Fed II Star - January 15, 2006

CRYPTOGRAMS
Saturday January 7
by Catspaws

Cryptograms is a dangerous game, as anyone who played this week can tell you! And not because there were felines running amok in The Sizzling Wok. Read on, and you will learn how the kitty lost one of her lives...

We gathered in one of Mercury's more interesting restaurants for our game this week, and including our regulars, we had a couple of new commanders, who showed a real talent for the game early on, and didn't seem daunted by the fact that Fancy was playing.

After chasing down a new player lost in the ruins - a safer place for a feline than an Oriental restaurant, I'm sure - we started off the game.

As an experiment, I'm going to include the lists in the event report, but not the answers. This way readers who want to solve them for fun may do so. You can email me at Catspaws_Fed@sbcglobal.net for the answers if you get stuck.

The first puzzle:

PLAYERS WHOSE NAMES BEGIN WITH S
P B Y R K K R
P R B K F Z I K Q
P X I K X I X
P O T X K O F
P K J T E J I Z
P Y N

Fancy was first to solve this list for three points, Prometheus came in second for two points, and Guido got the point for third. So far, the kitty was safe, with no indication of impending danger.

SYSTEMS OUTSIDE THE LINK
W N F R N S S J E
S F O E G H Z U O E D O
Q B F H G N K J F H Z
T F J J Z
Q V K D S
G Z D S B J F

Again, Fancy finished first, Prometheus second, and Guido third, setting up a pattern. And the third, seemingly harmless, puzzle was given:

WAYS TO DIE IN SOL
H B M / W K L G / L U P / E N K
V G / W K L G / L U P / L X T K E N X T K W Z E / X G G C
E N W Z W Y P
B G G J / N K Y P X / L U P / T B L T X
V P L / T L L T Z J P Y / D M / I G B Q P E / W K / L U P / I W B Y P X K P E E
H G X V P L / L G / P T L

Fancy finished this puzzle first, Guido second, and Honoria third. And, as I was giving out the answers to the puzzle, I gave an unplanned demonstration of the third answer when I accidentally suicided! Other than losing one of my nine lives, and ruffling a bit of fur, I was fine, paid off that buffoon insurance salesman in the Emergency Ward, and rushed back to the Sizzling Wok. (Luckily, they were not serving feline in the Wok that day!) Honest, I was not trying to entertain the players!

After calming everyone down and reassuring them it was no big deal for their hostess to accidentally suicide in front of them, the game continued with the fourth puzzle:

THINGS YOU CAN BUY WITH A SLITHY
D Z J W G U L / E G N P V Z X F
X F U G P F / E F X J C W F
U Z X X C Z I F / W F X P C N C W Z P F
W K E P G U E / F H F U L P C G D / W F X P C N C W Z P F
P F D M X Z D F / T F S X C D I
V Z X F O G K E F / L F X U C P

Fancy, Prometheus and Guido finished this puzzle, and sharpened pencils were handed out for the last puzzle, which was given in honor of the upcoming founders who will soon be given the rank they've earned:

THINGS YOU SEE ON MAGRATHEA
Y I Q F / H F F Q
Y F P O L D S / C F H M
H I P I C M L F D
X F H O U T F C
U N G H M L ' U / F R R L P I
U G N I U / F R R L P I

Fancy, Guido and Prometheus finished this puzzle and, once the points were totalled, our winners were named:

Fancy - First Place
Guido and Prometheus - Second Place
Honoria - Third Place

Thanks to an anonymous donor, our winners received slithies. Be sure to join us each Saturday at 4.00pm for Cryptograms, Fed's newest game.