Table of Contents iv | Contents Introduction vi State School 1 Things That Have _______ 2 Skeleton Crew 3 Ghosts in the Machine 4 Rack Your Brain 5 Skip to My Lou 6 Anagrams 7 12 Signs of Opposition 7 That’s the Pits! 8 Supreme Kart 9 Wild Weekend at Westville U. 10 Indicatory 12 Ungodly Hour 13 Jimmy vs. Peter 14 **CKED UP 15 How to Solve Logic Puzzles 16 Bear Necessities 19 Auction 20 Extracurricular Activities 21 Conspira-SEA 22 Easy As Pie! 24 Instruments of Torture 25 Hammerin’ Hank 26 Bob’s Your Uncle 27 Swift Response 28 Famous Pigs 29 Fruit Fill 30 Alarming Final 31 On the Cutting Edge 32 Steampunk Contraption 33 Time is Money, But Money Saves Time 34 National Security Amnesia 35 It’s a Numbers Game 36 Homework Helpers 37 Match Wits 38 Oh, My Nose! 39 Cryptograms 40 Marching Orders 49 Shrink(age) 50 Out of Order! 51 Chuck Wagon 52 Arboretum 53 Rich Man, Poor Man 54 Alphabet Soup 55 Poetic PUN-ishment 56 Rock, Paper, Scissors, BOOM! 57 Elements of Style 60 Pyramid Scheme 61 A.W.O.L. 62 Punagrams 63 League of Bad Bowlers 66 I.O.U. 67 Conga Words 68 Navy Beans 69 Engine Engine #9 70 Pepper Pop Quiz 71 Window Shopping 72 What Entitles These People? 73 What the Hex? 74

Table of Contents Contents | v www.pencilpaperparacosm.com Eight is Not Enough 78 3 x 5 = 15 79 Dollar Bill Y’All 80 Decisions, Decisions 81 To Be Frank 82 I’m Steamed Up 83 Driver’s Ed 84 Double Trouble 85 That’s So Meta 86 Coin Collection 87 Animal Crossing 88 Sudoku 89 Answers 126

Introduction vi | Introduction Welcome, dear reader, to a different kind of puzzle book. In addition to classic puzzles like Fill-ins, Word Searches, Sudoku and Cryptograms, you’ll discover more than 50 original, hand-crafted puzzles, logic problems, anagram challenges and trivia quizzes. If you like variety, I think you'll enjoy this collection. With the exception of the classics, the activities in this book are open-ended. You know how puzzle magazine instructions prohibit you from using proper nouns, slang, foreign words, hyphenated words and contractions? That's just silly. If your mind sees these words, they are just as valid as the words found in the Answers section. So, feel free to claim victory in any manner that suits your solving style. Fair warning: the vocabulary throughout this book ranges from easy to challenging. Don’t let the easy puzzles fool you and don’t be discouraged by the obscure words. Several puzzles give you at least two different ways to find their solutions. You should strive to find what may seem to be serendipitous connections between the clues and emerging answers: often, they were inserted intentionally, as a reward for people who “see” beneath the surface. As a matter of fact, this entire book contains a Delphic lagniappe (mysterious gift given at time of purchase.) Similar to Easter eggs in software, this hidden puzzle is yours for the finding. I wish to acknowledge all the sources of inspiration for this collection: my father, Hillard Allen, card-carrying member of the Dad Jokes Society and one of the most intrepid wordplay enthusiasts I know; my wife, Toni, for her fact-checking on the Brady Bunch trivia and for numerous suggestions; my children, who give me an excuse to keep making games, challenging them with riddles and torturing them with my corny jokes; the dozens of puzzle books and magazines that kept me entertained for years; Will Shortz, a famous puzzle creator, whose Letter Bank invention predates what I thought was my own creation (Decisions, Decisions); and, the Internet, without whose resources I wouldn't have attempted making this book. I hope you enjoy these puzzles and activities as much as I enjoyed putting them together. Visit my website by scanning the QR code below or entering https://pencilpaperparacosm.com into your browser.

