2016 Mega-Meta

27 Dec

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The final contest puzzle of 2016, the mega-meta is now published – you can find it here. The meta for this puzzle is a classic hit song. Enter your solution in the box below, where you can also rate the puzzle and/or leave a comment. The submission deadline is 11 pm Sunday, January 1.

If you’re one of the seven solvers who have already cracked the mega-meta, you don’t have to resubmit (unless you want to rate it or leave a comment). Congratulations to that group: Jangler, Veep, Brian Cross, Mike Berman, Brent Holman, Jasters, and eowynfate.

  • This puzzle is self-contained (unlike mega-meta puzzles from previous years), meaning you won’t have to refer back to the other 2016 MMMM puzzles to solve it.
  • If you’re one of the seven people who already got the mega-meta, bravo! You don’t need to resubmit unless you want to rate the puzzle or add a comment.
  • A total of 77 subscribers have qualified for the January Grand Prize Drawing by solving nine or more puzzles this year. Congratulations! There are 25 more of you with eight correct answers, and if you solve this puzzle you too will qualify. Good luck!

I’ve brought back the Tip Jar this year. Please click on the icon if you’d like to show appreciation for the MMMM. I’ll get all of the appreciation, but 100% of what you donate will be given to Math for America. I’m still deciding what form the MMMM will take next year. More news on that soon.

 

SEND IN YOUR ANSWER TO THE META:
E-mail address:
Answer:
Rating:          Difficulty:
Comment:
If I use your comment in the write-up, I will attribute it to your screen name. If you would like me to use your real name instead, please put it in the comment box.

Click + to see notes on the 2016 MMMM

2016 MMMM notes

Musical taste and experience vary. You may not have heard of some of the meta songs or bands, but they will always be gettable via an online search once you figure out what’s going on in the puzzle.

The first few metas will start off pretty easy. Difficulty will grow throughout the year, with a slight pullback in December.

The 2016 contest once again features a mega-meta, hidden in the 12 monthly puzzles. The 2016 mega-meta will be harder than last year’s. You can enter your solution to the mega-meta in the box at the right at any time during the year, and the scoring is the same as last year: The earlier you get the mega-meta, the more bonus points you get. Full details can be found in the Contest Rules.

Because the reward is so large for getting the mega-meta before the final puzzle, there may be some tricks designed to throw solvers off the track, like last year’s red herring. Consider yourself warned. Click here (SPOILER ALERT) for the write-up on last year’s mega-meta (and here for the 2014 mega-meta).

You need to get 9 out of 13 metas to qualify for the Grand Prize drawing.