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This is the first Chain Puzzle in the Tabletop Games series, in which all puzzles are themed around board games, card games, tile games, and the like. The answer to this puzzle is a thematic word or phrase. The solver whose answer is awarded the green checkmark has first refusal on the opportunity to create the next puzzle in the series, which must somehow incorporate the answer to this puzzle somewhere within its construction. The solver is under no obligation to create the next puzzle - in the event that the solver does not wish to take up this opportunity, the puzzle's setter may take up the offer of a willing substitute setter or choose to continue the chain themselves.


This evening I went round to my friend's house for our weekly neighbourhood games night. On arriving, I found four of our fellow gamers stood around the table with puzzled expressions, staring down at what appeared to be a jumble of pieces from several different games.

enter image description here

"Please tell me you're not expecting us to play all of these games tonight?!" I remarked.

My friend shook her head. "We're not playing any of these games tonight," she replied.

"Right," I said, uncertainly. "So... what are we playing?"

"That's what you need to work out..."

TASK: Decipher the image to find the name of the game which I'll be playing tonight. The answer is 1 word, and finding it relies on making use of all of the pieces shown in the picture.

Hint 1:

"Okay," I said. "Well, the pieces here come from 11 different games, so I'm guessing the answer should have 11 letters."

My friend shook her head with a smile. "Actually, the answer has only 10 letters. Make of that what you will..."

Hint 2:

I stared and stared at the pieces, but I just couldn't see what I was supposed to. My friend rolled her eyes.

"You're not going to solve it just by looking... You'll find it much more helpful to move a few pieces about..."


Image credits: All images obtained from free-to-use image repositories, item listings on amazon.co.uk, or photographs taken by the OP.

Chain Puzzles are a novel approach to puzzle series creation, in which the solver of the previous puzzle in the chain becomes the setter of the next.

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    $\begingroup$ This is the first EVER Chain Puzzle on PSE. It's an experimental format and all are welcome to discuss the series, its rules, and future suggestions for themes in the dedicated chatroom. Enjoy! $\endgroup$
    – Stiv
    Oct 22, 2020 at 20:38
  • $\begingroup$ Note for prospective solvers: several people are collaborating on this puzzle in the above-linked chatroom $\endgroup$
    – bobble
    Oct 23, 2020 at 0:28
  • $\begingroup$ Hm... a hint... $\endgroup$
    – matt
    Oct 23, 2020 at 21:29

1 Answer 1

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This solving process was a collaborative endeavor, starting here. It's been agreed that @msh210 will be making the next puzzle in the chain.

The first thing to notice:

The pieces can be neatly divided into a 3 rows x 2 columns grid.
grid
This can be done by moving the 3 Mikado sticks to these gridlines.

Now, what can we do with this new picture?

3x2 grid indicates that we should look for Braille. Each game (except Mikado, as it is the boundaries) clues a single letter. If a game has a piece in one of the cells, then there is a dot in that cell. If not, no dot. Applying this to each of the games, in alphabetical order, we have:

P (from Battleship)
I (from Blokus)
C (from Chess)
T (from Clue)
I (from Connect 4)
O (from Monopoly)
N (from Qwirkle)
A (from Scrabble)
R (from Ticket to Ride)
Y (from Trivial Pursuit)

So the answer must be...

PICTIONARY

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  • $\begingroup$ This answer has now been awarded the green checkmark. Over to @msh210 for the next puzzle in the chain! $\endgroup$
    – Stiv
    Oct 25, 2020 at 9:57

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