Contest Rules

Puzzles:

A new puzzle will be posted on the first Tuesday of each month. Solvers will have until Sunday 11pm (Eastern Time) to send in a correct solution to the meta.

The meta answer for each puzzle will be a song, band, composer, musical instrument, or something else music-related.

Make sure you read the instructions carefully. While the first few puzzles may be on the easier side, the later puzzles will be trickier.

Submit your answer to the meta using the form on the home page.

Correct solutions are eligible for prizes, including an entry to the 2014 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.

Scoring:

Correctly solving a monthly meta will earn you between 1 and 5 points per puzzle, depending on how many people send in the correct answer.
The final puzzle of this year’s contest, the “mega-meta,” will be released on New Year’s Eve 2013. While some of the monthly puzzles will be on the easy side, the mega-meta will be pretty tough.  It will refer back to previous contest puzzles, so you might want to keep those around. Correctly solving the mega-meta after seeing the puzzle will earn you 5 points.

Solvers will also get a chance to guess the mega-meta early, and will score 5 bonus points for doing so. In addition, the first solver to get it early will receive an extra 50 bonus points, the second 25 points, the third 15 points, and the fourth 10 points. If multiple solvers get it during a particular month, they will divide the bonuses. So if four solvers correctly guess the mega-meta, they will get a bonus of (50+25+15+10)/4 = 25 points each (plus 5 for the early bird bonus, plus 5 for solving the mega-meta).  If ten solvers guess it early, they will all share a bonus of 10 points each for a total of 20 points. Being earlier or later in the same month doesn’t matter – the deadline for qualifying for that month will be the same date and time the puzzle is due.

Each solver will get one free early guess at the mega-meta. Additional guesses are permitted, but incorrect ones will each incur 1-point penalties.

Monthly prizes:

Each month a randomly selected winner will receive the 15-ounce coffee mug pictured below. If your name gets drawn a second time in a subsequent month  (lucky you!), you get to pick the band, musical instrument, song, or composer for an upcoming future meta.


Grand (annual) prize:

At the end of 2013, participants who have correctly solved at least 8 of the 12 metas will be eligible to win a free entry to the 2014 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in New York City (or $100 in cash if you can’t make the tournament).  There will be a random drawing in which each person’s total points for the year determines their weight in the drawing. One tournament entry (or $100) will be awarded.