned next week for Episode 9's hint, and then the week after for all of the solutions. Good luck!
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Wordy Wednesday 584: Snake Crisscross 27

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WORDY WEDNESDAY #582
TOUCHWORD 30 (answer)
Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Cole Kendall **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Randy Rogers **
Kevin Orfield **
Patrick Jordan **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Tower **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #583
DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 15 (hint)
As of this writing, 12 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #584
SNAKE CRISSCROSS 27
(click here for a PDF version)
This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron Cathy Bowen. Support me on Patreon at the Super Fan level ($5/month) and solve the monthly Patron Puzzle for a chance to suggest a seed word for a future puzzle, or at the Ultra Fan level ($20/month) to suggest one seed word every month!
This puzzle’s crisscross grid contains entries which read across and down as normal; these are defined in alphabetical order by length under the heading “Crisscross Words”. The grid also needs to be divided into a number of areas which follow a single clear path, called “snakes”. Each of these snakes contains an entry reading from one end of the path to the other; these are defined in alphabetical order by length under the heading “Snake Words”. You must determine how the grid is divided into snakes and which entry corresponds to each snake.

Arrange the letters in the highlighted cells to form the final answer, a Scrabble-legal (unhyphenated, uncapitalized, etc.) 8-letter word.
CRISSCROSS WORDS
3 LETTERS
Sheet used by an animator
Prominent shark feature
Handgun, slangily
____ the Science Kid (PBS Kids series)
Turf
4 LETTERS
Gatherings of comic book fans or of furries, briefly
Jane ____ (Charlotte Brontë novel)
Ctrl+Y function, often
Horse rider’s strap
Loose-fitting outer garment
Soft mineral
“____ shalt have no other gods. . .”
Ensnare
5 LETTERS
Something of value
1994 action flick erroneously referred to by Homer Simpson as “The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down”
Recurring motif
6 LETTERS
More than just request
A type of printer
United States ____ Service
Talked back
7 LETTERS
Gospel singer and vocal band leader Bill
8 LETTERS
The ordinate’s counterpart in Cartesian coordinates
10 LETTERS
Finds through careful searching: 2 wds.
With “The”, pro wrestler Mark William Calaway’s ring name
SNAKE WORDS
5 LETTERS
Over
Abrasive mineral
Style of abstractionism that uses visual illusions: 2 wds.
Not fresh
6 LETTERS
University of Texas Permian Basin’s city
7 LETTERS
Pine, for one
Williams who designed the King’s Quest series of adventure games
Member of a jazz orchestra
“____ lies the problem”
8 LETTERS
They stand the test of time
9 LETTERS
Geographical region once linked to the Confederacy: 2 wds.
10 LETTERS
Baseball great known as Captain Clutch: 2 wds.
11 LETTERS
Short-legged hare-hunting dog breed: 2 wds.

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .
* What's a 5-letter word for "Actor Kagasoff of The Secret Life of The American Teenager"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!
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Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6, Episode 8: "Ken" You Solve This?

Posted on
PREVIOUS EPISODES
Introduction (what these puzzles are and why they're called "Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6"): click here
Episode 1 (A High-Tec Puzzle): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 23 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 2 (Hopefully Not "Sew" Hard): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 21 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 3 (Color My World): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 20 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 4 (Another Baseball Baffler): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 19 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 5 (Confusing Columns): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 23 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 0 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 6 (Arcane Archipelago): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 15 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 7 (Work Your Magic): puzzle PDF, hint PDF (new!)
* 20 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece.  

The total number of points scored is 7300. Thus, the current money pool for the Palm Beach County Food Bank is $73.00. Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match this donation, meaning that the Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $292.00. If you haven't already, you may solve the above puzzles for 25 points, possibly with the aid of the hint.

KEVIN’S PUZZLES AT HOME
SEASON 6, EPISODE 8:
"KEN" YOU SOLVE THIS?
Kevin had a dream that he was kidnapped and trapped in a square room by two men named Ken (or maybe Tom). Luckily, Kevin was able to escape by exercising his math skills!
(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of the puzzle.)

Submit your answer to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com for 50 points, and stay tuned next week for Episode 8's hint and Episode 9's puzzle, a meta requiring the 8 previous answers to be solved. Good luck!
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Wordy Wednesday 583: DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 15

