Post making contest 6.0

Sruix, are you going to sing that?

I pretty much have to at some point, yes.

(just not at 2:20am)

see that passing two rules totally justifies me having used writing that as an excuse for staying up another half-hour to hit 2am again

Passes none of the rules

Sruix, are you going to sing that?

Passes rule 2

I pretty much have to at some point, yes.

(just not at 2:20am)

Passes none of the rules

This is update #279.

Day one of SUMS 2016: qwerx has buggered off to hunt with another team, so when aks, Fogel and I realised that three heads are insufficient at this time of year, we send out a distress signal and managed to get granola to join us! Somehow we've actually managed to solve three out of four of the day's puzzles so far... despite the initial technical difficulties...

• [8:11 AM] Akumu: Cool, five teams have solved the puzzle and I can't access it
  (as I was saying)
  _
  
• [8:49 AM] DragonFogel: Well now we have all the pictures, so what do we do.
  [8:50 AM] DragonFogel: Other than get Sruixan to sing it.
  (time passes, during which I remain asleep)
  [8:53 AM] Akumu: Well that didn't work
  _
  
• [11:42 AM] Sruixan: is it wrong that my reference for this idea is a monster factory video?
  (in so far as it turned out to be entirely the wrong idea, yes)
  _
  
• [6:53 PM] Akumu: We should get more eyes
  _
  
• [11:17 PM] Sruixan: mind you Big Break has had a heck of a lot of solves since this morning
  [11:18 PM] Sruixan: guess we're just waiting on a... breakthrough
  (and then the breakthrough actually occurs)
  [11:52 PM] Sruixan: with qwerx gone I am more than willing to assume my usual grunt role
  _
  
• [1:29 AM] Sruixan: I am now mad because we puzzled so hard I missed both Peaches and Whiteshadow dammit
  [1:29 AM] Akumu: ??
  [1:29 AM] Akumu: What are those
  [1:29 AM] Sruixan: rare neko atsume cats
  

End of message.

resting Peaches

This is update #279.

Day one of SUMS 2016: qwerx has buggered off to hunt with another team, so when aks, Fogel and I realised that three heads are insufficient at this time of year, we send out a distress signal and managed to get granola to join us! Somehow we've actually managed to solve three out of four of the day's puzzles so far... despite the initial technical difficulties...

• [8:11 AM] Akumu: Cool, five teams have solved the puzzle and I can't access it
  (as I was saying)
  _
  
• [8:49 AM] DragonFogel: Well now we have all the pictures, so what do we do.
  [8:50 AM] DragonFogel: Other than get Sruixan to sing it.
  (time passes, during which I remain asleep)
  [8:53 AM] Akumu: Well that didn't work
  _
  
• [11:42 AM] Sruixan: is it wrong that my reference for this idea is a monster factory video?
  (in so far as it turned out to be entirely the wrong idea, yes)
  _
  
• [6:53 PM] Akumu: We should get more eyes
  _
  
• [11:17 PM] Sruixan: mind you Big Break has had a heck of a lot of solves since this morning
  [11:18 PM] Sruixan: guess we're just waiting on a... breakthrough
  (and then the breakthrough actually occurs)
  [11:52 PM] Sruixan: with qwerx gone I am more than willing to assume my usual grunt role
  _
  
• [1:29 AM] Sruixan: I am now mad because we puzzled so hard I missed both Peaches and Whiteshadow dammit
  [1:29 AM] Akumu: ??
  [1:29 AM] Akumu: What are those
  [1:29 AM] Sruixan: rare neko atsume cats
  

End of message.

Three heads are totes sufficient

This post passes rules 3 and 4.

resting Peaches

This post passes rules 1 and 2.

There might well exist a set of three heads that's sufficient, but it's not ours.

Mostly this is because in general I'm not fond of big and vague puzzles and that's two out of the initial set. At least I was able to cut to the end of one of them once we had a few key parts of the clue figured out.

We just aren't getting anywhere with 4, though.

There might well exist a set of three heads that's sufficient, but it's not ours.

Mostly this is because in general I'm not fond of big and vague puzzles and that's two out of the initial set. At least I was able to cut to the end of one of them once we had a few key parts of the clue figured out.

We just aren't getting anywhere with 4, though.

Passes none of the rules

This is update #280.

