Fog of War

Na na na na na-na! (Getting foggy with it) Fog puzzles do one thing very well: they provide focus. By obscuring most of the grid, they narrow down where you need to look to get started. In this case: to eight cells out of 81.

I don’t think of fog as something that echoes. If an empty room filled with fog, I think shouting would end up swallowed, the sound absorbed and reflected by the fog rather than bouncing off far walls. I don’t actually know, and if I looked for answers on the internet, what would I write about here? If you know the answer, shout it into the void, and perhaps it will reach me.

The gap between when I create the puzzles and when I write these blurbs can be hours, or days, and more than once I’ve forgotten why I named a puzzle as I did when I load it up and I’m facing an empty blurb section. Not this time, though! I’m not quoting song lyrics, just referencing the title. Arrows can be dance instructions, left foot, right foot, and there’s fog, so we’ll ignore that the song is about depression and just dance in the dark.

If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied / Illuminate the NOs on their Vacancy signs // If there’s no one beside you when your soul embarks / Then I’ll follow you into the dark // - with much gratitude to Ben Gibbard

These are not normal quadruples clues; these are specifically-ordered quadruples clues. This is the fourth of four puzzles exploring using Fog of War.

German Whispers and Kropki dots, except not all at once. You can see just enough to fill in one cell, after which you’ll be able to see more. This is the third of four puzzles exploring a guided solve path using Fog of War.

It’s an XV Thermo puzzle, except you can’t see it all at once. You can see just enough to fill in one cell, after which you’ll be able to see more. This is the second of four puzzles exploring a guided solve path using Fog of War.

It’s just a straightforward Killer Sudoku puzzle, right? Except you can’t see it all at once. You can see just enough to fill in one cell, after which you’ll be able to see more. This is the first of four puzzles exploring a guided solve path using Fog of War.