Posted on
WORDY WEDNESDAY #581
GIBBERISH GENIUS 2 (answer)
Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Cathy Bowen **
Cole Kendall **
Derek Allen **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Kevin Orfield **
Luk Weyens **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Tower **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #582
TOUCHWORD 30 (hint)
As of this writing, 13 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #583
DIV IDE DIN TOT RIP LES 15
(click here for a PDF version)
(click here for rules)
This puzzle contains a word suggested by patron M. Sean Molley. Support me on Patreon at the Super Fan level ($5/month) and solve the monthly Patron Puzzle for a chance to suggest a seed word for a future puzzle, or at the Ultra Fan level ($20/month) to suggest one seed word every month!
  __ __ __ __    __ __ __ __    __ __ __
          ^           ^           ^
  __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __ __    __ __
    ^        ^        ^        ^        ^           ^           ^           ^
 *__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __,  *__ __ __ __ __   *__ __ __ __ __ __,
       ^        ^        ^        ^           ^        ^           ^        ^
  __ __ __    __ __ __    __    __ __ __ __ __ __    __ __ __ __ __ __ __
          ^           ^              ^        ^           ^        ^
  __ __ __ __ __ __ __?
    ^        ^
__ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __
01 02 03    04 05 06    07 08 09    10 11 12    13 14 15    16 17 18    19 20 21
__ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __
22 23 24    25 26 27    28 29 30    31 32 33    34 35 36    37 38 39    40 41 42
__ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __
43 44 45    46 47 48    49 50 51    52 53 54    55 56 57    58 59 60    61 62 63
__ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __
64 65 66    67 68 69    70 71 72    73 74 75    76 77 78    79 80 81    82 83 84

____ shirt (Hawaiian shirt) __ __ __ __ __
                            78 30 33 75 83
Scorpion or spider, for example __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                                10 18 27 41 77 24 57 15
“Can’t ____ This Feeling” (REO Speedwagon hit) __ __ __ __ __
                                               02 40 28 05 74
One who studies past events __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                            34 08 54 67 51 03 23 13 56
Car manufacturer named after a wild spotted cat __ __ __ __ __ __
                                                50 16 68 70 35 21
New York City detective voiced by James     __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
  McCaffrey in a video game trilogy: 2 wds. 11 01 79 63 38 82 46 25
Company with its logo on a race car, for example __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                                                 48 45 69 14 64 59 61
Super Mario ____ (2002 Nintendo GameCube __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
  game set on a tropical island)         53 20 49 32 37 06 72 60
Destructive whirlwind __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                      80 66 58 36 07 22 52
Available to be taken by anyone: 3 wds. __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                                        73 84 44 17 09 31 71 04 65 39
Gardener’s conveyance __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
                      26 29 47 12 43 19 42 81 55 62 76

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .
* What's a 10-letter, 2-word answer "Baseball great known as Captain Clutch"?

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!
Labels:

Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6, Episode 7: Work Your Magic

Posted on
PREVIOUS EPISODES
Introduction (what these puzzles are and why they're called "Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6"): click here
Episode 1 (A High-Tec Puzzle): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 23 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 2 (Hopefully Not "Sew" Hard): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 21 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 3 (Color My World): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 20 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 4 (Another Baseball Baffler): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 19 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 5 (Confusing Columns): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 23 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 0 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 6 (Arcane Archipelago): puzzle PDF, hint PDF (new!)
* 15 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece.
 
The total number of points scored is 6250. Thus, the current money pool for the Palm Beach County Food Bank is $62.50. Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match this donation, meaning that the Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $250.00. If you haven't already, you may solve the above puzzles for 25 points, possibly with the aid of the hint.

KEVIN’S PUZZLES AT HOME
SEASON 6, EPISODE 7:
WORK YOUR MAGIC
Kevin’s favorite magic trick is turning words into other words by rearranging their letters; his second favorite is arranging numbers to make their sums equal in every row and every column.
1. ____ finger
2. Furniture store offering
3. Vigilant
4. ____ Day (September holiday)
5. Perfect
6. Stitch of Lilo & Stitch is one
7. Musical symbols
8. Hollow rock with a crystal-lined interior
9. “Home on the ____”
10. Ahead of schedule
11. Arm joint
12. Rich German cake
13. Brick of metal
14. Titles
15. Gather, as grain or information
16. Sesame Street’s grouchy resident
17. Word puzzle using pictures
18. Blazing
19. Metalworking tool
20. Boléro composer
21. Enthusiastic
22. Murder, She ____ (1984-1996 TV series)
23. Certain heron
24. Jumped
25. Jouster’s need
(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of the puzzle.)

Submit your answer to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com for 50 points, and stay tuned next week for Episode 7's hint and Episode 8's puzzle. Good luck!
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Patron Puzzles for Philanthropy: Anacrossword Twenty-Pack Three

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This update to the Patron Puzzles for Philanthropy initiative is to announce Anacrossword Twenty-Pack Three!
Artwork by Tintinabar

This pack contains 20 Anacrossword puzzles for the price of US$10, and is, as the title suggests, a sequel to the Anacrossword Twenty-Pack and Anacrossword Twenty-Pack Two. Anacrosswords are a recurring puzzle on this blog, inspired by a concept seen in Games magazine eons ago. Combining crosswords and acrostic puzzles, when the letters in the crossword are transferred to the correspondingly-numbered blanks, each of these puzzles yields a quote followed by its author (as opposed to the ones on this blog which yield a clue to a final answer). Each puzzle comes in a hard version (in which the solver must determine where each answer goes, as well as where spaces and punctuation belong in the quote) and an easy version (in which these things are given to the solver). Puzzles vary in size from 50 blanks in the smallest puzzle to 167 blanks in the largest puzzle.

