Amy,

Everything I have is raised.

It's painfully obvious that someone backed in with a lucky guess to win this contest. Which makes them no better than fwongstaal, spamothemag, or cpateach.
Dave M. | Homepage | 04.05.06 - 6:14 pm | #

Ditto! Raisen' em high!
Nicki C Kirk | 04.05.06 - 6:21 pm | #

Orange -

Your post was really enlightening for me, because I am only on the periphery of the puzzle scene (connected by marriage). Watching my puzzle-constructing, NPL'er-husband go through this (he *really* wanted to win) was tough, and it's nice to have read your perspective (I've gathered that you are rather accomplished in the puzzle world yourself). Anyway - thanks!
atron | 04.05.06 - 6:27 pm | #

Hey Amy,

Well at least I got to meet YOU, if only virtually.

I loved the final puzzle and thought it was at the appropriate level of difficulty, but the "hiding in plain sight" nature of many of the interim answers sort of led to maybe too much lucky guessing. That, and the fact that, as you pointed out, there was a disconnect between week 6 and the rest of it. I know at least one person who got into the tiebreaker by calling in "COFFEE HOUSE" when he had never found starbucks.com or searched for "answer" on their web site. In fact, he said "COFFEE HOUSE" {pause} "FIXED" and still got in to the tiebreaker!

Could poke holes in some of the game design (but then again, I run treasure hunts as a paying hobby and am always thinking of these things).

So, what would I have done differently? Well, I wouldn't have published the call-in number so publicly. I would have made it be available only to people who had solved the puzzles, both the first one, and the tiebreaker.

I wouldn't have used the same phone number for the general call-in, and for the tiebreaker. That just invites people who don't know the answer to jam the lines with guesses - and some of them might have been extremely lucky.

I think I might also have required the winner to prove how he got the answer. Now, my team had "FIRST MATE IN MOBY DICK" and I called in STARBUCK ... after the phone lines had closed (probably an hour after, it looks like!)...and I was hoping they would accept that. Our goal was always to get the ANSWER, not necessarily complete the grid or get the whole QUESTION!

But were we guessing? Hell no. And therein lies the difference.
Serendipity | Homepage | 04.05.06 - 6:32 pm | #

As someone who didn't participate in the call-in, I guess I am back to my original assessment: Holy product placement, Batman!

When I saw the short version of the answer (the word sets leading to COFFEE HOUSE) I said to myself (and even though you don't know me please believe the humorous intent I put behind this because I am enough of a good Lutheran girl to not be a bitch in real life) "Well, I hope Patrick got paid a lot to sell out his little cruciverbalist soul."

Once I learned about the additional layers of the puzzle (bold changes giving FIXED, moving the punched-out square, etc.) I was happier, although more upset with myself for the ways I got stymied (I'll spare you that saga). And the tie-breaker seems like a cool, twisty, multi-layered solve that unfortunately led to...obviousness?

The journey was fun, at least I thought so, but the end was a letdown.
Kari | 04.05.06 - 6:54 pm | #

Well, I finally got the puzzle completed. I'm no high-speed crossword master, but I can usually slog my way through tough puzzles. I have to say, this was one of the craftiest puzzles I've ever seen--not just because of the gimmick, but also because the clues were outstandingly clever. I especially liked TOUPEE and RETORT. Looking back, it shouldn't have been to hard to come up with an answer in the style of "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine" that fit the previous trivia questions' literary theme. I'm sure someone just realized that the inspiration for the name Starbucks would make a great trivia question in the vein of the previous questions, and called in right at 4:00. Or not. In which case I hope they call everyone again tomorrow for another round. :)
Special K | 04.05.06 - 7:19 pm | #

Mostly what Amy said! And what others have echoed.

I went through this deal in phases. The first five weeks’ puzzles I solved on my own, took copious notes on each puzzle, trivia question, answer, etc. On the 6th, at Stamford, with Sunday NYT in hand, I recruited a partner – on the two-heads-are-better-than-one theory and, by that time, I wanted my work to pay off.

