See this PDF for the full week of Snake Pit puzzles from Carl Worth.

If you noticed anything unusual about the puzzles this week, it probably wasn’t an accident. Carl has hidden an additional puzzle within the six Snake Pits. Find and solve that puzzle to determine some counsel he’d like to share with you, perhaps something to use when approaching puzzles like these.

The final answer to the hidden puzzle consists of eight characters (specifically four CAPITAL letters followed by four numbers). Nothing outside of the six Snake Pits has any bearing on the hidden puzzle, including this text.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between linex mode where left click+drag draws lines and right click marks X’s, and a shading mode.)

Theme: Birthday Mystery

Author/Opus: This is the 108th puzzle from our contributing puzzlemaster Grant Fikes.

Rules: Draw a single loop of horizontal and vertical segments that passes through all of the white cells (and only the white cells) exactly once. Like last week’s puzzles, there is also a second puzzle style that this grid can be solved as. Doing so will help you find a secret answer word.

Answer String: Enter the final answer word in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.

Solution: PDF

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 4:15, Master = 7:00, Expert = 14:00

Today’s surprise marks the occasion of Grant Fikes’ 26th birthday. Grant has written a surprise puzzle hunt-style puzzle that will solve to a two word answer. This is likely more challenging than our earlier “Word Search” surprise on April 1st, but we hope it is enjoyable to those who give it a shot while celebrating Grant’s birthday.

Note: the first 26 solvers (or all those who solve it within a week if fewer than 26 solve it by then) will be entered into a random drawing for a copy of Grant’s “Battle of LITS” board game.

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools)

Answer String: Enter the two word answer in all capital letters, with a single space between words.

Solution: PDF

Update (6/2/13): There have been 27 solvers in the week since this puzzle posted and all of those names will be placed into a drawing sometime shortly. Watch here for further updates.

**While this was initially not a numbered Grant opus, we are calling it #48 for our site count.

A few weeks ago Giovanni P. asked what our visitors might think about “other puzzles.” His question was specific to word puzzles, but this week I put the question to the test when I posted our first “Puzzle Hunt” puzzle. The Monday puzzle was not announced as such. Instead it was meant to just look like an April Fools joke. But it already has the most FAVEs of any puzzle on the site. So what are “Puzzle Hunt” puzzles and what was really going on with that word search?

(more…)

PDF

or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between a line drawing mode and a shading mode.)

Theme: Grandmasters

Rules: Standard Word Search rules.

Answer String: Enter the final message, related to what you are getting today, revealed by solving the puzzle. Enter the answer in all capital letters, with no spaces or punctuation.

Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 8:30, Master = 11:30, Expert = 23:00

Solution: PDF