The Weekly Whoop #3: Clue #2
Be Alice. Don't be afraid to go down that rabbit hole.
Hello, whoopers!
The second clue for The Weekly Whoop #3 is about relationships. First, let’s recap the crossword.
The Crossword
Relationships
Let’s get right to it:
Obviously, 3 Across and 2 Down are related to each other. However, 3 Across and 7 Across are also related.1
Obviously, 1 Down and 3 Across are associated with each other. However, 1 Down and 5 Down are also related.2
3 Down and 6 Down are also related. I mean, a mathematician and a number = hallelujah
And I am sure there are other relationships that I have forgotten…
…or held back on purpose. [Insert evil laugh]
On a serious note, everything is connected.
Some relationships (including the ones I haven’t revealed) may be second—or third-order, like a cousin, once, twice, or thrice removed. But the connection is there.
Remember that the quest is to use the key (i.e., Rama’s story) to complete the crossword by answering the prompts Across and Down and providing the logic behind your answers.
I have just handed you a big chunk of the logic part of the quest. Take that, the first clue, and the thread that connects all this with Rama’s story and pull!
A little meta (kinda, sorta)
Think about the architecture of the quest.
Blending a riddle and crossword is a fascinating concept. Fundamentally, it is a “cryptic treasure map” in crossword form.
Yes, the answers to prompts (Across or Down) reveal the letters. However, they also reveal information that helps answer other prompts. And some (or all) of that is connected to the riddle somehow.
The solving process becomes more exploratory because:
You might get partial information from one prompt that helps decode another
The crossword structure provides confirmation when answers to multiple prompts align.3
Each solved section opens up new “paths” through the puzzle
In this format, the line between crossword and scavenger hunt blurs considerably. It combines:
The structured verification system of a crossword
The progressive discovery aspect of a scavenger hunt
The layered solving experience of interconnected prompts
This is a scavenger hunt because you must scavenge for answers in the solution space. Every answer reveals that space further.4
It’s different from IRL hunts, where you must move around in the physical world.
It’s also somewhat different from typical digital hunts. While you may have to hop from one website to another while searching for solutions, there are no hidden hints to uncover on specific websites that you must visit.5
If I have one advice for you, it’s these two:
Be Alice. Don’t be afraid to go down that rabbit hole.
DM me for clarifications and shooting the shit.
Love,
waveman
There was a time when they had the same parents, albeit in the corporate sense
5 Down is the namesake of a character in 1 Down
Use the intersecting letters to validate whether you’re on the right track
Kinda like Minesweeper, if you ask me
We will have those, too, in the future