Fed II Star - March 5, 2006

CRYPTOGRAMS
Saturday February 25
by Catspaws

There are two things a feline can do really well - eat and sleep. This kitty has been doing so much of the latter of late that she worked up the most horrendous appetite. And, where do you go when you could eat a very large animal? Why, Orran's Ox Roast on Earth, of course! By the time this week's contestants arrived, there was a large pile of bones littering Orran's with one contented fat cat sitting in the midst of them. Between paw-licks, we started this week's game of Cryptograms.

We had a small crowd of five contestants this week, but that only made the game even more competitive. We started off with a warm-up puzzle, which Fancy finished first, Zand second, and Robius and Gilar tied for third for a point each.

TYPES OF STOCK MINI-PLANETS FOUND ON MAGRATHEA
R F I T J
Y F P B K
Q Y T
L Q J T
M E F Y T
J V Y A

This week's player puzzle was a bit sneaky since only one of the players in the list was online at the time, and it wasn't Fancy, as was expected. Fancy, Zand and Robius finished this puzzle.

PLAYER NAMES STARTING WITH "F"
V S M C N A Z
V E A H P K
V A N P Y K Z N A U J R N
V M E V V T V S K W
V A P U U M N
V M J J O

Our third puzzle was an attempt to educate players in commands they might not even be aware existed. Fancy, Zand and - gasp!!! - Lynnea finished this puzzle. She's going to be serious competition for Fancy one of these days. For a starting point, I would look at the two-word entries.

COMMUNICATIONS COMMANDS (http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/commands/index.html)
X C W U I H D P
U S Q Q / A G S Z Z
G J S O A R W G
U P R R C O W U S G K
C O E P A G
N W A E Q S B / U D S O O K Q

The fourth puzzle was a fun one, though it brought groans from at least one player. The single-letter starting each entry was an excellent starting point for Fancy, Gilar, Robius and Zand.

USELESS ITEMS YOU MIGHT FIND IN YOUR PERSONAL KIT (Type INVENTORY)
O / W O Q G V K A / P V / F C H L K C M / L Y K D F H
O / I C Z L Z / P V / H M Y C Q N
O / H M C L X U / F A P F / P V / K H Z G / L W Z S C Q N / N K D
O / H D O A A / D Z H H O N Z / L O I H K A Z
O / H M Y O C N W M Z Q Z G / I O I Z Y L A C I
O / A Z O X U / I Z Q / S W C L W / Q P / A P Q N Z Y / S P Y X H

For many of us, it has been a long time since we wandered lost on the 43rd Floor of the Office Building on Earth. In fact, Lynnea even had to make a mad dash to refresh her memory. A good hint for the starting point could be in the title itself. Gilar, Fancy, and Zand finished the puzzle.

OFFICES ON THE 43RD FLOOR
I A C C T S B I U E B A S J / U S N / J F G D B I F J / A V V B I F
A V V B I F / A V / U G C U C F S E / U Q Q G A D U H
A V V B I F / A V / Y A G H N / C U S U Z F C F S E / U Q Q G A D U H
A V V B I F / A V / E G U S J Q A G E / U S N / E G U V V B I / H B I F S J B S Z
Q H U S S B S Z / U S N / G A S B S Z / N F Q E
A V V B I F / A V / V B S U S I B U H / U S N / V B N T I B U G X / U Q Q G A D U H

When the scores were tallied, Gilar finished third, Zand second, and Fancy came in first. We play Cryptograms every Saturday at 4.00pm eastern. Why not join us next week and see if you can beat Fancy? If you want the solutions to this week's puzzles, you can email me at Catspaws_Fed@sbcglobal.net.