Today, it’s game time. All thanks to you.

Crowdsourced Conundrums! Puzzles from You, to Me

Emojis and mazes and riddles, oh my!

Neil Patrick Harris is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Wondercade. In his spare time he also acts — fairly well, too, as his Tony and Emmy Awards can attest.

February 7, 2024 1:15 pm

I asked, you delivered! Scroll below for a bunch of the original puzzles YOU sent in. Thank you to the many of you who submitted so many glorious games.

Can you solve them all? We’ll provide the full slate of answers next week. In the meantime, relish in your fellow Wondercaders’ brainteaser-brewing panache. -NPH

The following pairs of words each have a word in common which, when added to the end of the first, goes at the start of the second. Find the words, and as a bonus, what is the song title that links all the missing words? —Heather B.

Rose _____ Eye
Mellow _____ Jacket
Tickled _____ Flamingo
Forest _____ Fingers
Deep _____ Heart
Clockwork _____ Blossom
True _____ Danube

A man works on the top floor of a Manhattan skyscraper. Every day, he rides the elevator up to the 50th floor, and then he walks up the steps the rest of the way. However, if there’s somebody else in the elevator, or if it’s raining outside, he rides the elevator all the way up. Explain his behavior. —S.Y. T.

Figure out the answers for each of the following clues, then figure out what they’re leading you to. Hint: Each of the answers has something hidden inside it. Combining those things in order will lead you to the solution. —Roy L.

Journalists might get invited to one for a product launch
Teddy bear, for one
Dogs
Vacation condo, say
Daily soap since 1965
Location of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation
How a magician might make a coin vanish
One might get told in the evening
Rumours group

The enumerations of the individual answers, in alphabetical order, are:

(7 5)
(7)
(4 2 3 5)
(9 3)
(5 3)
(5 5)
(7 2 4)
(8)
(9)

My contribution to the crowdsourced Last Call Issue is similar to one you’ve done previously: a guess the album based on the songs in emoji form. (A really good album, in my opinion.) —T.C. M.]

👥🪨🫵
👥🏆
✂❤🔪
🌎☠🌎☠
🖐🫵🦋
🤼📩
⬇👨😘👨
😴🛣
🤷🚫🫵
🌑
😞🟦

There is a barrel with no lid and some wine in it. “This barrel of wine is more than half full,” says the woman. “No, it’s not,” says the man. “It’s less than half full.” Without any measuring implements and without removing any wine from the barrel, how can they easily determine who is correct? —Nika S.

Can you make your way through these mazes even when the walls are invisible? Start at the entrance and make your way to the exit in one continuous non-branching line that only turns at right angles (no diagonals) and passes through every grid square only once and never crosses itself, like in the example. To help, the total number of walls needed (including border walls and given examples) are given above or below some of the columns and next to some rows. A few walls may be shown to give you a head start. Hint: first work on the path at the corners if possible. If you can find your way through, consider yourself a Maze Master!—Kerry S. (from Diversions: Word Searches)

What has one in a minute, two in a moment and never in a thousand years? —Kathy S.

Maybe you’ve done this. On a restless, sleepless night, you imagine turning your clock upside down to see what words you can form. I discovered 12 words. Based on the clues, can you tell what time it was before time’s up? Hint: I didn’t go to bed until 3:00 a.m. and I got out of bed exhausted at 8:00 a.m., and yes, it was a digital clock. —Gary K.

Time
__________ A tool for working in the garden
__________ Some people tell a little white one
__________ “Her” pronoun
__________ A nautical version of 911
__________ “He” pronoun
__________ Opposite of “bro”
__________ Out-of-control swine go ______ wild
__________ Like a bump on a ______
__________ A job for a musician
__________ I’d give an arm and a ______
__________ You might be a quart low
__________ Some men put it in their hair

Which of these 5-letter words doesn’t belong? —Anita N.

CARED
WATER
CRAFT
PLUNK
WEEDS
STREW

THE ANSWERS!

Rose Red Eye
Mellow Yellow Jacket
Tickled Pink Flamingo
Forest Green Fingers
Deep Purple Heart
Clockwork Orange Blossom
True Blue Danube

He’s very short, and cannot reach the higher buttons. However, if it’s raining, he can use his umbrella to reach, and if there’s another in the elevator, he can ask them to push it

Each of the individual answers has a number or mathematical operator hidden in it.

Journalists might get invited to one for a product launch = presS EVENt = 7
Teddy bear, for one = PLUSh toy = +
Dogs = caNINEs = 9
Vacation condo, say = TIMEShare = *
Daily soap since 1965 = days oF OUR lives = 4
Location of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation = terMINUS = –
How a magician might make a coin vanish = slEIGHT of hand = 8
One might get told in the evening = bedTIME Story = *
Rumours group = fleeTWOod mac = 2

7+9*4-8*2 = 27

SOLUTION: 27 or TWENTY SEVEN

News of the World, by Queen.

Tilt the barrel until the wine barely touches the lip of the barrel. If the bottom of the barrel is visible then it is less than half full. If the barrel bottom is still completely covered by the wine, then it is more than half full.