Day two of SUMS 2016: we're already quite frustrated. It is day two. Coincidentally, that is also the number of puzzles we have solved so far today...

• [11:04 AM] Sruixan: well what's all this nonsense
  (I proceed to talk to myself on-and-off until I solve 2.1)
  _
  
• [2:39 PM] Sruixan: FUCKISH
  _
  
• [2:42 PM] Sruixan: (these are all in caps because I keep shouting them out loud)
  (eventually Fogel wakes up and relieves me so that I can go and family, but I keep screaming at people via my phone until finally I make Akumu complete 2.4 for me)
  _
  
• [6:56 PM] DragonFogel: I imagine 2 won't be that hard.
  [6:57 PM] Akumu: Fogel was that a joke about 2
  [6:58 PM] DragonFogel: No?
  [6:58 PM] Akumu: nobody has solved it
  6:58 PM] DragonFogel: Oh.
  _
  
• [7:28 PM] DragonFogel: Oh, I didn't even notice Tags had a third page.
  (we are super good at puzzles honest)
  _
  
• [1:27 AM] Sruixan: well I got sufficiently frustrated to switch to Schoenflies, which is saying something
  [1:27 AM] Granola: oh dear
  [1:28 AM] Granola: I don't think that will be any better
  [1:34 AM] Sruixan: you were quite right
  _
  
• [2:20 AM] Sruixan: turns out "day four" is also known as Thursday I should sleep
  

End of message.

DragonFogel: I hope none of these are compounds that get the government's attention if you Google them.

Oh man, that's a good line too! Dunno how I missed that...

This was a fun exchange to wake up to in the main ET Discord:

[4:53 AM] qwerx3: hello is anyone an orgochem major
[5:10 AM] Akumu: if there's any orgochem majors they're working for us qwerx

This is update #281.

Day three of SUMS: esrdthjyfl;dgfsnbbgkhjlxcfgv;bhgjxrdfthrnjhdxfscdw

• [3:01 PM] Sruixan: hello I am in a car
  (knowing that Aks and Fogel aren't big cryptic fans I took 3.4 on the journey with me; this was a mistake)
  _
  
• [5:01 PM] Sruixan: I now have a large cardboard box on my lap, and in the box is a laptop.
  [5:03 PM] Sruixan: Right now, though, it's a good-quality flat surface (even if it is a bit too dark to see my printout grid)
  _
  
• [10:07 PM] Akumu: Help?
  (at this point Aks and Fogel are stuck on the extraction step of 3.1 for reasons that shall become apparent)
  _
  
• [11:44 PM] DragonFogel: Dang it Sean Gardiner, why do you have to overcomplicate your extraction steps.
  [11:44 PM] DragonFogel: Oh wait this isn't him, I must have been thinking of another puzzle.
  [11:46 PM] DragonFogel: Well I still stand by that statement as a general principle.
  _
  
• [12:02 AM] Sruixan: there are a lot of clues
  (I solved 90% of the buggers you know)
  _
  
• AND THEN THE PENNY DROPS
  [3:14 AM] Sruixan: are you telling me
  [3:14 AM] Sruixan: that all this time
  [3:14 AM] Sruixan: you couldn't get the answer because you made a spelling mistake
  [3:15 AM] DragonFogel: Day three: in which we get stuck on two separate puzzles due to spelling.
  (my spelling mistake is too spoilery to explain but my reaction to it being pointed out when I asked for help was "well shit" so that gives you a good idea of what went down)
  

End of message.

Unrelatedly to all this SUMS stuff, Zeldathon quotes!

"This sweaty headband can be yours for three easy payments of $99.99"
"And one very difficult payment."

"Pancakes are a load of crepe"

"Excuse me quote-unquote MORS, e is a much better number than pi, just like waffles are better than pancakes."

"Can you please add jorts to the swear filter?"

"You think you can not pee and just be cool?"
"That pee went right into John Cena's jorts"

"Wait, where were they in Twilight Princess?"
"According to the Zelda wiki, they weren't present in that game."
"Shut up."

puzzles are a mystery

This is update #282.

