No Clue Crossword (MIT Mystery Hunt 2020)

No Clue Crossword
MIT Mystery Hunt 2020
Balloon Vendor
Author(s)Asher Walkover
AnswerClick to revealMOB
Statistics
No. solves31
No. total guesses185
Links
PuzzleLink
SolutionLink

No Clue Crossword is a puzzle from the Balloon Vendor round of the 2020 MIT Mystery Hunt. The puzzle is presented as a crossword where all of the clues are "No clue".

Puzzle Elements[edit | edit source]

Grid-Centric - Solvers are given a normal crossword grid, in addition to a list of clues that all read "No clue."

Flavortext - The balloon merchant gives you what appears to be a crossword, but your brief conversation with him isn't very helpful. "What's this for?" "No clue." "Where'd it come from?" "No clue." "Am I supposed to solve it?" "No clue."

 

Red Herring - The puzzle has a somewhat misleading presentation; the crossword grid is not meant to be filled with anything.

Diagramless Crossword - One may note that the clue numbers do not align between the "clues" and the crossword grid. However, the solver can reconstruct a different grid from the clue numbers, in the fashion of a diagramless crossword.

Marked Elements - Some clue numbers have asterisks next to them. Marking the squares corresponding to those entries on both grids and overlapping them...

Give Me a Y - ...forms letter shapes that spell out the answer.