Outside the Fox Puzzles is proud to sponsor the 4th Triple Crown Fox Derby! Up to three winners of this contest will receive their choice of one of these prizes, for themselves or for anyone else of their choice:
• A 1-year subscription to Outside the Fox Puzzles, which comes with 150 puzzles just like the ones in this contest!
• A $10 gift card for Grandmaster Puzzles, with which one can buy ebooks of beautiful logic puzzles written by talented authors from around the world!
• A 2-month Premium membership on Board Game Arena, with which one can play board games in real-time and turn-based modes against opponents from around the world!
My plan is to run these contests on the first Monday of every January, April, July, and October, at 12:01 AM Central Time. The entry deadline will be 13 days later (on a Sunday) at 11:59 PM Central Time; in this case, the deadline is Sunday, October 19, 2025, at 11:59 PM Central Time.
This contest combines a Touchword puzzle, a gridded logic puzzle, and a variety word puzzle with a fox race. Yes, in the real world, people bet on horse races and greyhound races, but in the fantastic world of Outside the Fox Puzzles, it is foxes who race. To participate in the contest, send an e-mail to glmathgrant@[at]gmail[dot]com. Your entry should include:
• Your answers to the three puzzles, as explained in their respective instructions. (Any format, including scans or photos of printed pages, screenshots, or plain text, will work, so long as I can read and judge it.)
• The name of the fox you'll be entering in the race (this is just for fun and has no effect on the outcome).
• The number of the gate your fox will start from (any integer between 1 and 50 inclusive) in each of the three races (the Kittucky Derby, the Sneakness Stakes, and the Tailmont Stakes). You can use the same gate any number of times.
The first race is the Kittucky Derby; to qualify, you must have submitted correct solutions to all three puzzles. The second race, the Sneakness Stakes, requires only two correct solutions, and the Tailmont Stakes requires only one. Winning an earlier race disqualifies you from a later race; otherwise, you can qualify for, and participate in, one, two, or all three races. The winner of each race is the fox that started from the lowest-numbered gate that nobody else selected! Unfortunately, when two or more foxes are crammed into the same gate, they have a tendency to fight each other and to not notice when the race has started. If no foxes qualify for a race, or if all qualifying foxes end up in fights, then there will be no winner.
• A 1-year subscription to Outside the Fox Puzzles, which comes with 150 puzzles just like the ones in this contest!
• A $10 gift card for Grandmaster Puzzles, with which one can buy ebooks of beautiful logic puzzles written by talented authors from around the world!
• A 2-month Premium membership on Board Game Arena, with which one can play board games in real-time and turn-based modes against opponents from around the world!
My plan is to run these contests on the first Monday of every January, April, July, and October, at 12:01 AM Central Time. The entry deadline will be 13 days later (on a Sunday) at 11:59 PM Central Time; in this case, the deadline is Sunday, October 19, 2025, at 11:59 PM Central Time.
This contest combines a Touchword puzzle, a gridded logic puzzle, and a variety word puzzle with a fox race. Yes, in the real world, people bet on horse races and greyhound races, but in the fantastic world of Outside the Fox Puzzles, it is foxes who race. To participate in the contest, send an e-mail to glmathgrant@[at]gmail[dot]com. Your entry should include:
• Your answers to the three puzzles, as explained in their respective instructions. (Any format, including scans or photos of printed pages, screenshots, or plain text, will work, so long as I can read and judge it.)
• The name of the fox you'll be entering in the race (this is just for fun and has no effect on the outcome).
• The number of the gate your fox will start from (any integer between 1 and 50 inclusive) in each of the three races (the Kittucky Derby, the Sneakness Stakes, and the Tailmont Stakes). You can use the same gate any number of times.
