You Are Games:
Letters In Boxes #6
Suddenly, Letters In Boxes! Thousands of them! Well, it's the sixth one in the series at least. This week, we're proud to bring you a challenge like you've never seen before. Which isn't saying much, because we try to come up with new puzzles every week. But we think we've hit the jackpot this week. We've come up with a twist SO INCREDIBLE it will virtually BLOW YOUR MIND in a stream of RATHER UNNECESSARY CAPITAL LETTERS.
IN BOXES.
Before I start hyperventilating, take a look at your starter puzzle down below. If you click on it, you can open it up in its own window. Once you think you've figured out the word or phrase that's the solution, shift your eyes to your browser's address bar (which in this case reads "https://jayisgames.com/images/lettersinboxes/seesixstart.gif"). Change the filename (namely, "seesixstart") to your answer, using all lower-case letters and no spaces (make sure you use the same extension and directory). If you're right, the next puzzle will flash before your eyes! If you're wrong, an error message will appear, kindly inviting you to check your address and try again. (Error message varies by browser. Limit two hundred per customer. See store for details.)
This batch of puzzles contains four puzzles to solve. On the fourth puzzle, you'll find the email address for sending your final answer. [Edit: We have also uploaded a gif for the final answer, if you wish to check your work before you submit.] We'll hand out a prize to the first correct entry we receive, plus ten additional randomly-selected correct entries. Please include your Casual Gameplay account display name with your entry. You must be at least 13 years of age to enter. Only one submission per participant, please. Offer void where prohibited. Your deadline for submitting your answers is Monday, July 11th at 11:59 PM (GMT-5:00). Keep your eyes peeled, you never know what's going to pop out of the boxes today!
Update: Congratulations to these 11 winners! :D
All eleven winners were given a choice of prizes or an entry into a GRAND PRIZE drawing to be held at the end of August! Congratulations and thanks for playing with us! Look for another Letters in Boxes again soon!
- ViciousChicken ...First!
- SirNiko
- zxo
- curiousgeorgie
- CurtisFir
- ajikeshi
- Isi
- mercurious2001
- raddaya
- dhaisud
- chibzinator
Solved one. Two, now...
I'm liking it, but I can't catch all the letters. :/ I'll try again when I'm not so sleepy...
Wow. the first one was really easy.
Second one done.
Ditto. One, easy. Two, just took some patience. Three has me stumped so far.
I'm pretty baffled by number three, cause the answer I had ended up being wrong.
Raddaya:
You don't need to.
Think I've got the last one, but I'm not 100% sure..
This is the first one I'm able to solve all of the puzzles, so I can only say that it is pretty fun. :)
#3 is quite hard.
Does the box on the T mean anything? And if so, what?
Number Two, I thought I had, but what I thought it was didn't work out right. Maybe I just need to look again...
Oh, oh, oh! I got number 3!
Hint:
The addition of the same six letters to each column can spell a new word. Once you figure out what the six letters are, then the highlighted T will help you find the next clue.
@baileydonk
For the letters, do you mean, like, scrambled?
Riley -
Same six-letter string... but, you don't start at the same point in each column
stuck on the second one. sigh.
baileydonk
Do you mean rows instead of columns? I'm finding myself trying to create 5 11-letter words that contain the same 6-letter strings and I'm getting nowhere. Am I on the right track?
For #2:
I have all the letters but they don't work when I use them as part of the URL.
A little help?
Ugh, I had to brute-force number 3... not sure if I missed something or not.
@lerxt:
The letters themselves are red herrings.
Hornitos
Columns is one way to thing about it. Boxes might be another.
aha.
having trouble with 3... i get that i have to
find a 6 letter string of letters,
but i dont know how...
help on 2:
watch intently. the answer will reveal itself only to the patient!
hornitos -
write down the rows underneath each other, to make columns.
@hhii8888
I am watching the gif - I get that it is animated and I even have a gif editor that allows me to see both images together.
All I know is that the letters that change make up a phrase. That phrase does not work.
