puzzle 70: "close shave"

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some puzzle news: one, as you can see below, i've added in-browser solving courtesy of amuse labs. two, adam nicolle, who you might remember from this puzzle two weeks ago, is reviving his site; there's already a few really nice puzzles there, and he should be dropping a new one come monday, which is labor day. speaking of which: mark halpin's labor day extravaganza drops this weekend; check it out as well.

otherwise, as far as this puzzle goes, a bit unusual to have the reveal come first...but it's the sort of thing that i have no qualms doing when it suits the theme. and it's the sort of thing that's a lot easier to get away with in an indie puzzle, and one of the many reasons why i continue to enjoy making puzzles.

puzzle 69: "nice"

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consider this puzzle to be my take on will nediger's excellent puzzle of the same number and name. i must admit that i tried using the same grid in the beginning, but with black squares around everything to really make the numbers pop. but then i realized that i could just as well make the numbers with the black squares themselves. lots of trial and error to get a grid that looked like the numbers and that could be filled nicely, but here we are.

in other news, i realized this blog is now one year old! technically the birthday was like a month ago, but i completely forgot about it, what with the school year starting and me missing boston and lolla and all. still, i'm glad that i've been able to bring y'all nearly seventy puzzles so far, including quite a few i'm proud of.

puzzle 68: "wot in alternation (with ada nicolle)"

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another collaboration, this time with ada nicolle, who says:

i have the hardest time coming up with ideas for themed puzzles, so i rarely construct them, but i'm glad this one was able to happen and i think it came out well. you were a hoot and a half to work with!

i have very little to add to those comments, other than to echo them and say: it me.

(also i am not at lollapuzzoola this weekend and it's killing me and i forgot to arrange printing in advance so i won't even have copies there. so if you're there, have fun, solve puzzles, spread the word, and have fun.)

puzzle 67: "my shot (freestyle 10)"

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this one comes from the category of puzzles i'd almost forgotten i'd constructed. it's also, as one test-solver pointed out, a puzzle whose mini-theme feels less created than discovered. here's hoping y'all find it as amusing as i do.

puzzle 66: "t men"

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a simple theme this week, and a bit of a weird grid, but hopefully it's not any less fun than usual. and it is nice to have a themed puzzle again. there's a few more of those coming up, including another collaboration or two. i enjoy doing them, and would love to keep doing those, so if you're interested, definitely let me know.