Solution: The Beast's Lair
Answer: DROP BEAR
Written by Tan Chor Kiang and Janice Heng
Start by solving the crossword clues and fitting them into the grid. You will notice that some words do not fit, e.g. LIONEL is one of the more specific answers, but there are no Across answers of length 6 in the grid. Having solved enough clues, solvers may then realise that the answers that do not fit in the grid all have a common trait - they contain an animal. Answers such as (LION)EL, (WOLF)RAM, (DOG)E are meant to be easier entry points for the solver to arrive at this aha. Now, if you assign only one square to each animal, you will be able to fit your answers into the grid.
The answers to the crossword clues are listed in alphabetical order.
| Across clues | Answers | Down clues | Answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Something that is owed | DEBT | Eldritch, creepy | EERIE |
| Non-standard way to say 'get off a locomotive' | DETRAIN | Large or clumsy | (ELEPHANT)INE |
| A Venetian leader or cryptocurrency name | (DOG)E | Numbing agent or clear sky | ETHER |
| Huge exhibition | EXPO | Ancient Greek goddess of crossroads | HE(CAT)E |
| English wind that blows in Cumbria | HELM | You might find this stone, also called safari jasper, on crystal healing websites | (LEOPARD)ITE |
| Chess master Kieseritzky | (LION)EL | Events with food, drinks and entertainment | PARTIES |
| Impartial or bland | NEUTRAL | Expert in tennis | PRO |
| Equipment for rowing a boat | OAR | Someone who assigns 'PG' to movies, for instance | (RAT)ER |
| Extra note at the end of a letter | PS | Made anew, performed again | REDID |
| Go in every direction | S(CAT)TER | Casual shirt | TEE |
| Metamorphic, chatoyant gemstone | (TIGER) EYE | Periodic table element below Molybdenum, formerly | (WOLF)RAM |
The solved grid looks like this.
Next, solvers may note that enumeration is provided in the grid even though the clues were in alpha order by answer. This suggests that the clues should be rearranged in the usual crossword clue order. Taking the first letters of the rearranged Across clues gives CHINESE GAME. Performing a Google search for “Chinese game with lion, leopard, wolf, elephant…” will allow you to identify that this is the layout for Animal Chess. (Solvers might also arrive at this aha via the flavourtext and/or the fact that the first word of the first Across clue is “Chess”, coupled with the animal theme of this puzzle.)
The first letters of the rearranged Down clues spell ENEMY PLACES. Each of the 8 Animal Chess animals has only appeared once, in their starting positions. This cluephrase suggests that we need to locate the remaining counterparts (“enemies”) in their respective starting positions. These are marked in yellow below.
Noting that there is a rank order for the animals in Animal Chess (Elephant being the highest rank, followed by Lion, etc.), solvers should rearrange these 8 letters accordingly to obtain the thematic answer, DROP BEAR.
Chess is a commonly used puzzle mechanism in puzzle hunts. However, I (Chork) had not come across a puzzle featuring Animal Chess - a variant that is more commonly found in Asia. The initial puzzle concept also involved each animal occupying one spot, but with the animals close to checkmate, with solvers needing to solve for checkmate to extract the solution. However, engineering a unique checkmate solution proved to be non-trivial. I was ready to ditch this idea but Janice found another extraction mechanism based on the initial layout of the Animal Chess pieces, and managed to get the Animal Chess idea to work after all!