Is there anything else that I am missing?
@lerxt
The letters spell a phrase, but what does that phrase cover up?
For number 3,
Do the 5 rows come in order as the gif starts? or is the row with the highlighted "T" the first line?
Stuck on 3:
How do I come up with 6 letters when only five columns/rows of letters are given? I'm coming at this all wrong, aren't I?
Also, does the order matter? Like, the order that each row is given in the gif? I put them together to make columns, but the way the columns appear isn't helping much.
Cannot get 3. Someone's going to have so spell (haha) it out for me. :(
For number 3,
its misleading that the boxes are on the side of the letters:
put the boxes below the letters after you write down the five rows on top of each other.
Each column starts in a different row and then reads down from that letter the five given letters, finishing with the six missing letters.
For #4,
If I follow each box through all six pictures I get 49 six-letter words, six of which are spelled incorrectly. However, I can't make those six words form any other word for me. I've tried putting the incorrect letters together and their correct replacements.
Anyone have any little hints that could help?
"Each column starts in a different row and then reads down from that letter the five given letters, finishing with the six missing letters."
But if this is the case, then am I right in thinking that it's not always
five given letters?
Wow...I can't even get past #1 today. Sigh.
For number 3:
I have the 6 letters, but now what? what does the highlighted T have to do with anything?
@kublai:
Assuming you came up with the correct six missing letters, the highlighted T indicates which 11-letter word is the answer.
I see why some people who have "solved" number 3 aren't getting through to the next question.
There are two different 6 letter words that can be used in conjuction with the existing letters to make 5 11 letter words. If you are using a 6 letter word that is a word in itself, replace the "ve" with an "on" and you will have the right answer.
@jwjohnsen
I noticed a hidden message that could help select the correct six-letter word, but the message is so obvious, I can't help feeling it's a red herring...
I got 3 now (and the best hint is to look at the
3rd and fourth letter patterns)
and now i am on 4 with no clue what to do... has anyone gotten #4 done yet?
oh and
you don't have to find a phrase to get the answer
*solves #3*
*sees #4*
...AAHHHH!
Yeah, that looks a little too intimidating to tackle right now.
So I got the first one...
Gah! Where did those Weeping Angels come from?
Trying to solve #4:
The second frame of the GIF contains a fairly obvious message, though it's not as easy to follow. The last words are "The other K", and there is only one other K in all the grids. It's possible that you need to literally follow the directions, and that the positions you find could refer to any letter that fits in that position across the GIF.
Think I got #4. I'm afraid I used an obvious (and incorrect) solution though.
Very explicit question for #3, ironing out the technique:
I get that each column, plus six letters, makes words. Someone said it's the same six letters added to each column. I know that I don't begin each column at the same point: i.e., 12345 vs 23451 vs 34512 vs 45123 vs 51234. But do the additional six letters get added in the same order each time?
For 3:
Take each group of letters and write them out, one group on top of the other. Then use the same order ray9na mentioned above, but vertically. Once you've done that, you should find a six letter word that can be added to the end of each of these. The correct answer is the full 11-letter word that starts with the letter in the black box.
Hope that was clear enough.
@ray9na - nice reference. One of my favorite episodes (the first with the weeping angels).
Breezed through 1 and 2 in like five minutes. Been staring at #3 for like two hours.
Is the first step to find the six-letter string that makes a complete word out of the sets of letters I already have? I'm not really seeing any that will work. Is this supposed to be pure guesswork?
Will anyone say the 6 letter combination for puzzle 3?
Got it! Kicking myself for not getting #4 sooner
Writing out your clues, rather than staring at letters in boxes, is really, really helpful
For #4:
I get the obvious clue from one of the six grids and use it on one other grid to get a four letter word. So the other four grids are just red herrings?
I found a possible solution to #4. I just hope it's the right one.
Still very stuck on #3.
Is there some trick to getting the six-letter string? Because no matter how long I stare at all those sets of letters, I cannot think of any words to make.
Oh wait! I got it.
