Mickey Mouse operation
I'm back from my Anaheim trip! The good people of Shinteki did a fantastic job with their Disneyland event, and my team did very well over the course of a exhausting twelve-hour journey over the park. We really complemented each other nicely, earning 51 of the 60 possible points, which easily surpassed Shinteki's "gold medal" standard of 40.
One of my teammates was Chris Kohler, editor of Game|Life at Wired. He did an excellent write-up there, so go check that out. As he says, we can't talk specifics about the puzzles, but he does present a challenge that was taken out of the set after the first staging of the event in 2009, so you can see the sort of thing we were up against.
Thanks again to Shinteki for a great time; already looking forward to the Decathlon in May!
I’m going to Disneyland!
I'm not taking a Disney vacation for the same reason as quarterback Eli Manning of the Super Bowl Champion New York Football Giants; rather, I'll be participating in the reboot of Shinteki Disneyland this weekend. I don't know what exactly to expect, but Shinteki always does great stuff. I'm optimistic that my three teammates, all of whom are relatively new to puzzlehunts, will have lots of fun too.
For today, the big puzzle news in my world is that it's my turn to have the crossword in the Onion AV Club. Enjoy!
Radio days
On Tuesday, I appeared on Colin McEnroe's WNPR show in my home state of Connecticut, talking with him and Deb Amlen about -- wait for it -- puzzles. You can check out the whole show here; I got just a brief bit at the end, but the whole show was fun.
Going back out west, it's a pretty good time for puzzlehunts here. Last weekend, I playtested the Doctor When game. Those of you who are taking part are in for a treat; I'm jealous I won't get to see the fully polished edition. Also, Shinteki is bringing back their Decathlon soon, and this week a new game in Portland was announced (with precious little detail, naturally). More to come on all this stuff!
Festive mood
Another Silicon Valley Puzzle Fest is in the books! Thanks to everyone who came out to the talks and/or participated in the competitions, and congratulations to the winners! In particular, Jordan Chodorow and Eric Maddy continued their fierce rivalry in west coast puzzle contests, as they were two of the three finalists in both the sudoku and crossword tournaments. This time, it was a draw, as Jordan pulled away for the sudoku title while Eric squeaked out the crossword trophy.
Another recent development on the western puzzle scene is the announcement of the next installment of Iron Puzzler, in which teams have twenty-four hours to make two puzzles with the secret ingredients, then present their creations to everyone else. This year, our friends in Seattle will join the Bay Area fun; this will nicely expand the selection of paper puzzles to be shared. Get your teams together!
And lastly... LET'S GO GIANTS!!!