Fed II Star newsletter - masthead The weekly newsletter for the Fed II game by ibgames

EARTHDATE: February 19, 2006

EVENT REPORTS
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CRYPTOGRAMS

Saturday February 11
by Catspaws

I am a typical feline in so many ways. As such, when I heard rumors that there were flying buffalo on Rhea, I simply had to investigate. Such creatures would surely be entertaining to chase, and delicious to eat, right? So, this curious kitty strapped wings onto her back and headed for Art's Bistro. (By the way, I claim no responsibility for any breakages or other damages incurred when my fabricated wings malfunctioned... ahem!)

After a game of cat and mou... er, buffalo, I stopped to enjoy a meal of buffalo wings, which are indeed quite tasty. With a full tummy and after a good bath and catnap, I was ready for this week's game of Cryptograms.

We had a relatively small crowd this week, yet we still managed to find some of our regulars for a rowdy game. Our warmup puzzle was pretty simple, and Fancy, Robius and Monkey solved it with relative ease. Were I to look for a starting point here, I would notice that a) Several of the words end in the same letter - could it be an S? - and b) There are double letters in the first entry.

AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES
H S S G U
T A J U
D M X R U N S L C
U O M L R U
N R Q N M D R U
U S B E

Our second puzzle was another one that was relatively simple, and Rob, Fancy and Monkey made it look easy. On this one, I would look at the really long second entry for a starting point.

RANKS IN FED 2 (Type RANKS)
V N B F B X N J O
N B S K H I O N F P N H I
G J O X T F B I
Y O M K B S T M Y
G F B K V F X I K O J O
X M G G F B S J O

Our third puzzle was a little harder... The obvious starting point for me would be the single letter, which would be an 'A' or an 'I', and logic dictates it would be 'A'. Monkey proved himself a contender this time, finishing before Fancy and Robius.

THINGS A GROUNDHOG MAY DO
R O F / J / N Z W B T U
R O F / J / H N J I Z H Q T N
W Z J V / U Q Z / B J K O J A
Y T K V / U Q Z / B J N H
J H P / Y S W / Q Z A N / S K / U Q Z / I S B B H
N J K T I

Our fourth puzzle threw Robius a loop, much to my secret delight. Fancy managed to finish first, with Monkey second and Robius FINALLY finishing third.

THINGS TO GIVE A GIRL ON VALENTINE'S DAY
R / I R C Q S / W H O / H P / F R K G V
R / W H T E T S A / H P / P I H X S C U
R K / S K Q R Q S B S K A / C L K Q
R / N C S A A V / F R C G
V H T C / Z S R C A
G L R B H K G / R K V A Z L K Q

I still couldn't get those buffalo wings out of my mind, and hence our next puzzle involved food. Monkey came in ahead of Fancy this time, with the still-befuddled Robius coming in third. Again, the single letter is a good starting point. I was pleased to have a new player, Galileo, sitting in on this puzzle, and I suspect he will be am exciting player in future games.

THINGS TO EAT IN SOL EATERIES
I W C M V / N I W H H V C / B J / U G J J W I B / K Q O M D
W O / V O B C Y B G D / A G Q E L / R W Y U G C M V C
W / I W C M V / N I W H V / B J / E W O O B I Q
W / D Y W I I / U I G V / E V N R W I B N B S
W / N I W H V / B J / E B H H W M V N Q V
H R V / H Q O Q V D H / Y B C D V I / B J / E W P Q W C

We had some extra time, so we played a sixth puzzle. Monkey again finished the puzzle before Fancy, and Robius kept his familiar third place. For a starting point, I would look for a three-letter word appearing in more than one entry - Bar.

BARS AND PUBS BEYOND THE LINK
J X H X I / K L / W N K O / H K Z I V X
W J X / W X N Q D I G H / T W G W D K I / C G N
S K H ' T / C G N / G I B / V N D H H
N D V K N / Q K N W D T / S Z C
H D C C O ' T / T G H K K I / & / J K W X H
F X G W J X N X B / C G N

When the points were totalled, Fancy beat out Monkey by a single point, with Rob finishing third. Join me each Saturday at 4.00pm eastern for Cryptograms, and if you want the answers to this week's puzzles, email me at catspaws_fed@sbcglobal.net.


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