Were those other boxes to the right there as a red herring or something? Because I didn't use them at all to get the answer.
Hint for #3:
Ignore the six boxes to the right. Pay attention to columns, not rows.
I got #3!
I finally worked around the first five letters of each word. What tripped me up for a while was that I was getting confused between 6-letter word A and related 6-letter word B. The one that works for the other four but seems a bit odd for one of them ... I looked it up and it is a legitimate word after all.
Now I'm scratching my head over #4.
Question for #4:
Considering the first part, are the other parts that don't explicitly contain the central thing we're looking for relevant? If the answer is no, then I think I have an answer. It's a word, at any rate.
Anyone find a better solution for 4?
I followed the message exactly, and got a letter that didn't have any words connected to it. If I followed the message another way (which seemed backwards to me), I found what I think is the 4-letter word other people are referring to. But it's so obvious that you don't have to actually do anything to find it, so I'm skeptical that it's the answer
I also thought of looking at the other grids and seeing if the other letters in the same spot as the one I first landed on spelled out a word. I got a kind of dark phrase that I don't think would be the answer to a JIG puzzle
I feel like I'm missing something. The other LiB puzzles have always had that "aha!" moment when I know I've gotten the right answer, and this doesn't feel like that yet.
And "Go laces!" (from another grid) may be my new favorite catchphrase (not a hint, just something I thought was funny)
tigrita, about #4:
Are you talking about the message in the grid that has an O in the upper-left corner? If so, I don't really see how to follow those directions, as they mention numbers? I think it might be a red herring.
But then again, all I've done is found a bunch of words (43 to be exact) and six misspellings of words, just like jwjohnsen said. I've tried combining the missing letters from the misspelled words, I've tried combining the incorrect letters, nothing works. Maybe this is the red herring?
I think I got #4:
All you talking about four letter words are on the wrong track. It's a six-letter word. And yes, you do have to sort of follow the instructions "backwards"
I just came to the same conclusion as baileydonk, and the word found DOES give an AHA-experience.
A further hint:
Pay attention to all the letters in any of box locations.
For #4
I followed the instructions in the first panel, and then selected the 6-letter word that contained the indicated letter. It didn't have the "aha!" feeling tigrita mentioned, but I'm done staring at it.
If anyone's wondering how I selected a 6-letter word, keep in mind that
there are 6 frames to the animation.
baileydonk:
If I follow the directions backwards, I get a five letter word. Or a nine-letter word.
nerdypants:
You follow the "map" to find the correct square, then you let that square cycle through the sequence to see the six letter word.
I must be doing something rather different from you lot on #4...
I'm coming up with a 2-word phrase, 1-letter and 5-letters respectively.
I don't think I'm right, though....aaaaaaaargh...
onyx mouse -
You are going to feel kind of dumb when you see it. I think you have the right letters. In addition to forming two words as you mentioned, they can form one single six-letter word. You're almost there!
baileydonk, on #4:
So, the word will just be one of the 49 words I can make by cycling through the boxes? That seems... too easy? Like other people have been saying, I don't get an "aha!" feeling from that solution.
So....for 2.
The letters that flash are too fast to understand. Or does it flash a whole new message after many, many, loops? Some help would be appreciated.
Download The GiMP from www.gimp.org. It can open animated GIF files. Then you won't have to stare at the grids trying to catch the letters.
Unfortunately, sourceforge does not seem to load for me, do you have any mirrors?
My general method is to take screenshots whenever it changes, then paste them in Paint where I can rearrange things and look at the frames side by side.
Erm....well, I got it, but....
"watchme" is not the answer to #2. Er...any more hints?
Raddya:
No, Watchme is not the answer. Look in the other frame.
Aha, got it. Now #3 is confusing, but with all the hints, I'm sure I'll work it out. I am not good with
"which word can be added to all these to make another word"
stuff, though. X_X
...Guys...Seriously, get your hints together. I have a million and one questions.
Alright. So I have to write down the rows, one below each other? Then...