The first race is the Kittucky Derby; to qualify, you must have submitted correct solutions to all three puzzles. The second race, the Sneakness Stakes, requires only two correct solutions, and the Tailmont Stakes requires only one. Winning an earlier race disqualifies you from a later race; otherwise, you can qualify for, and participate in, one, two, or all three races. The winner of each race is the fox that started from the lowest-numbered gate that nobody else selected! Unfortunately, when two or more foxes are crammed into the same gate, they have a tendency to fight each other and to not notice when the race has started. If no foxes qualify for a race, or if all qualifying foxes end up in fights, then there will be no winner.
The Triple Crown Fox Derby now also supports the three food banks featured previously in Kevin’s Puzzles at Home. For every valid puzzle solution received during the contest, I will add $1 to a money pool which will be split between the Food Bank of West Central Texas, the Food Bank for Larimer County, and the Palm Beach County Food Bank. The money pool is capped at $150 ($50 per food bank), and will be matched by three anonymous benefactors.
These statistics on the previous Triple Crown Fox Derbies may give you an estimate of how many entrants the current Derby will have and help you plan your strategy. Enjoy the puzzles, and yappy racing!
Derby #1: 22 triple solves, 24 double solves, 24 single solves
Derby #2: 21 triple solves, 23 double solves, 23 single solves
Derby #2: 21 triple solves, 23 double solves, 23 single solves
Derby #3: 22 triple solves, 23 double solves, 23 single solves
TOUCHWORD
Every
row has one or more answers clued in order. 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. To qualify for the Triple Crown Fox Derby, submit the completed grid.
2 High-pitched cries or complaints / Of ill repute
3 One who testifies in court / Stop
4 Not merely figurative / Revolver namesake Samuel
5 In the future / Nook
6 2010 romantic drama film based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir: 3 wds.
7 Tombstone lawman Wyatt / Where bales are stored
8 Kitt who voiced Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove / Quick
9 Girdle straps / Married woman
10 Male goose / Piece of bread
11 Like the result of a coin flip / Literary character who visits Wonderland
PENCILS
Illustrated rules on puzz.link | Solve on puzz.link
Rules summary: Fill the grid with pencils drawing lines. Every pencil is composed of a 1-cell wide rectangular body with a tip attached to one of its short sides, pointing into an adjacent cell; some pencil tips are given in the grid. Every number must be part of a pencil body, and indicates how many cells that body occupies; a pencil body may contain no numbers, one number, or multiple numbers. The line being drawn by a pencil starts from the pencil tip and moves horizontally and vertically through adjacent cells without branching off or retracing itself; the length of the line must be equal to the size of the pencil body. Except where a pencil tip touches one endpoint of its corresponding line, pencils and lines may not overlap. Every cell must be used. To qualify for the Triple Crown Fox Derby, submit the completed grid.
Illustrated rules on puzz.link | Solve on puzz.link
Rules summary: Fill the grid with pencils drawing lines. Every pencil is composed of a 1-cell wide rectangular body with a tip attached to one of its short sides, pointing into an adjacent cell; some pencil tips are given in the grid. Every number must be part of a pencil body, and indicates how many cells that body occupies; a pencil body may contain no numbers, one number, or multiple numbers. The line being drawn by a pencil starts from the pencil tip and moves horizontally and vertically through adjacent cells without branching off or retracing itself; the length of the line must be equal to the size of the pencil body. Except where a pencil tip touches one endpoint of its corresponding line, pencils and lines may not overlap. Every cell must be used. To qualify for the Triple Crown Fox Derby, submit the completed grid.
CODEWORDS
In the crossword below, each letter has been replaced by a number from 1 through 26. Decipher the code to reveal the words. To qualify for the Triple Crown Fox Derby, submit either the completed grid or the list of letters represented by the numbers 1 through 26 (in that order).
In the crossword below, each letter has been replaced by a number from 1 through 26. Decipher the code to reveal the words. To qualify for the Triple Crown Fox Derby, submit either the completed grid or the list of letters represented by the numbers 1 through 26 (in that order).