When it looked as though the two of us were REALLY CLOSE after lots of hard work, I sought to recruit in one and, serendipitously, got two additional partners. I think the four of us had a fun time, cracking the case over a 2-3 day period of e-mailing and such, only then to realize that, as has been pointed out, anyone watching the right blog could slide into the tie-breaker along with us.

In retrospect, it was at that point, that our team needed to meet in person – impossible, given the distances among us. Had we, I am convinced that we would have employed a two-pronged approach to the finale. One would have been to focus intently on solving whatever the web site delivered to us: in the box thinking.

The other would have been to do what I am convinced the ultimate winner did: Assume that the final answer will be yet another insider term; make a list of all possibilities that have any type of crossword connection (literary questions, math formulas, spelling puns, etc.). STARBUCK would have been high on any such list. Arrange the list according to some educated guesswork as to probabilities and start calling at 4:00 p.m. CDT with the guesses.

Yeah, if it really was going to be a “crossword challenge,” the end result should have been demonstrably crossword-based. But it wasn’t. Read the 2211 words that were the official rules and one thing is clear: the final result will be based on answering a quiz question.

My hat is off to the one who took the approach mentioned above. It was risky but, ultimately, with no downside exposure. Congratulations.

VAF
vic | 04.05.06 - 7:32 pm | #

Particularly given some of the previous trivia questions and how they related to coffee. Had I been thinking, the very idea of finding a trivia question in the final round should have triggered me to think Starbuck.
earnest | 04.05.06 - 7:33 pm | #

TRUE STORY:

When I realized who I might be up against tonight, I told my neice to call the contest number every minute starting at 4:01 PM atomic time, and tell them the magic word is "Starbucks", figuring this was a longshot, but after realizing "Coffee House" was the semi-final word, why not try it as a desperate stab?

She did.

Every time she called:

4:01 PM CDT
4:02 PM CDT
4:03 PM CDT
4:04 PM CDT

Every time she could NOT get through hearing "all lines are busy".

At some point in time (not sure the exact time but probably later than 4:30, she got the message....the contest is over. There is a winner.

Go figure. Do I smell a stinker here?

Whoever won it was as devious as I am, but mebbe luckier, or mebbe more devious?

If a devious longshotter like me won it, then STARBUCKS is to be blamed for creating a contest with a logically guessable answer.

God's honest truth,

Popeye
Popeye | Homepage | 04.05.06 - 7:59 pm | #

I really like Special K's analogy to that scene from "A Christmas Story".

(Frankly, I wish I'd thought of that analogy.)
Dave M. | Homepage | 04.05.06 - 8:06 pm | #

I have a solution grid, for anyone who's interested. I won't post it without proper clearance, but I can share it privately if you request it by e-mail. But if you're a stranger to me, your e-mail's going to the bottom of my priority list—this puzzle contest has wreaked havoc with my regular schedule!
Orange | Homepage | 04.05.06 - 8:09 pm | #

Why couldn't they have made the requirement to win to state what the question was and the answer? Then you'd have to solve the whole puzzle and it would have been a fair contest.
Anonymous | 04.05.06 - 8:14 pm | #

Dave: I wish I could take the credit, but someone else made the "Ovaltine" analogy before me. Both here and at Crossword Bebop, I think.
Special K | 04.05.06 - 8:19 pm | #

Somebody suggested that every one of the 745 people who didn't win a prize be rewarded with a free cup of coffee at their neighboring Starbuck's.

And a shot at the creep who blurted "Starbuck" into the phone at 4:00:05 PM CDT while the others of us were printing the damn thing out.

First thing in the morning I'm calling Shortz and asking him why such a terrfifcally hard puzzle needs to have a "like, duh" answer. I mean, "Coffeehouse" didn't burn any brian cells, why should "Starbuck"?
Bob | Homepage | 04.05.06 - 8:43 pm | #

I'm the "COFFEEHOUSE (pause) FIXED" guy. I considered calling in before solving the crossword but decided against it...which is a good thing because my guess was "MERMAID." After 45 minutes I had two answers in the puzzle. Ugh. Back to reality...
Jeffurry | 04.05.06 - 9:48 pm | #

So...I wonder if they really did start the 5 minute clock with the first call - or with the first CORRECT call.

