Tricky Analogy II (9/1)

Maryland : Connecticut :: Missouri : ______

a) New Mexico
b) Maine
c) Oklahoma


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Come Again? (8/31)

A few years ago, I heard a friend of mine say to a total stranger, "One four three two tango."

Who was the stranger, where were they, and what was he talking about?


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More Than Words (8/30)

What do the following words have in common?

bay, car, gin, mar, nut,
ore, par, sag, rose, thy


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Tricky Analogy (8/29)

NAME : NO :: ONE : ______

a) BOY
b) GIRL
c) MAN
d) WOMAN


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The Sequoia Code (8/28)

(Originally published in the August 2005 issue of GAMES magazine, all rights reserved)

Each clue below leads you to a word which uses exactly one of each vowel (A, E, I, O, and U). We’ve also thrown in the vowel order as an extra hint. For example, "giant evergreen tree (EUOIA)" would produce "SEQUOIA." Can you crack the rest?

1) school knowledge (EUAIO)
2) to give official approval (AUOIE)
3) persistent (EAIOU)
4) believing in false realities (EUIOA)
5) limits between people or places (OUAIE)
6) uncertain or risky (EAIOU)
7) extreme happiness (EUOIA)
8) jelly-like (EAIOU)
9) under-fed (AOUIE)
10) conversation (IAOUE)
11) any care taken before continuing (EAUIO)
12) tantalizingly delicious-looking (OUAEI)
13) inflamed lung illness (EUOIA)
14) party at the new place (OUEAI)
15) underling (UOIAE)
16) drum-like instrument (AOUIE)
17) to get ahead of someone (OUIAE)
18) before 1492 (EOUIA)
19) not hard (UOIAE)
20) to make something go mainstream (OUAIE)


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I Know What? (8/27)

If you're a Beach Boys fan, then you probably know a word in Swahili.

What's the word?


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So Much in Common (8/26)

There are two current actors/actresses whose names share several unique qualities:

1) Both have 5 letters in their first names, 9 in their last.

2) Both full names have 6 E's and no other vowels.

3) Each of their first names can be spelled from the letters of the other's full name (much like Tom Cruise's first name can be spelled with the T, O, and M of Katie Holmes's full name).

Who are these people?


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Abbreviation Nation (8/25)

Most of the fifty states contain at least one state’s abbreviation within their names. A chain of states can then be made by extracting a state’s abbreviation from the name of a state, spelling out the new state, and repeating.

For example, take NEW MEXICO. Extract "CO" from the end, and spell COLORADO. Then extract "OR" from the middle of Colorado, and spell OREGON, etc.

The object of this puzzle is to make a similar chain which loops back onto itself so that you start and end with the same state. The shortest chain is HAWAII (take the WA) to WASHINGTON (take the HI back to HAWAII), thus using two states.

Can you find the longest state chain?


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Start from the End (8/24)

Many state abbreviations are also the first two letters of a state’s name. There is only one state, however, in which the abbreviation is the last two letters.

Which is it?


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Vegetable Speed Quiz (8/23)

There is a vegetable which contains each of the vowels (A, E, I, O, and U) exactly once. What is it? Time yourself and give it a shot!



YOUR SCORE

Under a minute: Genius among broccoli
A minute to three minutes: A beautiful carrot mind
Three minutes to ten minutes: Pretty good ... for an eggplant
Ten minutes and up: Lettuce pray


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Star Wars Brainteaser (8/22)

Think of a U.S. city. Drop the first two letters of this city's name, and you'll get a Star Wars character.

What's the city and who's the character?


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J-Lo Logic (8/21)

(originally published in the March 2004 issue of GAMES magazine, all rights reserved)

Hollywood is changing everyone’s name, and I'm doing the same thing. I took the first letter of the first name of an actor or actress and the first syllable of his or her last name and put them together.

You already know that J-Lo stands for Jennifer Lopez. Can you figure out the others? Then can you figure out what they all have in common (besides being actors/actresses)?

1) D-Hoff
2) B-King
3) M-Doug
4) D-Wash
5) W-Gold
6) G-Hack
7) C-Good
8) R-Will
9) M-Bran
10) K-Hep
11) J-Nic
12) S-Mac
13) P-New
14)S-Con
15)D-Day
16) A-Hop
17) G-Pal
18) J-Rob
19) N-Kid
20) H-Ber
21) R-Du
22) A-Pa
23) A-Jo
24) C-Ze
25) G-Da


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