Days four and five of SUMS: we are all tired and frustrated and nobody has enough time to do anything

also we hate extraction steps with a passion (here's looking at you, Encoded you should not have taken FIVE DAYS)

• [2:09 PM] Sruixan: oh come on what the hell
  [2:11 PM] Sruixan: am I getting this conceptually wrong
  [2:11 PM] Sruixan: is effort involved
  (the third hint for Encoded finally confirmed that everything I thought I knew about it was wrong)
  _
  
• [4:18 PM] Sruixan: just
  [4:18 PM] Sruixan: can someone solve this for me please
  (spoiler warning: my idea for Encoded's arrow-based extraction was much better than the actual method)
  _
  
• (Fogel and granola finally suss out Tag)
  [10:42 PM] Akumu: Let's remember in the future to think of [REDACTED] any time we see the number [REDACTED]
  [10:43 PM] Akumu: Or, for the thread, "Let's remember in the future to think of [spoiler] any time we see the number [spoiler]"
  [10:43 PM] Sruixan: a [spoiler] and the number [spoiler]
  [10:43 PM] Akumu: haha
  [10:43 PM] Sruixan: coming soon to a Drawful near you
  _
  
• (late night knot theory session)
  [12:34 AM] Sruixan: the sixth knot is going to kill me
  [12:35 AM] DragonFogel: Just chop it to pieces, Alexander.
  [12:40 AM] Sruixan: but granola isn't here
  (*cricket chirps* okay I admit this is not the best joke I've ever made)
  _
  
• (Fogel and I admit defeat on the extraction step of (K)not Chemistry so I decide to sleep)
  [2:10 AM] Sruixan: anyway, goodnight
  [2:25 AM] Sruixan: Hi I am in bed
  [2:25 AM] Sruixan: [CORRECT EXTRACTION METHOD REDACTED]
  _
  
• (and then, once we get the last two knots, we're stuck on what results...)
  [3:10 AM] DragonFogel: ...and that's the answer.
  [3:11 AM] DragonFogel: It's not a clue, the answer is straight-up [REDACTED].
  [3:11 AM] Sruixan: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH
  [3:12 AM] Sruixan: that better have been pretty fucking constrained by the metapuzzle
  _
  
• not much happens early on day five; Fogel suffers through bits of Transmutation and then I finally get back in for the evening and we breeze through Pointless Puzzle (once Aks helps us with our puns)
  _
  
• [1:58 AM] Sruixan: which reminds me my mum thinks Knit-Picking is bullshit
  (she never said the word itself but she strongly implied it)
  _
  
• and then I finally spot what aks did wrong during the extraction of Encoded
  [2:19 AM] Sruixan: answer should be [REDACTED]
  [2:20 AM] Akumu: Yep
  [2:20 AM] Sruixan: FUCK
  [2:20 AM] Akumu: Good eye
  [2:20 AM] Sruixan: I am feeling an emotion
  

anyway people are having a crack at A Way Out now but I need to sleep

End of message.

"Everyone who's ever drank water has died, so who's the real predator here?"
"Sharks."

This is update #280.

Day two of SUMS 2016: we're already quite frustrated. It is day two. Coincidentally, that is also the number of puzzles we have solved so far today...

• [11:04 AM] Sruixan: well what's all this nonsense
  (I proceed to talk to myself on-and-off until I solve 2.1)
  _
  
• [2:39 PM] Sruixan: FUCKISH
  _
  
• [2:42 PM] Sruixan: (these are all in caps because I keep shouting them out loud)
  (eventually Fogel wakes up and relieves me so that I can go and family, but I keep screaming at people via my phone until finally I make Akumu complete 2.4 for me)
  _
  
• [6:56 PM] DragonFogel: I imagine 2 won't be that hard.
  [6:57 PM] Akumu: Fogel was that a joke about 2
  [6:58 PM] DragonFogel: No?
  [6:58 PM] Akumu: nobody has solved it
  6:58 PM] DragonFogel: Oh.
  _
  
• [7:28 PM] DragonFogel: Oh, I didn't even notice Tags had a third page.
  (we are super good at puzzles honest)
  _
  
• [1:27 AM] Sruixan: well I got sufficiently frustrated to switch to Schoenflies, which is saying something
  [1:27 AM] Granola: oh dear
  [1:28 AM] Granola: I don't think that will be any better
  [1:34 AM] Sruixan: you were quite right
  _
  
• [2:20 AM] Sruixan: turns out "day four" is also known as Thursday I should sleep
  

End of message.

