This week’s handmade co-op puzzle won’t defox itself. If you’re a dab hand at quizzes, lateral thinking, and search engine sleuthing, why not help out.
The ‘cluster foxer’ is regarded by some as the most demanding form. Solving one involves identifying 25 pictures and five hidden themes. The enlargeable mosaic below consists of five interlocked picture clusters (some possible cluster arrangements are shown above) each with its own theme. Themes have nothing in common with each other. Don’t be surprised to find, for example, “Crocodiles”, “Tulip mania”, “Words beginning with “ter””, “1948” and “Fictional policemen” sharing a puzzle. A picture’s connection to a particular theme won’t always be literal. An image of the Brandenburg Gate is just as likely to be part of a “Bach” cluster as a “Berlin” one.
In an attempt to ensure as many people as possible get a chance to participate, Roman requests defoxers solve no more than five squares per person on Day 1, and guess no more than one cluster theme. (After 24 hours have elapsed, fill your boots!). Use your ration to complete an entire horizontal or vertical line before anyone else to win ‘Connect 5’ bragging rights.
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SOLUTIONS
Last week’s geofoxer theme: waterbirds (defoxed by captaincabinets)
a. bittern (Colonel_K)
b. coot (a_monk)
c. crane (Colonel_K)
d. goose (Colonel_K)
e. loon (Zwack23, a_monk)
f. flamingo (Hydrogene)
g. widgeon (Colonel_K, captaincabinets)
h. mallard (captaincabinets)
i. heron (captaincabinets, a_monk)
j. duck (Colonel_K)
D2. Tabloid, the compressed tablets made by Burroughs Wellcome and Company
Here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabloid_(newspaper_format)
D3. G1 Autobot Cars: Jazz. Car model is Porsche 935 Turbo.
Here: https://www.transformerland.com/wiki/toy-info/transformers-g1-autobot-cars-jazz/84/
B4. Chesterfield F.C. crest
Here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesterfield_F.C.
B2. Challenger 2
On the picture, it is equipped with Combat Identification Panel. Picture was taken in Iraq.
Here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_2
E5. National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific aka PUNCHBOWL Cemetary
C1. Friend of the Foxer, Protected Cruiser Aurora
https://www.google.com/maps/place/59%C2%B057'19.0%22N+30%C2%B020'17.0%22E/@59.9549713,30.3382749,3a,90y,280.08h,101.63t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sCIHM0ogKEICAgIC41eWvZA!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2Fgpms-cs-s%2FAB8u6HYiKh1mNN00opXV7N2PBBl-eSVv_K3OYmQEzg-dwdGn5zwZ0RpdIKTxLrmLFB8_fP4YFMuy4dizZ3mX9dWAK4D0eFVBO58r4JIDdfX_oj20tuAdVVx918DH25Otp1savKHvFRkj%3Dw900-h600-k-no-pi-11.625390846094547-ya353.08438109785783-ro0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d59.955278!4d30.338056?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDgwNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
A couple of partials:
B1. could be Kniphofia aka Red-Hot Poker, but I haven’t found ones with that background
A2. is a coin from Knossos, Minoan Crete with a labyrinth on it
B1 Source: https://www.rhsplants.co.uk/plants/_/kniphofia-uvaria/classid.2000027803/
Picture of the coin here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knossos
E2. DAHLIA – looks to be ‘Group 6 – Ball dahlias’ “Mary’s Jomanda”
E3 Seems to be a news story about whether Raul Castro wanted to be a woman instead of a man.
(Back from a 2 week holiday to Blighty)
A1 – Pieter Bruegel’s Children’s Games – bottom left corner – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Games_(Bruegel)
That section of the painting is also used on the KNUCKLEBONES page
aka. scatter jacks, snobs, astragaloi, tali, dibs, fivestones, jacks, jackstones, or jinks, among many other names
C5 – Al Fink as Corky Buchon (Can’t find that exact pic)
The name of the picture is Cork Man.
I found it here: http://galleries.burningman.org/pages/view.php?ref=29718&search=cork%2C+man&order_by=relevance&sort=DESC&offset=0&archive=0&k=&curpos=1
D1 – Anti Columbus Day protests in 2017. I’ve only found the picture on an italian website, so don’t know where it was actually taken and refuse to do reverse image search!
https://www.ilmessaggero.it/primopiano/esteri/america_contro_monumenti_italiani_colombo_balbo-3203035.html
C2 – Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Mountain
The repeating symbol, since the others are too easy, is the “Three Fox Skins” hieroglyph:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_fox_skins_(hieroglyph)
So the group would read Ra Ms. Since CROOK is a theme and the shepherd’s crook a symbol of pharaonic authority I read it as a reference to Ramesses.
A4. Red Knot
Here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_knot
(Last Words in Titles of) James Ellroy Novels:
D2. American TABLOID (1995)
E2. The Black DAHLIA (1987) – first in the LA Quartet
D3. White JAZZ (1992) – last of the LA Quartet
E3. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL – third in the LA Quartet
Confidential magazine, November 1962 edition with Jayne Mansfield on the cover
E1. Requiem: Avenging Angel. Stands for James Ellroy’s Brown’s REQUIEM.
This is the closet screenshot I could found: https://www.uvlist.net/gallery/?game=45020#gallery-4
A3. Knee Deep in Hexes – yes, that is the title; inspired by C&C
D4. Crooked House pub post demolition
A5. Crooked House, Agatha Christie Novel
Could be linked to to D4.
