One Word Wonder

What we actually need here is an EYE CHART.

I second that!

http://www.corrosionsource.com/handbook/periodic/periodic_table.gif

It took you 6 minutes and 48 seconds to solve this puzzle.
You were the 1st Tanga member to solve this puzzle.

Very, very slick.

Find a bigger version of the table, but keep this one in front of you, too.

I think I figured out step one, but step two seems like it could take forever.... if I am doing what I think I need to do.

Well, I've got four strings of letters... xuqx??????

that's what I've got..

[6] Hmmm, I got xuqx, too.

I think this might involve substituting other letters, but that could take forever.

I knew I should have just gone in and watched a movie!

It took you 13 minutes and 41 seconds to solve this puzzle.
You were the 4th Tanga member to solve this puzzle.

Very, very clever puzzle. Julia, creator of "Memorial" helped us a lot. This puzzle isn't too difficult, but has an "aha" that you will have to dig for.

Ahh. Now I see.

That was very clever. First path was the wrong one. Started over and finished in time for dinner.

The last step took a while for me. Really like this puzzle!

It took you 3 minutes and 37 seconds to solve this puzzle.
You were the 8th Tanga member to solve this puzzle.
Average solve time: 9 minutes and 45 seconds.
Median solve time: 9 minutes and 23 seconds.

Heh, not bad. There's an interesting coincidence involving a number of letters. Or maybe not so much of a coincidence. Does the solution count as salt-free when the puzzle starts with "Na Cl"?

It took you 9 minutes and 23 seconds to solve this puzzle.
You were the 6th Tanga member to solve this puzzle.

I solved it without the aha, but was wondering the whole while why it worked the way it did, and found the aha at the end while trying to explain it to myself.

It took you 16 minutes and 49 seconds to solve this puzzle.
You were the 10th Tanga member to solve this puzzle.

Very nice one! Elementary, my dear Watson.

I knew I should have waited until after dinner to start this. I was in the middle of cooking and asked my husband to take over. I said "can you cook the chicken?" He said, "what do I need to do?" I said, "put it in the pan and fry it". 5 minutes later he still hadn't started the chicken so I said, "you better start the chicken" and he said " I thought you started it." and I said, "no I told you to put it in the pan and fry it" and he said "Oh... I thought you said it is in the oven, you just need to watch it."

that was my very long-winded way of saying men don't listen.

Now back to the puzzle.

elegant!
and only NaCl from [4] (and help from my Dad!)

Good Puzzle

It's awful quite on bgg.....

I'm checking, too. Nothin!

i have to take a break to eat dinner. maybe when I come back someone will have sprinkled some salt.

Very cool, puzzle, first one I solved with no salt. Now I am gonna go eat.

Q: Did you ever see the 5th element?
A: No, I heard it was Boron.

My boss used to have a sign on his door that said "Argon, be back later"

We keep trying to build things out of that new metal, unobtainium, but we can't get anyone to supply it to us...

[24] I heard that movie was Bohrium

>> Find a bigger version of the table, but keep this one in front of you, too.

Is there information on that blurred mess that won't be found on another version of the periodic table?

OK, I'm really stumped. Any "NaCl" out there? I have the elements' names, their periodic number, and as others apparently have done correlated them with the alphabet and nothing is clicking. I have even started looking at the colors of the squares but that's not getting me anywhere either. I really do feel stupid sometimes.

Sunrunner, look again at [15]

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

Got mole problems? Call 6.0221367 x 10^23.

Edit: Sorry - this was just another chemistry joke. No hints here (still struggling).

A slightly saltier version of [15]: Look at the positions of the given elements on the element chart. They certainly aren't evenly distributed, are they? They're all relatively early in the chart. What might that mean?

I know they're all 26 or less. I also vaguely remember moles from high school, but it ain't helping.

Except for the fact that the table is rather blurry, everything you need is right in front of you. All you may need is a bigger, clearer version. And everything you see in the puzzle is important.

I'm still stumped..... I feel like the salt that has been given is stuff I have already taken into account and I still can't get anywhere beyond my initial step, which yielded a lot of gibberish...

glsonn, ignore the mole, it was just a joke I think.

focus on [32]. goodsalt.

[33] glsonn Ignore the moles....
A big periodic table, and the puzzle are are you need.

Yeah, getting there now.