Passes none of the rules

DragonFogel: I hope none of these are compounds that get the government's attention if you Google them.

Passes none of the rules

Oh man, that's a good line too! Dunno how I missed that...

This was a fun exchange to wake up to in the main ET Discord:

[4:53 AM] qwerx3: hello is anyone an orgochem major
[5:10 AM] Akumu: if there's any orgochem majors they're working for us qwerx

Passes none of the rules

This is update #281.

Day three of SUMS: esrdthjyfl;dgfsnbbgkhjlxcfgv;bhgjxrdfthrnjhdxfscdw

• [3:01 PM] Sruixan: hello I am in a car
  (knowing that Aks and Fogel aren't big cryptic fans I took 3.4 on the journey with me; this was a mistake)
  _
  
• [5:01 PM] Sruixan: I now have a large cardboard box on my lap, and in the box is a laptop.
  [5:03 PM] Sruixan: Right now, though, it's a good-quality flat surface (even if it is a bit too dark to see my printout grid)
  _
  
• [10:07 PM] Akumu: Help?
  (at this point Aks and Fogel are stuck on the extraction step of 3.1 for reasons that shall become apparent)
  _
  
• [11:44 PM] DragonFogel: Dang it Sean Gardiner, why do you have to overcomplicate your extraction steps.
  [11:44 PM] DragonFogel: Oh wait this isn't him, I must have been thinking of another puzzle.
  [11:46 PM] DragonFogel: Well I still stand by that statement as a general principle.
  _
  
• [12:02 AM] Sruixan: there are a lot of clues
  (I solved 90% of the buggers you know)
  _
  
• AND THEN THE PENNY DROPS
  [3:14 AM] Sruixan: are you telling me
  [3:14 AM] Sruixan: that all this time
  [3:14 AM] Sruixan: you couldn't get the answer because you made a spelling mistake
  [3:15 AM] DragonFogel: Day three: in which we get stuck on two separate puzzles due to spelling.
  (my spelling mistake is too spoilery to explain but my reaction to it being pointed out when I asked for help was "well shit" so that gives you a good idea of what went down)
  

End of message.

Passes none of the rules

Unrelatedly to all this SUMS stuff, Zeldathon quotes!

"This sweaty headband can be yours for three easy payments of $99.99"
"And one very difficult payment."

"Pancakes are a load of crepe"

"Excuse me quote-unquote MORS, e is a much better number than pi, just like waffles are better than pancakes."

"Can you please add jorts to the swear filter?"

"You think you can not pee and just be cool?"
"That pee went right into John Cena's jorts"

"Wait, where were they in Twilight Princess?"
"According to the Zelda wiki, they weren't present in that game."
"Shut up."

Passes none of the rules

puzzles are a mystery

Passes rule 2

This is update #282.

Days four and five of SUMS: we are all tired and frustrated and nobody has enough time to do anything

also we hate extraction steps with a passion (here's looking at you, Encoded you should not have taken FIVE DAYS)

• [2:09 PM] Sruixan: oh come on what the hell
  [2:11 PM] Sruixan: am I getting this conceptually wrong
  [2:11 PM] Sruixan: is effort involved
  (the third hint for Encoded finally confirmed that everything I thought I knew about it was wrong)
  _
  
• [4:18 PM] Sruixan: just
  [4:18 PM] Sruixan: can someone solve this for me please
  (spoiler warning: my idea for Encoded's arrow-based extraction was much better than the actual method)
  _
  
• (Fogel and granola finally suss out Tag)
  [10:42 PM] Akumu: Let's remember in the future to think of [REDACTED] any time we see the number [REDACTED]
  [10:43 PM] Akumu: Or, for the thread, "Let's remember in the future to think of [spoiler] any time we see the number [spoiler]"
  [10:43 PM] Sruixan: a [spoiler] and the number [spoiler]
  [10:43 PM] Akumu: haha
  [10:43 PM] Sruixan: coming soon to a Drawful near you
  _
  
• (late night knot theory session)
  [12:34 AM] Sruixan: the sixth knot is going to kill me
  [12:35 AM] DragonFogel: Just chop it to pieces, Alexander.
  [12:40 AM] Sruixan: but granola isn't here
  (*cricket chirps* okay I admit this is not the best joke I've ever made)
  _
  
