IMPORTANT NOTE: As of January 2015 MGWCC is a subscribers-only crossword. The cost is $26 per year, and you can subscribe (or get a free trial month first) here:
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
Sweet redemption! After the catastrophic MGWCC #402 meta, pretty much everyone liked #403. The curious instructions asked for a message from you to me about this puzzle. There was only one overt theme entry in the grid, MINESWEEPER across the middle clued as [Classic computer game with simple rules].
Those rules specify that a mine affects all eight squares around it. Successful solvers noted that there were an awful lot of M’s in the grid, and hypothesized that they might be mines.
They were, and blowing up every M in the grid and the eight letters surround it left sixteen letters untouched. They read, from top to bottom: THANKS, I HAD A BLAST! , found by 233 solvers.
The nice solution grid at right is courtesy of solver Paul Rundle. (Some letters are blue and some green or red based on the number of mines they border; not relevant for the meta).
aoboboa says:
This one was no dud.
Asdanf writes:
Clever strategy for eliciting a positive comment from every solver 😉
I needed it after #402…
cor:
wow! I mean pow!
donlloyd:
Click!!!
Eduardo:
I am mine blown with that construction!
gifo:
One thing about MGWCC: on the rare occasions you get a bomb, you can be sure next week you’ll get a blast!
And finally, ab:
I should’ve waited so you could’ve had ab last.
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen randomly from the 233 correct entries received, is David Glasser of Berkeley, Calif. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, David will also receive a 1-year subscription to MGDX.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is an 8-letter word.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.
IMPORTANT NOTE: As of January 2015 MGWCC is a subscribers-only crossword. The cost is $26 per year, and you can subscribe (or get a free trial month first) here: