Tag Archives: 50 Shades of Grey

It’s Follow-Up Friday: Puzzle Book edition!

Posted on by
Reply

Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

By this time, you know the drill. Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and bring the PuzzleNation audience up to speed on all things puzzly.

And today, I’m posting the results of our #PennyDellPuzzleBooks hashtag game!

You may be familiar with the board game Schmovie, hashtag games on Twitter, or @midnight’s Hashtag Wars segment on Comedy Central.

For the last few months, we’re been collaborating on puzzle-themed hashtag games with our pals at Penny/Dell Puzzles, and this month’s hook was Penny/Dell Broadway Puzzles!

Examples might be The Lord of the Diamond Rings or The Da Vinci Codeword or Alphabet Soup for the Soul.

So, without further ado, check out what the puzzlers at PuzzleNation and Penny/Dell Puzzles came up with!

Charlotte’s Spider’s Web

Right Angles and Demons

The Grapes of Word Math

The Scarlet Letterboxes / The Scarlet Letter Logic

The Fault in Our Starspell / The Fault in Our Star Words

Harry Potter and the Halftime Prince

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stepping Stones

Brave New Word Seeks / Brave New Word Games

The Lion, the Witch, and the Word Seek

The Wizard Words of Oz

The “Mystery Person” of Edward Drood

To Kill a Missing Word (List)

The Fountainheads & Tails Word Seek

Around the Block in Eighty Days / Around the Bend in 80 Days

A Tale of Two-Step Cities

The Three of a Kind Musketeers

Oh, the Places, Please You’ll Go!

Peyton’s Places, Please

Anagrams Karenina

Anagram of Green Gables

North & South of Eden

The Swiss Family Robinson Ties

Bowl Game of Thrones

Ender’s Bowl Game

Fahrenheit Two for One / Fahrenheit 451 and Only

Sudoku Road

Cryptograms Wake / Fill-Ins Wake / Figgerits Wake

Kakuro Pioneers!

Little Puzzler on the Prairie

First and Last of the Mohicans

The Picture Sleuth of Dorian Gray / The Picture This of Dorian Gray

Watership Spelldown

Buried Treasure Island

The Countdown of Monte Cristo

Take It from There to Eternity

The Sign of Four Corners / The Big Four Corners

The Doomsday Bookworms

Great Crostictations

A Wrinkle in Time Machine

The Perks of Being a WallFlower Power

Catch-22 for One

The Hotel on the Poet’s Corner of Bitter and Sweet

50 Shades of Grey Shadows

The Joy Luck Crosswords Club

Jurassic Park What’s Left

My What’s Left Foot

Only The Shadow Knows

From Alphabet Soup to Nuts

Match Up Made in Heaven

Beat the Clock-work Orange

A Hive for a Honeycomb

Star Words

The Lost Symbol-lic Logic

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ringmaster

The Sylla-rillion

The Hunger Word Games

198-Four Square

The Sum Totals Also Rises

And one overachiever…

The “Lion” (‘Em Up), the “Which” (Way Words), and the “Word”robe by C(ircle) S(ums) Lewis

We also received a terrific one from @_Screenhog, Cross Sums of All Fears!

Have you come up with any Penny/Dell Puzzle Books of your own? Let us know! We’d love to see them!

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! You can share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and be sure to check out the growing library of PuzzleNation apps and games!

Word Search Dos and Don’ts!

Posted on by
Reply

Today, in the interest of both public service and better puzzling overall, I thought I’d present a brief list of dos and do-not-dos when it comes to constructing word search (or word seek) puzzles.

Now, full disclosure, I will be talking about PuzzleNation apps a bit here, but only because they’re great examples of well-crafted puzzles, and a little shameless self-promotion never hurt anybody. *smiles*

So, without further ado, let’s talk word searches!

DO:

Offer fun bonuses, like trivia, facts, and bonus entries to hunt down!

These additions can make for a richer, more fulfilling solving experience.

DO NOT DO:

Do NOT create a holiday word search without being very careful to edit out any questionable or inappropriate vocabulary.

For instance, these words do not belong in a kids’ Christmas word search.

DO:

Make sure your puzzle has audience-appropriate vocabulary and a family-friendly theme.

For instance, the Penny Dell Bible Word Search app features entire passages from the Bible, broken up into searchable words and phrases.

DO NOT DO:

Do NOT make a 50 Shades of Grey-themed word search and distribute it to middle school students!

Yes, this actually happened.

DO:

Freshen up the word search formula with interesting and challenging variations.

[An Around the Bend word seek from Penny Press.]

Our friends at Penny/Dell Puzzles have some really clever variant word searches, like Missing Vowels, Missing List, Zigzag, and plenty of others. Whether you’re discovering bonus messages, finding craftily hidden words, or dodging red herrings planted by clever constructors, you’ll find plenty to keep you interested.

DO NOT DO:

Do NOT get a word search grid full of swearing and foul language tattooed on your lower back.

No, I’m not including a link or a picture on this one. Trust me, it exists, and it definitely belongs on the Do-not-do list.

Well, there you have it! Some important dos and do-not-dos of word searches and word seeks. With these few simple rules (and cautionary tales), you can craft high-quality, fun, worthwhile puzzles for friends, family, students, and more.

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! You can share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and be sure to check out the growing library of PuzzleNation apps and games!