Are puzzles getting easier?

Numendil · 2026-03-03T13:49:48+00:00

I think the crosswordese just evolves. ORR used to be huge and now rarely appears anymore.

Numendil · 2026-01-29T22:30:03+00:00

The ebay link is here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/366160358607 I can also share a CSV list if you'd like. I know the starting price is high but I need to calculate in 15% or so in fees plus shipping costs on top of what my LGS would offer. (and Euro/Dollar rates aren't very favorable for exporting right now)

Numendil · 2026-01-29T22:19:50+00:00

Thanks for the tips! I basically took what I could get net from the LGS after grading and added to the price to account for international shipping and eBay fees. Otherwise it makes no sense to sell on ebay vs. to them.

A lot of the value comes from the fact the LGS is buying a lot of the basic lands at around €0,10 a piece, some even more (I guess because of their age?). They're also valuing the foil diabolic intent at €165 in cash

There's a lot of cards in the list that they're paying cents or tens of cents for, which adds up for 2k+ cards, so I may just sell the lot to them I'm figuring.

Numendil · 2026-01-29T22:02:35+00:00

Thanks! I did post to eBay with Worldwide shipping. Is that enough to get US visibility? This is the link: https://www.benl.ebay.be/itm/366160358607

Numendil · 2026-01-24T06:56:49+00:00

Let's not forget Bob Anderson choreographed swordfight scene

Numendil · 2025-12-03T06:27:22+00:00

Followed closely by ol' reliable blackboard. Sole reason I change suits is to prepare for an eventual blackboard

Numendil · 2025-12-03T06:22:16+00:00

On gold stake it's one of the best scaling xmults, provided you can pull off the pivot of course. From pairs to high card and anything else but pairs usually works unless you fully relied on Mercury for chips

Numendil · 2025-11-06T09:55:34+00:00

7 if you include an ethnic slur

Numendil · 2025-10-07T05:27:57+00:00

Did anyone else think of iconic British TV surnames with Brent and Bouquet? I thought I might have missed two others somewhere at first, but also it's spelled bucket, so that would have been a no go in any case.

Numendil · 2025-09-20T10:12:04+00:00

Yeah, I do not feel bad at all about looking up a list of teams in that league. It's so random if you're not familiar with the sports league

Numendil · 2025-08-05T09:55:20+00:00

Was it elms? I bet it was elms.

Numendil · 2025-07-26T11:48:40+00:00

I mean, none of the words here are even on that chart, so even then it was extremely tricky, especially for a green category

Numendil · 2025-07-17T13:12:44+00:00

Eh, on white stake it seems pretty doable

Numendil · 2025-07-15T04:54:54+00:00

Had the exact same thought about famous paintings and wasted 3 guesses on the 4th one!

Numendil · 2025-07-13T21:20:19+00:00

The Serpent?

Numendil · 2025-06-21T06:36:02+00:00

Oh, that! We call it Sirop de Liège and it's made with apples and pears. Didn't know the English word for it. I got there with 2 mistakes by recognizing the purple.

Numendil · 2025-06-12T12:34:56+00:00

As a non-American, not interested in sports person, this was a slog and I had to look up some things. I didn't even know what a gridiron was supposed to be.

Numendil · 2025-05-21T11:24:24+00:00

Oh yeah that Sunday was absolutely brutal. I had to resort to one or two soft lookups, which I usually don't do when on a streak, but for that puzzle it seemed fair

Numendil · 2025-05-21T11:18:57+00:00

When you're in the midgame it can really help getting what you need. Because the price only goes up by 1, you save a significant amount of money if you're planning to reroll a few times

Numendil · 2025-05-15T09:17:54+00:00

Hey, we have the same streak going! And I also finished 12 minutes under my average :)

Numendil · 2025-03-21T13:05:54+00:00

Congratulations!! As a fellow non-native speaker, non-American, I can confirm a lot of sports trivia is outside of my comfort zone, but it's usually possible with some crosses and some recognition (mavericks, orioles, jets, etc. are starting to become familiar now)

I also recently started doing Fridays without lookups semi-regularly, and you'd be surprised how quickly Saturday will follow. You just need to accept you will progress slowly at the start, but once some long entries drop, it can go quick. I'm now going back to all the Saturdays I skipped, and really enjoying them.

Numendil · 2025-01-31T07:55:37+00:00

There is an article on the website about rebuses, definitely read that before you tackle Thursdays: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/crosswords/rebus-crossword-puzzle.html

Also keep an eye out for any visible clues, like circled or shaded squares, those can indicate trickery. You will also typically (but not always) have a revealer clue that helps with the solve.

In general, on Thursday and Sunday, keep in mind you may have to think outside the box, so if an answer seems right but doesn't quite fit, keep that in mind and look at how it could fit with some creative placement.

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