Grid: 45 minutes; Meta: 30 more
Peter Gordon’s Fireball contest, “What Next?” — Conrad’s writeup
This month, we are asked, What card game is hinted at by this puzzle? There were six theme entries, each containing a piece of a numbered set:
FB Contest – 11.10.2022
- [Peter and Gordon were part of it]: BRITI(SHIN)VASION
- [In demand]: SOUGH(TAFT)ER
- [Demonstrated to be effective]: PRO(VENUS)EFUL
- [Dodger Stadium setting]: CHAV(EZRA)VINE
- [Hot sauce brand from Belize]: M(ARIES)HARPS
- [Rocky enforcers?]: COLORAD(ORANGE)RS
Each piece has something that follows:
- SHIN (21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet) -> Tav
- TAFT (27th U.S. president) -> Wilson
- VENUS (2nd planet) -> Earth
- EZRA (15th book of the Bible) -> Nehemiah
- ARIES (first sign of the zodiac) -> Taurus
- ORANGE (second color of the rainbow): Yellow
The following entries spell TWENTY. Our contest answer TWENTY ONE (aka Blackjack) is “next.” Another great puzzle by Alex Eaton-Salners. Raise your hand if you also got stuck in the ESHARP rabbit hole. It took me too long to spot ARIES and dig out of that one.