Jul 01, 2010 One Word Wonder Puzzle

I haven't solved this yet but I just have to take a sec to say I stumbled across a 2+ yr old poem by Rocketeer earlier today and didn't get it solved... Sure hope I do better on this one. :)

[1] His puzzles are tricky....but solvable.

That was a tough one!

[2] At least it's an enjoyable poem to read over and over and over again. :)

well, i see some irregularities, but either that's not the solution, or I don't see them all, because it gives me gibberish

Solvable? I don't even see where to start!

one of my favorite quotes from "Oh brother where art thou".......... well, I'm with you fellers

I don't see where to even begin on this one.

I'm w/ Gusssr no clue

doing lots of research of the poem....trochaic octameter.... isn't getting me very far.

[5] Irregularities? I looked it up on a website and it's the same in both places unless I'm autocorrecting what I read.

[5] I've got irregularities also.... mostly punctuation differences

[13] I don't see "Lenore" mentioned....but she's long gone.

The only thing I see is that in the version I saw, this one has more capitals because it has more lines...which gives me nothing...

It's more of what you don't see that will help you with this puzzle.

[10] not with the words per se, but more to do with line #8. but then again, i haven't solved it, so I may be way off

[13] the solution is not "pattern", that's the only thing I don't see! ;)

[13] thanks!

[15] The poem tells you what you should see- and thus what is missing

Thank you [13] I bask in the light you shine on puzzles!

[14] Yes, you're on the right track. And you can check the next two lines as well for the key to solving.

Once you know the trick, it still takes ten minutes of close examination to solve.

What a shady trick, Rocketeer

[18] thanks. i got it now. just didn't see them all at first.

I know what's missing but unfortunately the key is missing for me too. For now.

Awesome puzzle, Rocketeer! And thanks, [13].

For 51 yr olds with very bad vision, this is impossible

this poem is making me delusional

Very insightful. Poe is almost the master that Rocketeer is.

I've noticed what I think is the key to the puzzle, but it's giving me a headache trying to find the entirety of the answer. I've plugged in every combination that I can think of for what I've come up with so far, and nothing's worked. I'm sure I'm missing some portion of the key, but just knowing that isn't helping very much.

Nice idea, but I'm not fond of some aspects of the implementation.

still lost :(

[26] TG me what you got so far and I'll try to help.

Wow Rocketeer - nice puzzle!

Even after the aha it took me awhile to get it.

Rocketeers puzzles are always some of my favorites, but this one hurt my eyes!

Keep up the great work, Rocketeer!

My eyes they are a flitting and I'm really glad I'm sitting
For my vision is a spinning; I fear falling on the floor!

I'm not a fan of the puzzle....nice idea for a solution, but I had TREMENDOUS problems trying to make out the correct letters.

Having to hold the laptop screen 2 inches away from my eyes is NOT a good way to solve puzzles.....you NEED more contrast to make it a fair puzzle.

perhaps a different background that was one solid color would have helped me. I copied into a paint program and had to enlarge it A LOT.

[23] That put me on the right track but even with near perfect vision, I can't make some of them out. And thanks again [33] - that helped me get the 1st two - which I was missing. That with my other letters got me there on a guess. A dirty monitor makes this tougher too! The idea is very clever indeed but I would have appreciated a clearer way to see it.

Blinded by the Light; Racked up like a deuce, another runner in the night!

Satisfying AND frustrating. Satisfying when I had the 'aha' moment early on, before any salt hit the board. Frustrating that it took so long after that to get all of the pieces for the answer. Must have taken quite a while to construct, thanks Rocketeer.

OWW score

You are a freaking genius!! You solved this puzzle.
You solved this puzzle in 37 minutes and 49 seconds and were the 86th Tanga member to solve it

crypto score
You are a freaking genius!! You solved this puzzle.
You solved this puzzle in 22 seconds and were the 20th Tanga member to solve it. You earned 91 points for solving this.

glad I did the crypto first

that's crazy

Bravo, Rocketeer.

Cool idea! Tough to see; wish I had thought to zoom in earlier.

Always glad to see the Rocketeer byline...

I was a child and she was a child in that kingdom by the sea,
But we saw with a sight that was more than sight, I and my Annabel Lee.

I don't know whether I love or hate that puzzle. I like the concept and I appreciate how hard that was to put together but the execution hurt my eyes.

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For those that know what to do with this puzzle but have trouble completing it, I understand. I found there to be a fine line between subtle or obvious, clear or obscure, easy or hard, love or hate. I tried my best to stay on that line...

I also have 1 monitor that seems clearer and brighter than another - and I quickly realized it may be near impossible to optimize the image for all 269554 (to date) Tanga users.

Feel free to give me a Tanga-ring (tangerine?) if you need a nudge!
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Not loving this puzzle, took 4 keen eyes and everyone's salt to finally solve...but loved comment from [31]. Still laughing! :-O

[42] I can imagine. Make it too big and too clear and it just screams out at everyone. I think it was a brilliant idea.

I generally use IrfanView on these types of puzzles. Copy the image, past it, enlarge it and see what sticks out. Finding out my eyes ain't what they used to be (turning 60 next year).

For me it was checking to the right of each letter to see what the difference was between those letters.

Paint would prob work also but I have been used to using IrfanView for too long now.

[33] The floor background was what helped me find the 'key' to solving this puzzle. Plus, like [44] noted, too clear and it would have been too obvious.

Those lamenting Old School Tanga puzzles should enjoy this one.

[42] [44] Oh I blew it up as big as I reasonably could and still couldn't get all the letters.

I finally guessed once I thought I had enough and I was right.

Nice Idea but too tough to actually do well, just mediocre.

I'm with [32], but perhaps with a little less vexation.

It really helped to zoom in to the picture. Otherwise my 42 year old eyes would never have seen it.

Wow. I must have a good monitor. Once I figured out what to do I had no problem. Then again, I guess I am younger than most users on here. Nice puzzle anyways.

Thank you everyone who gave hints, I was comparing the text pf the poem here to another copy to make sure the poem was unaltered, looking at puncutuation, looking at capitalization. I was missing the trees for the forest. Then I read some comments looked at the poem again, and everything came clear.
Also I like the puzzel a lot.

I'm seeing one interesting word per line for the first 10 lines which gives me a 10 letter word, that sadly doesn't take. Is there a step 2, or do I need to keep staring at letters?

Got it.. I must have been typing it in wrong.

[53] There shouldn't be a second step.

I kept only seeing 5 letters last night, but a co-worker informed me this morning how many there actually were. Didn't take long after that to zoom in and take a closer look to find what I was missing.

It'd be cool if the key flashed once when you opened it for a brief tenth of a second, or if it was on a blue background-royal blue or navy, which would still make us work, but provide the contrast. Though i like the wood, it can be hard to detect. Great puzzle!

[50] I'm a bit more, um, aged than you ... and in making this I just removed my monofocal contacts, bellied up to the monitor, turned out the room lights, squinted hard, and... yep, took off those sunglasses. ;-)

I love allusions to EAP! Nice puzzle.