Which one do I start with? The one with the highlighted T? And, what do I do with the boxes? That's probably the most confusing of the lot. I get that I have to put the rows on top of each other, but I am totally confused with everything else. What do I do with the boxes? When do I find the six letter string? Do I write it horizontally or vertically? Is the six letter string the same each time? I am confused like you wouldn't believe.
raddaya
put the five rows on top of each other with the six extra blanks below
totrt
rnrdr
otaia
rrnsb
ecsts
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
Super spoiler coming up:
What six letter word can you use to finish "trans"? This is the same six letter word that can be used to finish "distr" and so on.
ATTENTION ALL LETTERS IN BOXES PARTICIPANTS:
Due to the higher-than-expected confusion about the final puzzle, we have decided to add an extra .gif file with the final solution as the filename, so that you can check your solution if you desire. If you have already submitted an answer, you may resubmit another answer, however, please be aware that only your most recently submitted answer will be considered for entry into the prize drawing.
Steve! Thank you soooooo much!
There was no "Aha" moment, but now I know I was right!
So, matador
Not only do I have to put them on top of each other, I also have to unscramble? Because the second-to-last makes "rdist", not "distr".
Thanks Steve! I'm glad to learn I was on the right track with my second idea. "Aha!" moment achieved :)
I think some of the confusion came from the grid we're directed to not being the actual starting point for the answer.
raddaya -
Not "unscramble", but start at a different row for each column.
tigrita -
I don't understand what you say in your last spoiler...
The square (not grid) that I was directed to was indeed the square containing the answer... not the "starting point", but the square to watch.
Yes, I got #4!
Nerdypants:
I think the Aha moment comes in where you have to figure out how to find the exact word.
Also, on 4, there was a bit of a red herring for me.
Were square, rueful, and eaglet supposed to be misspelled? And what were ooside and omelot supposed to be? I thought all 49 were words.
Hints! Hints! Hints!
This "puzzle contest" has turned into a farce. (More like who can post the most blatant hints without actually giving out the answers.) If you don't want to work these yourself, then go away and come back Tuesday to read the walk-through. One day after the puzzle is posted there are enough spoilers that even non-puzzle solvers can figure out the answers. Then there are 50,000 emails with the solution and only 10 random prizes. You shouldn't have a discussion board here until Tuesday when entries are closed.
Whoa, wait, hold up..there's prizes with these things? O_o!?
Man, I thought these were just something to wrack our brains over..
Also, baileydonk was right...I do feel kinda dumb now. XD Overjoyed that I got the answer, but dumb. XP
Binks - I think you might be the first one to point this out. I also had this idea, but I guess I was too worried I would start a controversy that I didn't bother saying it and just followed the rest. Being contestants, people shouldn't just give out hints left and right.
Sorry, Binks - I don't do these things for prizes, just for fun. I see your point. Half the fun for me in these really hard and interesting puzzles is to get a hint when I feel truly stuck (without them I'd just give up on so many) - but putting them on hold until after the prize date sounds like a good idea.
Yeah, I'm with baileydonk here. This website is titled "Casual Gameplay", and complaining about competition certainly isn't casual.
I don't do these for the prizes, I do them because they're fun.
Yeah, I'm with baileydonk here. I don't do these for the prizes, I do them because they're fun.
If anything, perhaps JiG should disable comments until they've verified a "first response" winner, but after that, I like the community collaboration.
Sweet, I submitted the right answer.
I kind of liked the fact that there were different ways to answer the last puzzle... puts another dimension to the whole thing. Of course it's easy to say that when I guessed the right possible answer :)
Even though I'm competing with people for Fabulous Prizes, I really don't mind giving out hints. Plus, most people aren't going to win, so they should at least have fun solving the puzzles, instead of sitting around, frustrated, waiting for the walkthroughs to be posted.
I do like the idea of turning off comments until they've gotten a first response, though.
I don't do these for the prizes either,(I think they're just token gifts anyway - no one wins a car or t.v.), and I certainly am not trying to stop anyone's fun on casual gameplay. Just sayin', if it's labled as a contest...no hints. Steve posts a walkthru every Tuesday.