Things That Have _______ 2 | Warm-up Exercises The nine words on the left, when paired with the correct words on the right, form nine compound words or two-word phrases that have something specific in common. The answers are on page 126. bat belly bird blood bug fingers fly goose hawk house jay jet knuckle mare radish salad shrimp up JUMBO NIGHT BLUE FRUIT LADY SPRUCE WHITE HORSE YELLOW

6 | Warm-up Exercises Skip to My Lou A movie, a song and three guys walked into a dance hall…Can you match these partners to their Lou’s? Answer is on page 126. 1. La Bamba 2. “You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine” 3. Bill Bixby 4. Bud Abbott 5. Ed Asner “Lost my partner, what’ll I do?” - Nat King Cole

Jimmy vs. Peter 14 | Intermezzo How well do you know the fictional photographers, Jimmy Olsen and Peter Parker? Listed below are 18 snippets of trivia. See if you can match each one to the correct character. Answers are on page 127. Arrowverse Bartholomew Benjamin Chloe Sullivan Daily Bugle Daily Planet Gwen Stacy J. Jonah Jameson Liz Allan Lucy Lane Marc McClure Marvel Cinematic Universe Mary Jane Watson Metropolis Midtown High School Perry White Tobey Maguire Uncle Ben

Unscramble the letters to find six related words. Use the circled letters to complete the quip. Answers are on page 131. How Reese ate a bowl of chili: Food from the Chuck wagon . Chuck Wagon 52 | Scrambled Words

62 | Variety A.W.O.L. ABOE COE AUNT IVA LAING GRAES BLLY GRM CHCK HOMLY MLD WLT BAING DAIY INET AVAGE PATED WHOE GUNMN HCK MLLOW PRSON FLUNT DRW DAM SCOE COVE DOZE UTS PATIES WHIE BUS HUCH MEA SPIE CRAE MSSY OUTLT OYSTR PBBLY CLOTH TNTH DEVOU CLEA OOK EASE HAES MACH Eight letters have gone missing! A single letter is needed for completing one row of six words. For example, Z could be added to EBRA, LAY, CAR, FROE, WALT and BOO to form ZEBRA, LAZY, CZAR, FROZE, WALTZ and BOZO. If you find the correct letters and write them on the blanks provided, you will discover a related word reading from top to bottom. You may use the same letter on more than one row. It is possible to choose letters other than those that form the related word. Answer is on page 132.

Mind-benders! | 67 www.pencilpaperparacosm.com I.O.U. Old MacDonald had a farm. He borrowed all the vowels from his vegetable patch for seed money. The vegetables have issued demand letters, so the poor farmer needs your help to return the I’s O’s and U’s to them. Cross out each letter as you fill in the blanks. Answers are on page 132. I I O O O O I O I O U I O O O U Demand Letter Demand Letter OVERDUE Pay Now!

Dollar Bill Y’All 80 | Mind-benders! “A little stash of the cash put aside in a safe.” - Erik Schrody baht Angola dirham Cameroon ekwele Ecuador franc Equatorial Guinea gulden Morocco kwanza Netherlands manat Thailand sucre Turkmenistan Can you match the currency on the left with the country on the right? You can solve this in one of three ways: through your sheer knowledge of trivia; by looking for a specific connection between the words on the left and the words on the right; or, by completing the logic puzzle. Some currency is no longer in use. Answers are on page 133. 1. Four of the matches involve franc, kwanza, Morocco and Thailand. 2. If Turkmenistan matches sucre, then Ecuador matches ekwele; otherwise, Thailand matches baht. 3. Franc matches either Cameroon or Morocco. 4. Only one match has the same initials. 5. Ecuador and Turkmenistan match manat and sucre in some order. 6. Angola, Morocco and Thailand match baht, dirham and kwanza in some order.

I’m Steamed Up Word Searches | 83 www.pencilpaperparacosm.com A classic Word Search puzzle contains related words that are hidden in a grid. The words are always in a straight line, but may read forward, backward, horizontally, vertically or diagonally. If the puzzle has special instructions, be sure to read them carefully. Answer is on page 134. Angry Blistering Cauldron Death Valley Exother mic Fever Fireplace Furious Furnace Grill Hot tub Jalapeno Lava Livid Old Faithful Outraged Rampage Sauna Scalding Seething Smelter Steamroller Summer Sun Teapot Wrath