CRYPTOGRAMS
by Catspaws
Saturday July 15
I have a special relationship with the chef in the Sizzling Wok on Mercury. For months, he'd chase me through the restaurant, waving a knife through the air, and chanting something about "Kitty Fung Jeow!" or "Sweet and Sour Kitty!" It was quite entertaining for the guests, I suppose, but I somehow had the feeling he wasn't discussing my disposition when he called me "sweet and sour". After talks with the management of the restaurant, it was agreed that they would curb their chef's enthusiasm in exchange for a regular supply of live chickens from the farms on Catseye. Well, they get their chickens, though most are actually purloi - uh, borrowed, from Rhea.
This was the last Cryptograms before the summer break and I was hoping for a large crowd. Alas, most of our regular players must have been at the beach. Fancy and Robius showed up, and Pamtyc and Icey each tried a puzzle before getting a good glance at the Wok's chef and running away screaming. Fancy and Robius finished the first puzzle, and Pamtyc and Icey each got four points.
PLAYER NAMES STARTING WITH "C":
D Z L O L U
D N C U Y N A U
D Z N M L O
D N Q U N Z
D T N J H Q Z P N S O
D L L P V
My new love is to provide puzzles in which all the entries have the same amount of letters. These are more challenging for our regular players and occasionally I stump Fancy with them. Not this time, however. He beat out Rob in solving the puzzle, and the two new Crypto players gave up before the puzzle even started.
NON-SOL PLANETS WITH FIVE LETTERS (DI SYSTEMS):
YRZVW
YFUQE
BVWVP
BYGRB
UXJYG
VFBJW
For the third puzzle I wanted to introduce any new players we might get to the commands directory and to the social commands available. Again, Fancy beat Robius in solving this puzzle.
SOCIAL COMMANDS (http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/commands/index.html):
S M T T Z
J S U A L
E T H B L
J V M I I
G U D H T F L
V U F R A L
Another interesting command is DI COMPANIES. It is helpful for many ranks. Founders like to see who built that new depot while they were sleeping, Financiers like to see who has shares available, and other ranks have various interests in this list. Fancy again solved this puzzle before Robius.
CURRENT COMPANY NAMES IN FED2 (DI COMPANIES):
P M N / S V B B / S J O P X O K M F Z V K O B E
S B O I M Z / E M P C V K M E / V I K
N O P G / E Z O P / M I Z M P S P V E M E
D H B N M I / I F D D M Z / M I Z M P S P V E M E
J O P N / K J M M E M / O I N / H B N / L J V I M E
A V A Z J / M B M X M I Z / S P H N F K Z V H I E
I am really sorry more weren't available for our final puzzle because it dealt with the topic of our last role-play class. I encourage the Star readers to solve this puzzle and go check out some of these things, and be sure to attend our next class where we will be exploring more of Sol to uncover its secrets. Fancy, of course, solved this puzzle before Robius.
SPECIAL THINGS YOU CAN DO IN SOL:
B Q P K C / A U M / A L M M / X I / K Y L T
T Q P F M / F X G I / A U M / C Y I P T A M L / X I / M Y L A U
X O M I / A U M / F D K T A M L / X I / M Y L A U
L P F M / A U M / T O X L A T A M L / X I / K Y L T
Z P T T / F P M T M Q / X I / K Y L T
O Q Y E / A U M / O P Y I X / X I / K Y L T
When the scores were tallied, Fancy came in first, Robius came in second, and Pamtyc and Icey tied for third. I have enjoyed hosting Cryptograms this season, and will think of all the special people who enjoy this game while I am reclining in my deck chair enjoying my vacation. And, I hope to see you all back in the fall when the Events team starts its new season.
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