I'm kind of in the middle. I like checking the comments for hints and have certainly been helped by them, but more and more often I'm seeing people give way too much away. It's when the "hints" become "borderline walkthrough" that I get frustrated.
#3 had me stumped, but when I came back to it after a while, I suddenly realized how to solve it. And then there was 4.
Rough transcript of what happened as I solved #4:
Me: "Seriously? They expect us to solve THIS?"
*brain works furiously, but to no avail*
*notices something*
Me: "Wait a second! Was that a word?"
*patiently waits for that frame to come back*
Me: "Not just one word... more!"
*writes down message*
*finds square the message is telling me to look for*
*finds phrase spelled out with that square*
Me: "Ummmm... OK..."
*checks to see if that's the right answer*
Me: "OK, not the right answer, but if I do this... aha!"
*checks again*
Me: "Woohoo! I got it!"
I don't mind the discussion, personally.
If you already know the answers, then posting hints only decreases your chances of winning, so the only motivation is helping others. (Or, y'know, feeling superior.)
If you don't know the answers, then hints are helpful, obviously.
So the only people that stand to lose out on the deal are folks who know the answers but don't want to post hints. Most un-JIG-like behavior!
It seems that if the JIG staff had wanted to enforce stricter rules, they would have done so from the beginning. As it stands, it seems more like a random drawing with a little bit of fun before you fill out your entry form.
As an aside, I may have missed it somewhere, but how many rounds are planned for JIG's Letters in Boxes?
Ah...one last question #3.
Do all the five-letter words, if you start from the right column, make words themselves? Like the first one could possibly make
retro
but "trans" and "distr" aren't words...
raddaya:
"Trans" and "distr" aren't words, but they almost are... Maybe you're still missing something?
No, no, you misunderstand me.
I know that you've to add six letters, but I was wondering if it's trial and error to get where to start when figuring out the five letters to which I must add six, or if the five letters also make up words.
Ah, nevermind, I solved it. Bit confused on #4. How many frames are there and which one is the starter? xD
raddaya:
There are six frames. What I did was take screencaps of all the frames, in order. It isn't necessary to have them in order, but it can help.
"If you already know the answers, then posting hints only decreases your chances of winning, so the only motivation is helping others. (Or, y'know, feeling superior.)"
Exactly. If you're playing only to win, you're taking it a bit too seriously.
Also, @ReverendTed, I figure they'll just keep cranking out puzzles as long as we keep solving 'em :D
=====================
Now that I'm done, my thoughts on the puzzles:
#1: Though easy, took me a few seconds to get into the mindset (I'm tired :P).
#2: Once in the mindset, super-easy as well. Even easier than the first.
#3: Starting to get hard... I didn't get what to do without a hint to understand the format (I figured they were words, but wasn't sure quite how it worked).
#4: Wasted a bunch of time figuring out all the words and noticing the mistakes in the six words (that ended up meaning nothing: I got "soumad" as an initial answer, and I was, indeed, mad). I didn't even notice the screen of "instructions" within letters - too lazy to download and dissect the frames this time around. Once a hint pointed that out, it was pretty easy to figure out which word I wanted. Though I'd have had no idea whether it was what was the "correct" final answer if a gif hadn't been uploaded for that word.
All in all, way-too-easy start, alright puzzle for #3, and too much red-herring-ness/needing to download and dissect the gif for my liking in #4.
Ah! Done! Seriously JIG, never again. >>;
Hints for all of them.
1-
Fruity?
A lot of people don't like fruits. Maybe Jay doesn't, either?
What if we removed the fruits?
2 -
Don't blink.
Whoa! Some letters change!
But are the new letters the answer? Not necessarily...
3 -
Many frames! And empty boxes?
Rows are so overused. Maybe if they were columns...
If we put them on top of each other, they fit quite snugly. But we have to add to that.
Maybe a six-letter word could be added to all of them? But then...they don't make sense...
They do if you start each column from a different row.
