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For the benefit of Decode's readers, we like to spotlight some of the new opportunities to get your brain on. Here's one from Facebook. Wil Zambole, one of the co-founders of the charity-based card tower destructo-fest Cardhalla and the Instant Game Show at the Gen Con game convention, brings mental challenges to people in ways they don't expect. Zambole's new Facebook group PuzzleFace uses the instant feedback of social media to baffle his fellow group members. You can join in on Facebook, perhaps after trying a couple of our favorites from PuzzleFace.
PuzzleFace Puzzle No. 1: Each picture is related to the puzzle theme in an unusual way. When you find their commonality, fill in the blanks. Use one letter per blank, treating slashes as spaces between words. Read the letters in the orange blanks to reveal the final clue, leading you to the ultimate 7-letter answer.
PuzzleFace Puzzle No. 2: Determine the company/product/title that contains each ampersand. Then determine how to use the numbers in each picture to help decipher an 11-letter phrase that reveals a tidbit about ampersands.
__Solution »__In Puzzle 1, the images are the singular version of a sports team from the city or region that fills in the blanks. Column 1 has the NEW JERSEY DEVILS (Tasmanian Devil), DETROIT TIGERS (Tiger Woods), TAMPA BAY RAYS (Ray Charles), ST. LOUIS BLUES (Blue from Blue's Clues), and SACRAMENTO KINGS (Larry King), and column 2 has the ATLANTA HAWKS (Tony Hawk), PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (The Penguin), COLORADO ROCKIES (Rocky Balboa), SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (Andre the Giant), and CHICAGO BEARS (Bear Grylls). The orange letters spells JETSONS DOG, which is ASTRO. So the final answer is HOUSTON.
In Puzzle 2, the first row contains A&E, BED BATH & BEYOND, BEN & JERRY'S, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and AT&T, and the second row contains M&M'S, A&W, BARNES & NOBLE, KRAFT MACARONI & CHEESE, LAW & ORDER, and BLACK & DECKER. The number by each logo indicates how many letters you should count into the name, and on which side of the ampersand you should do so. So the leftward 5 on BED BATH & BEYOND is the 5th letter of BED BATH (A), and the rightward 4 on LAW & ORDER is the 4th letter of ORDER (E). The final answer phrase is E AND T MASHED. Looking up the history of the ampersand, you may be surprised to learn that the ampersand was created by melding the letters E and T, which composed the Latin word "et," which means "and."