• (Fogel and I admit defeat on the extraction step of (K)not Chemistry so I decide to sleep)
  [2:10 AM] Sruixan: anyway, goodnight
  [2:25 AM] Sruixan: Hi I am in bed
  [2:25 AM] Sruixan: [CORRECT EXTRACTION METHOD REDACTED]
  _
  
• (and then, once we get the last two knots, we're stuck on what results...)
  [3:10 AM] DragonFogel: ...and that's the answer.
  [3:11 AM] DragonFogel: It's not a clue, the answer is straight-up [REDACTED].
  [3:11 AM] Sruixan: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH
  [3:12 AM] Sruixan: that better have been pretty fucking constrained by the metapuzzle
  _
  
• not much happens early on day five; Fogel suffers through bits of Transmutation and then I finally get back in for the evening and we breeze through Pointless Puzzle (once Aks helps us with our puns)
  _
  
• [1:58 AM] Sruixan: which reminds me my mum thinks Knit-Picking is bullshit
  (she never said the word itself but she strongly implied it)
  _
  
• and then I finally spot what aks did wrong during the extraction of Encoded
  [2:19 AM] Sruixan: answer should be [REDACTED]
  [2:20 AM] Akumu: Yep
  [2:20 AM] Sruixan: FUCK
  [2:20 AM] Akumu: Good eye
  [2:20 AM] Sruixan: I am feeling an emotion
  

anyway people are having a crack at A Way Out now but I need to sleep

End of message.

Passes none of the rules

"Everyone who's ever drank water has died, so who's the real predator here?"
"Sharks."

Passes none of the rules

i assisted in solving a puzzle

ix you did a real good job on your puzzle and it is a bit of a shame we never went anywhere with the metapuzzle

(it is also hilarious that the puzzle I outsourced to you just so happened to be the one where we had incorrectly identified the corresponding Pokemon so it wouldn't have helped anyway but uh)

This is puzzle #1.

[11:49 PM] Sruixan: oh look, right on schedule, it's the post-SUMS "I wanna write some real good puzzles, maybe out of spite" feeling
[11:49 PM] Sruixan: and, as always, I absolutely do not have the time to do anything serious with this urge! partly because I just wasted a week on SUMS!

except I had this absolutely terrible idea when we were out this afternoon that I knew wouldn't take me too long to knock up so here's a stupid little thing that in want of a better name I'm gonna title "The Alphabet":

abdgko1wa3jotzfl5xdkryf5tbktd4zkv2tgui2kym3oc4gwmc1ldwpjd6tpmjged

End of message.

abdgko1wa3jotzfl5xdkryf5tbktd4zkv2tgui2kym3oc4gwmc1ldwpjd6tpmjged

Man, the alphabet looks really different with all the DLC installed.

Unfortunately, I don't have the Omega DLC, so I can't finish the alphabet...

i assisted in solving a puzzle

ix you did a real good job on your puzzle and it is a bit of a shame we never went anywhere with the metapuzzle

(it is also hilarious that the puzzle I outsourced to you just so happened to be the one where we had incorrectly identified the corresponding Pokemon so it wouldn't have helped anyway but uh)

This is puzzle #1.

[11:49 PM] Sruixan: oh look, right on schedule, it's the post-SUMS "I wanna write some real good puzzles, maybe out of spite" feeling
[11:49 PM] Sruixan: and, as always, I absolutely do not have the time to do anything serious with this urge! partly because I just wasted a week on SUMS!

except I had this absolutely terrible idea when we were out this afternoon that I knew wouldn't take me too long to knock up so here's a stupid little thing that in want of a better name I'm gonna title "The Alphabet":

abdgko1wa3jotzfl5xdkryf5tbktd4zkv2tgui2kym3oc4gwmc1ldwpjd6tpmjged

End of message.

abdgko1wa3jotzfl5xdkryf5tbktd4zkv2tgui2kym3oc4gwmc1ldwpjd6tpmjged

Man, the alphabet looks really different with all the DLC installed.

Unfortunately, I don't have the Omega DLC, so I can't finish the alphabet...

Sadly none of these posts pass any rules

SpoilerShow

√3 Ridiculous Rutabaga

i have been tricked! the wool has been pulled over my eyes!