4 -
Aargh! I need a message here, guys!
So many frames, surely one of them give a message?
Potassium is good for you, folks.
There are only two frames with Ks in them. One of them give you a message.
Incidentally, I remember a game in the Casual Gameplay Competition with the "sandbox" theme where the instructions given were quite like #4...
I can't say I really cared for this set. #1 and #2 were ridiculously easy; #3 was ridiculously obfuscated, and #4's answer doesn't actually begin where it tells you to look (that is, you'll get all the letters if you follow the directions, but the first letter isn't the one you'll find on the frame the clue points at).
I'm just glad I've had experience with editing animated GIFs in The GiMP before, or else this batch would have been an even bigger exercise in needless frustration.
On the upside, the ability to confirm our guesses as to the final answer is much appreciated - perhaps it would be wise in the future to change it up so that the "final answer" rather than the "final question" displays the contact information.
Yay! Finished!
I preferred the previous sets where the final puzzle yielded an obvious answer without needing to resort to a URL to confirm the solution. The image changing gimmick was clever, though, so I give back some points for that. I felt like the ease of the first two puzzles was intentional, to lead the player into the later puzzles.
Really, my only gripe with the last puzzle is that you can solve it and still not be certain of the solution.
SirNiko:
"Really, my only gripe with the last puzzle is that you can solve it and still not be certain of the solution."
This was my biggest problem with this week's puzzles. I would've felt much more comfortable if #3 and #4 had switched places. #4 just didn't feel right to me until I had confirmation. It's even worse if you take into consideration that
one of the earlier puzzles had a two-word answer, and if you follow the instructions on #4 you can come up with the correct answer, or an incorrect two-word answer.
Okay. For puzzle 3, I think I
have the final word that works with all 3;
Acting.
but it doesn't seem to work on its own, or with trans.
Am I doing the right thing, with the right word? Or am I totally off?
Never mind. I really should finsh my train of thought before stopping. Stupid mistake.
First time posting here. Thanks to all who left such great hints. I didn't have such a tough time with the first three, but #4 was a doozie! Hints from baileydonk were especially helpful.
@Riley:
You are SUPER close.
If this were a game of Mastermind, I would give you four red pegs and one white.
Here are this week's answers. Don't worry, they're all still images.
Puzzle 1
Puzzle 1 Answer
For the first puzzle, all you had to do was remove the names of four hidden fruit from the grid (GRAPE, LEMON, PRUNE, MELON). The remaining letters spelled DONTBLINK. Foreshadowing, perhaps?
Puzzle 2
Puzzle 2 Answer
This second puzzle looks like an ordinary grid... but DONTBLINK! After 17.5 seconds of one frame of this animated gif, another frame will flash up on the screen for a half second. That second frame had most of the same letters as the first one, but swapped out seven letters of the first frame with the words WATCH ME. That's not the answer, but if you looked at which letters they replaced, you'd find the second solution, TROPICS.
Puzzle 3
Puzzle 3 Answer
Each of the cycling boxes in the left half of this puzzle contained five letters, which would form the start of an 11-letter word, such that all of the words ended with the same six letters. The words did not necessarily begin in the same frame, though (the first word began in the first frame, the second word began in the second frame, etc.). The prefixes taken from the boxes spelled RETRO, CONTR, TRANS, DISTR, and ABSTR. The word ACTION could be placed after each of these to spell RETROACTION, CONTRACTION, TRANSACTION, DISTRACTION, and ABSTRACTION. The first T of TRANSACTION was in black so you knew to use that as your next password.
Puzzle 4
Puzzle 4 Answer
Finally, this old behemoth. If you managed to catch the letters on the sixth frame of this gif, you'd find the message ONE SOUTH OF THREE WEST OF TWO NORTH OF TWO EAST OF THE OTHER K. If you looked for another K that appeared in the grid, you'd spot it in the center square (in the third frame). Following the directions would lead you to one square northwest of center, where you would find the word EDIBLE, your final solution.
Winners will be announced soon!
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