And, I wonder whether it was possible to call in STARBUCK and win without being officially entered in the tie-breaker. AFter all, the freaking dial-in phone number was the same as yesterday's!!!!
Serendipity | Homepage | 04.05.06 - 11:27 pm | #

This thing should have been conducted under tougher standards. Too many vagaries in the rules, wormholes that allowed people off the street to virtually stab at the answer (yes, a whole new phone number would have possibly saved this one -- perhaps embedded in the puzzle grid somehow), a total disregard for Daylight Savings Time. These may all be Marden-Kane issues, since they're the contest administrators. But somehow, it will be hard for me to pass a Starbucks now without cursing my lungs out at it.

I may go in there to pick up an "Akeelah and the Bee" crossword, but as far as forking over $5 for a cup of coffee that's only $1 at the Mickey D's across the street -- and is refillable -- i'm so out of there.
Bob | Homepage | 04.06.06 - 3:21 am | #

Bob,

Starbuck's? McDonald's? Don't you have normal local businesses in your neighborhood? Why skip out on one out-of-touch international chain for another? Go to a real coffeeshop.
earnest | 04.06.06 - 4:25 am | #

I get my coffee at home. Especially after this contest.
mnemonica | 04.06.06 - 6:57 am | #

It would have been nice if they had bothered to present the contest in a way that rewarded puzzle-solving skills -- but maybe they *wanted* to make the answer guessable so that the potential pool of winners wouldn't be limited to geeks like us.
Francis Heaney | Homepage | 04.06.06 - 10:05 am | #

Quick, alert the Geek Anti-Defamation Defense League! We've been discriminated against! They knew we'd actually try to solve the puzzle.
Orange | Homepage | 04.06.06 - 10:35 am | #

I don't even live NEAR a Starbucks (I had to drive 11 miles into Howell), so it's easy for me to join a boycott.

Toms River, one of the most sophisticated townships in the country, and we don't even have a Starbucks.

Or, for that matter, a Hooters.
Dave M. | Homepage | 04.06.06 - 2:15 pm | #

Geeks of the World Untie! ...er ...Unite!
Was just reading about this whole little mess, sorry to hear it turned out the way it did. At least you all had the chance to solve a devil of a puzzle as a sort of consolation, I suppose. I stopped at solving the 6 puzzle inserts and their questions myself, as I knew I wouldn't be able to participate in the phonecall portion without taking a day off work. I'm sorry I missed it, as at least I could have joined in sympathizing with you all, and taken a good shot at solving that last monster.

Random side note (to Dave M.) - ah, Toms River... good memories, going to an IHOP on Route 35 at 3am during the summer with some friends, and being told, "They'll be a 15-minute wait for a table, if that's OK". Bah, those crazy summer rental youngsters ;). (Hope this tangent's ok, IHOP is a crossword term after all)

Thanks again for all the puzzling news.
Howard B | 04.06.06 - 3:01 pm | #

You mean Route 37, don't you? The IHOP is still there.
Dave M. | Homepage | 04.06.06 - 6:10 pm | #

Yep, typo on my part - thanks. Random neural misfire there :).
Howard B | 04.06.06 - 9:48 pm | #

oh, and another thing I would change? "the clock starts ticking with the first call." Whuh?

Is it possible that nobody called in during that 5 minute window with the correct answer, and Marden-Kane (sic?) are now sitting around their corporate offices with their jaws open going "Oh...SH*T...now what do we do?"

Spiteful witch that I am, I almost hope that happened!

Doug mentioned voice recognition software on his blog, attributing that idea to me. Well I did mention it, but I didn't know (or even think) that SBUX would be using it to verify the answers, at least not in the tiebreaker. It's not all that reliable, I don't think. And whether it would distinguish between "STARBUCK" and "STARBUCKS?" Hmmmm, I wonder...
Serendipity | Homepage | 04.07.06 - 11:08 pm | #