Bouquet of Balloons (MIT Mystery Hunt 2020)

Bouquet of Balloons
MIT Mystery Hunt 2020
Balloon Vendor
Author(s)Brent Holman
AnswerClick to revealVESSELS
Statistics
No. solves40
No. total guesses74
Links
PuzzleLink
SolutionLink

Bouquet of Balloons is a word puzzle from the Balloon Vendor round of the 2020 MIT Mystery Hunt.

Puzzle Elements[edit | edit source]

Grid-Centric (Triangular Tiling) - The grid in question is composed of triangles arranged into a flower-like shape composed of 31 colored hexagons. In the center of each hexagon is a circle of the complementary color.

Flavortext - The Vendor has quite a colorful bouquet…

 

Rows Garden - The puzzle is a classical rows garden; however, the puzzle doesn't state which row the row clues belong to, nor does it restrict the "balloon" (bloom) clues to any single color. It does, however, fill normally...

Something Extra - ...with the caveat that some of the "Balloons" contain seven-letter answers, one too long to fit inside the hexagon. Six of the letters will fit in the grid as a typical entry would; extract the seventh, which would be forced into the circle in the center of the hexagon.