[32]: it means I have a mismash of nonsensical letters?

good observation in [33]. if you are getting something nonsensical, try to apply one of the other common tanga techniques to the puzzle you SEE.

[34] that helped, thanks!

Now I just have to get through the last step.

I have decided it is more frustrating to look at a puzzle and think you know how to solve it, only to find out you are completely clueless after doing what you think is right than it is to look at a puzzle and from the very beginning think "there is no way in hell I'll get this without salt."

The past two nights have driven me more nuts than the butter puzzle ever did.

[40]: and if I had the first clue what one of those might be, I wouldn't be staring at a mishmash of nonsensical letters.

Ah, yes. Yesterday's puzzle was fun, but now I remember why I stopped doing these. Being taunted isn't fun.

It took you 8 minutes and 57 seconds to solve this puzzle.
You were the 55th Tanga member to solve this puzzle.

FUN puzzle!

well. it took me an hour and half (dinner break included), but I got there.... cool coincidence.

[43] clemon79
I'm with you!!! I really wish I wasn't so stupid!

someone mentioned 26 above... it's a good observation, but not for the most obvious reason

meanwhile, I'm still stuck with one more step to go...

If you're coming up with a mishmash of nonsensical numbers, you're probably off to a good start. If you're coming up with a mishmash of nonsensical letters, then you're probably doing the wrong thing with your mishmash of nonsensical numbers.

Well it didn't help that the reference I found for the last step was completely WRONG.

Solved it now.

(Er, it wasn't wrong, I was misreading. In the words of Gilda Radner... NEver Miiiind....)

[19]: If I see a mishmash of nonsensical numbers between 1 and 26, there is only one conclusion I'm going to draw from that, and I think it was a reasonable one to draw. If it's something else, then I'm smelling herring.

[43] clemon79
[46] Sunrunner
No one is trying to taunt you, or anyone else.
There are more hints at bgg
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/131250/page/167

geekmail what you have and I'll send you some nudges
my bgg name: pbleadfoot

[51]: Yes, it was a very reasonable conclusion to draw. Sadly, it was also wrong. The key to the right solution is in the picture. Honestly. You'll think it's really clever when you find it, unless you go on a homicidal rampage against us hinters first. :)

FInally. Boy, I feel thoroughly dense now.

kswitz, I noticed you and I have something in common.

[51] Clemon, do you remember the swearing monster puzzle? *&!

Salty salt: The graphic is intentionally fuzzy.

[56] I understand why, but you do need to see the fuzzy parts more clearly to solve this. Unless you have the periodic table memorized.

I finally got the 4 words. Thanks for the salt on that. If you still haven't figured that part out you will be ENTITLED to a big rest when you do. Now I need to figure out what to do with the 4 words.

Thank you, [58]!

# It took you 2 hours, 7 minutes and 25 seconds to solve this puzzle.
# You were the 101st Tanga member to solve this puzzle.
# Average solve time: 38 minutes and 56 seconds.
# Median solve time: 29 minutes and 2 seconds.
# 52.062% of Tanga members that have attempted this puzzle have solved it.

Finally!!!! OK I'm stupid, but I finally got it. I think I'm gonna go get some fine comfort food!!!

Thank you [58]!!!!

Your welcome. I hope that wasn't too salty for everyone. Go to BGG for a really big spoiler to get the rest of the puzzle.

It took you 17 minutes and 29 seconds to solve this puzzle.

That made me hungry. Very nice and creative puzzle.

[56] Why? I have the answer and I still don't understand why it is fuzzy.

I agree, intentionally fuzzy makes no sense and I have solved it too.

Having part of the puzzle intentionally blurry makes sense. You do realise that only part of it was blurry, right?

Oh, and that big Ker-THUNK sound you just heard was me tossing a partially completed puzzle idea into the wastebasket. It had a lot of ... uh ... elements ... in common with this one.

Nice puzzle.

I understand the signifigance of part of the puzzle being blurry, but if you are going to do that, you need to make it bigger. I used to be a science major and I eventually minored in Biology, but I could not remember all the "rules" of the periodic table. You don't really have to memorize all the elements' atomic numbers if you remember there is a pattern there, but I couldn't remember which way it went. I guess getting an outside sourse i.e. a clearer periodic table is also an element of the puzzle (no pun intended!)

Oh! Those 26 letters! (The "aha" finally hits me!)

But I don't understand why the picture was blurry since the table is definitely needed to solve this one.

aha