ArcaMax

Each of the following sentences contains clues to a set of three words that are spelled the same, except for one letter (each sentence describes a different set). Example: malt, melt, molt.

1) To reduce the strength of the enemy, the general ordered a siege of the citadel.

2) The winner of the contest won a vessel and the loser received a kick in the pants.

3) Bill tried to remove a piece of wood from the pile, but it was jammed between two logs.

4) Ed grabbed the bucket of hot water with his bare hands, causing an ache to two of his fingers.

Six words have had their fish removed. The fish have been placed into Group A. The remaining letters of each word have been placed into Group B. Your task is to reconstitute the words by merging each fish with the proper set of letters. Other than merging the two groups together, there is no rearranging of the letters. Example: sand + pne= spanned (SpANneD).

Group A: bass, carp, gar, shark, trout, tuna
Group B: acue, hugho, moc, rnula, rtble, sholshi

The American Civil War has ended. Can you repatriate the Confederacy (gray) into the Union (blue) by changing one letter at a time? Each step must create a valid word in the English language. President Abraham Lincoln made the change in 6 steps (for the history buffs out there, Abe planned these changes before he was assassinated). Can you do as well ... or better?

GRAY ---- BLUE

The countries of Russia and Egypt share a characteristic that only one of the countries in the following list also shares. Which country and for what reason? It has nothing to do with spelling or pronunciation.

Austria
France
Iran
Japan
Mexico
Nigeria
Pakistan
Spain
Turkey
Venezuela

(Hint: The answer covers a lot of ground ...)

Harry took a hike away from home. Unfortunately, birds ate his trail of bread crumbs. Can you help Harry return home by changing one letter at a time? Each step must create a valid word in the English language. Harry made the change in 8 steps. Can you do as well ... or better?

AWAY ---- HOME

Which word in Group B can be added to Group A? Why?

Group A: ambler, ingrate, leash, steal
Group B: crushed, pudding, singes, tundra

Mike and Dave like to play Scrabble. Mike never cheats. He always plays valid words and never plays out of turn. Dave, however, cheats. Sometimes he plays invalid words, but Mike never challenges. Sometimes he makes two plays in one turn. Mike never notices. Today, Mike and Dave have started playing a game. Mike played first. After 7 plays, the board looked like this:

SPUD
PORE
OPEN
TEAT

As usual, Dave has already cheated one time. How has Dave cheated?

The following three equations represent words that have a common relationship. The first letter of each word is given. Where will you find the following equations to be true? (Be sure to 'check' your answer carefully.)

Q = 1, B = 2, P = 8

Each statement describes two words that when fused together create a new unrelated word (not a compound word). The clues do not necessarily indicate in which order the two words are attached. Example: This is the oldness of a tablet (pill + age = pillage).

1) This is the part of a book that describes sheep.
2) This is the natural way to turn a grape into a raisin.
3) These are informal neckwear.
4) This is the admission price for an enthusiastic follower to enter a stadium.

What is the meaning of this rebus?

FEANCIENTFE

Each of the following sentences contains clues to a set of three words that are anagrams of each other (each sentence describes a different set).

1) I have a painting of a small mammal wearing a coating without the feathers.

2) A winged apparition will harvest the grain where the two lines intersect.

3) The members of the two groups were fearful of the Holy Grail.

4) Trying to reach home and score the winning run, Joe jumped over the catcher and ripped the fold of his uniform.

Six words have had their birds removed. The birds have been placed into Group A. The remaining letters of each word have been placed into Group B. Your task is to reconstitute the words by merging each bird with the proper set of letters. Other than merging the two groups together, there is no rearranging of the letters. Example: sand + pne = spanned (SpANneD).

Group A: crow, hawk, owl, raven, robin, wren
Group B: itt, ndior, ossb, tre, trsig, tulg

Letter Equations are well known phrases or facts where the key words have been replaced with the first letter of that word. These are often in the form of an equation, which contain a number, an = sign and the rest of the obscured phrase or fact.

1 = H on a D C

Six words have had their colors removed. The colors have been placed into Group A. The remaining letters of each word have been placed into Group B. Your task is to reconstitute the words by merging each color with the proper set of letters. Other than merging the two groups together, there is no rearranging of the letters. Example: sand + pne = spanned (SpANneD).

Group A: blue, brown, cyan, green, pink, red
Group B: agssivess, astr, bac, rstllie, snaer, urig