Here: https://www.reddit.com/r/agathachristie/comments/1bfg7j2/crooked_house_interesting_fontanta_cover/
The only thing B4. Chesterfield is notable for is the crooked spire on its church. I think that’s an abstract version on the club badge.
B5. Wild Bill Bar, Main Street, Deadwood, South Dakota – formerly Saloon No. 10, where Will Bill was killed
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Main+St,+Deadwood,+SD+57732,+USA/@44.3780857,-103.7290577,3a,58.7y,345.6h,95.8t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s6wQFoUpWaJ12IukoE0l42g!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-5.795065376335941%26panoid%3D6wQFoUpWaJ12IukoE0l42g%26yaw%3D345.59983034494314!7i16384!8i8192!4m6!3m5!1s0x5332a6a47413fca5:0x92752885b10096ce!8m2!3d44.3750395!4d-103.7321882!16s%2Fg%2F1tfw2pr4!5m1!1e1?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDgxMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
Given some of the residents of 10 Downing Street, it doesn’t disprove the Crooked hypothesis
Wild Bill was killed by John McCall also known as “Crooked Nose”.
B3. Barking Creek Barrier / Creekmouth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barking_Creek
C4. Lord Leven, Covenanter Lord General. His name is Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven. There is a nursery rhyme “There Was a Crooked Man”, allegedly about him.
So the Cluster “Crooked” could be: A5-B5-B4-C4-D4
Here: https://store.warlordgames.com/products/royalist-parliamentarian-lord-leven-covenanter-lord-general#images-1
Not D4.
‘Cos if the James Ellroy set is right, that’d leave a cluster of only four: C5, D5, E5, E4.
C3. Table of Tales: The CROOKED Crown
The last mystery group seems to run:
C1. Protected Cruiser AURORA
D1. Protesters against the Fascist Monument to Italo Balbo, Chicago
B2. Challenger 2 tank / Combat ID panel
C2. Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial
then, most likely,
B3. Barking Creek Barrier / Creekmouth
Friendly-fire incidents
Other mystery group:
D4. Illegally demolished pub The Crooked House
E4. ???
C5. Corky Buchon / Al Fink / Burning Man 2011
D5. ???
E5. Punchbowl / National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
– – – – – – –
Re: E4.
The closest I’ve got would be Double Freecell.
There are more than 52 cards shown (and some appear twice), so it must be played with 2 decks, ie. Double.
All the cards in the tableau (the cascade-y bit) are face up.
D5. Alchemist on ZX-Spectrum
Here: https://www.mobygames.com/game/15009/alchemist/screenshots/zx-spectrum/89092/
In the wiki page for the “Crooked House Pub”, there is a list of other pub that were demolished. The Alchemist, a London pub demolished in 2015 and restored in 2018 is one of them. E5. Punchbowl is also the name of one of the demolished pub.
For the solitaire game, it could be the klondike variant with 2 decks, called Carlton or Miss Milligan. However, I couldn’t find a picture matching the one we have in the Foxer.
E4. CARLTON Card Game for Windows (1992) = Carlton Tavern, Kilburn
Tell a lie; No it isn’t.
I thought it was this
https://www.mobygames.com/game/235025/carlton-card-game-for-windows/
but didn’t look closely enough at the screenshots.
Probably still is some form of Carlton.
It’s this one: https://blacksreds.com/patience-carlton
To sum up:
Starts with KN:
A1. Pieter Bruegel’s Children’s Games – KNUCKLEBONES
A2. Coin from KNOSSOS
A3. KNEE Deep in Hexes
A4. The red knot or just KNOT
B1. KNIPHOFIA aka Red-Hot Poker
CROOKED:
A5. CROOKED House, Agatha Christie Novel
B5. Wild Bill Bar, where Wild Bill was killed by “CROOKED Nose”.
B4. Chesterfield F.C. crest. CROOKED spire on its church.
C4. Lord Leven, Covenanter Lord General. Nursery rhyme “There Was a CROOKED Man”.
C3. Table of Tales: The CROOKED Crown.
Friendly-Fire Incidents:
C1. Protected Cruiser AURORA – DOGGER BANK INCIDENT
D1. Protesters against the Fascist Monument, Chicago – ITALO BALBO DEATH
B2. Challenger 2 tank – COMBAT ID PANEL
C2. Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial – STONEWALL JACKSON
B3. Barking Creek Barrier / Creekmouth – BATTLE FOR BARKING CREEK
Demolished Pub that must be rebuilt:
D4. Illegally demolished pub The Crooked House / THE CROOKED HOUSE PUB
E4. Blacksreds.com patience Carlton / CARLTON TAVERN
C5. Corky Buchon / Cork Man / Burning Man 2011 / Carlton Inn aka THE CORKMAN IRISH PUB
D5. Alchemist on ZX-Spectrum / THE ALCHEMIST
E5. Punchbowl / National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific / THE PUNCH BOWL INN
Last Words in Titles of James ELLROY Novels:
D2. American TABLOID (1995)
E2. The Black DAHLIA (1987)
D3. White JAZZ (1992)
E3. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1990)
E1. Brown’s REQUIEM (1981)
The Challenger 2 friendly-fire incident happened during the Battle of Basra in 2003.