Asteroid ✧
Solution
by Ivan Wang, Patrick Xia, and Tracey Lin
Each puzzle in this round is a set of cryptic clues themed around a particular mechanic. The clues are given alphabetically by answer, and solving a subset unlocks the next puzzle in the sequence. For a list of standard mechanics, see the Puzzled Pint guide.
This capstone puzzle combines prior puzzle gimmicks, sometimes using them more than once in a single clue.
Clue | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Boars’ currency used by video game nursery members, many of which are often found next to whistles? (4) | BELL | A group of boars is called a singular; a nursery is a group of raccoons. Bells is a currency used by Tom Nook and other raccoons in Animal Crossing |
| One of Navi’s or Oberon’s ring of gloop space (8) | MUSHROOM | MUSH + ROOM (fairy ring → mushroom) |
| Japanese city of Rangale takes back a "no" vote for one of the Preserver’s aliases (8) | NARAYANA | Japanese city of (rangale → deer) = NARA + ANAY (rev.) |
| Ants, bats, bees, beavers, penguins, rats, ibises, lice, mice, wasps, badgers, chinchillas, and gulls in old America (8 8) | THIRTEEN COLONIES | All 13 animal groups live in colonies |