2017 Mega-Meta

31 Dec

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The final contest puzzle of 2017 is now published – you can find it hereThe meta for this puzzle is the mega-meta for 2017, a popular song from the ’70s. Enter your solution to the meta in the box below, where you can also rate the puzzle and/or leave a comment. The submission deadline is 11pm Sunday, December 31.

Note:  Because so many people have gotten the mega-meta, there’s an extra two-point bonus available this month. Three words in the grid that do not have starred clues are related to the mega-meta. Submit them along with the mega-meta answer to earn the bonus. If you’ve already solved the mega-meta, you just need to submit the three bonus words. 

Click + to see notes on the 2017 MMMM

 

2017 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 2017 contest once again features a mega-meta, hidden in the 12 monthly puzzles. Similar to last year, puzzle clues marked with (***) indicate a connection to the mega-meta. It’s up to you to figure out what’s going on. 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 solve 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. Consider yourself warned. Click here (SPOILER ALERT) for the write-up on last year’s mega-meta (and here for the 2015 mega-meta).

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

This contest is now closed. The solution will be published on Tuesday.