As a reminder, this is a charity initiative. Please e-mail me (glmathgrantATgmailDOTcom) a copy of your charitable receipt to my local food bank, the Food Bank of West Central Texas, to receive this puzzle pack. (It must be a new donation, dated no earlier than one day before you email me.) Click here for a list of all of the puzzle packs in this initiative. Happy solving!
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Wordy Wednesday 582: Touchword 30

Posted on
WORDY WEDNESDAY #580
PENT WORDS 116 (answer)
Here is the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Bonnie Veenschoten **
Cathy Bowen **
Cindy Heisler **
Derek Allen **
James Haddad **
Joe Bernard **
Michael Lebowitz **
Pavel Curtis **
Randy Rogers **
Kevin Orfield **
Patrick Jordan *
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Tower **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #581
GIBBERISH GENIUS 2 (hint)
As of this writing, 10 people have solved this puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #582
TOUCHWORD 30
(click here for a PDF version)
In a crossword, words cross each other; in this puzzle, they merely touch. More specifically, all answers read across, and every letter shares an edge with at least one identical letter either immediately above or immediately below. The top and bottom rows are considered adjacent. (If you want more of these puzzles, the author offers the Touchword subscription service Outside the Fox Puzzles.) Arrange the letters in the shaded squares to form the final answer, a Scrabble-legal (unhyphenated, uncapitalized, etc.) 8-letter word.
1 F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife after whom a video game princess is named / Avatar: The Way of ____ / Inputs a phone number
2 Persisted: 2 wds. / Saturday Night Live alum Cheri / Do nothing
3 Common greeting / Part of Pinocchio that grows / With “The”, 1984 Nik Kershaw song covered by Gigi D’Agostino in 1999
4 Flat-shelled marine mollusk / Vociferous
5 Unawares / Star Trek: The ____ Generation / Ted of The Amboy Dukes
6 It records flight data in the event of a crash: 2 wds. / Fabric softener brand with a teddy bear mascot
7 Dark and desolate / Constricting snakes / Squirm
8 1928 animated short film that entered the public domain in 2024: 2 wds.
9 Ladder rung / ____ Lisa Smile (2003 film) / Structure for climbing plants
10 Surname of an infamous 1994 murder trial defendant / Rash
11 Weaklings / Isaac who voiced Gomez in The Addams Family (2019) / Hallow
12 Chardonnay, for example / Just average: hyph. / Edible fowl viscera
13 Straightforward / Boo-Boo Bear’s companion / Decline
14 Establishment with books that can be checked out / ____ butter / Ace of ____ (Swedish pop group)
15 Marty of Madagascar is one / Did laundry / Lance of NSYNC

COMING NEXT WEEK. . .
* What's an 8-letter, 2-word answer for "New York City detective voiced by James McCaffrey in a video game trilogy"?
* Patron Puzzle #117, which will be delivered on February 8, 2024, exclusively to Patreon supporters at the Super Fan level and up ($5 or more per month), is a Framelinks.

Submit your answers to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. Until next time, happy solving!
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Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6, Episode 6: Arcane Archipelago

Posted on
PREVIOUS EPISODES
Introduction (what these puzzles are and why they're called "Kevin's Puzzles at Home Season 6"): click here
Episode 1 (A High-Tec Puzzle): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 23 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 2 (Hopefully Not "Sew" Hard): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 21 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 3 (Color My World): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 20 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 4 (Another Baseball Baffler): puzzle PDF, hint PDF
* 19 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece; 2 people solved it later for 25 points.
Episode 5 (Confusing Columns): puzzle PDF, hint PDF (new!)
* 23 people solved this within the first week for 50 points apiece.
 
The total number of points scored is 5500. Thus, the current money pool for the Palm Beach County Food Bank is $55.00. Three anonymous benefactors have agreed to match this donation, meaning that the Palm Beach County Food Bank will actually receive $218.00. If you haven't already, you may solve the above puzzles for 25 points, possibly with the aid of the hint.

KEVIN’S PUZZLES AT HOME
SEASON 6, EPISODE 6:
ARCANE ARCHIPELAGO
Kevin recently vacationed at a chain of small islands. Naturally, the visit was rendered unnecessarily frustrating by the fact that the map of the islands was made into a puzzle.
(This illustration by Tintinabar is not part of the puzzle.)

Submit your answer to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com for 50 points, and stay tuned next week for Episode 6's hint and Episode 7's puzzle. Good luck!
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