The 'Shroom:Issue 235/Fun Stuff
Director's Notes
Greetings, beautiful 'Shroom readers! Welcome into the October offices of a frightful Fun Stuff! ...Well, admittedly, the decor's a little less "Halloween-y" than years past, but it's still the season for cobwebs, carved pumpkins, and lots and lots of candy! Hopefully your early autumn has treated you well, especially those of us with the opportunity to go walking through the leaves right now. What a glamorous month it is for the local trees.
As always, Fun Stuff is stocked full of great puzzles and challenges for you. Don't let me keep you any longer than necessary! All treats, no tricks - enjoy this edition of the 'Shroom!
Section of the Month
Congratulations to both FunkyK38 (talk) and Waluigi Time (talk) for a well-deserved first place tie, and extra kudos go to Sparks (talk) for a runner-up placement! Make sure to vote for your favorite Fun Stuff sections, this month and every month!
| FUN STUFF SECTION OF THE MONTH | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Section | Votes | % | Writer |
| 1st | Where in the Marioverse is Carmen Sandiego? | 4 | 19.05% | FunkyK38 (talk) |
| 1st | Musical Quiz | 4 | 19.05% | Waluigi Time (talk) |
| 2nd | Pixel Personas | 3 | 14.29% | Sparks (talk) |
Anagrams
Written by: BBQ Turtle (talk)
Hi everyone, welcome to October's edition of anagrams! Well, it's the spooky time of year, so I thought we'd go for a spooky theme- in this case, haunted houses! Also, I'll let you know that there are a few buildings in the list that are a little further away from houses- just so that doesn't scare you later. If you want to avoid the shock of the unknown by suggesting the them for next month on my talk page or in a PM to me on the forums- or you could scare someone else with a fiendish Mario-related anagram! Right, I'll cut my rambling short so that I don't put you into a zombie-like state, and let you have a scream solving these anagrams!
How it works...
Basically, this puzzle consists of solving the anagrams. Each month has a specific theme, which will give you a clue about what sort of words or phrases the anagrams will be. I've also included the boxes that the anagrams will fit into, so you'll be able to tell how many words it will solve to be and how many letters will be in each word, which should give you a hand too. You'll also notice that within each set of boxes, one of the squares is a ? Block. As you solve each anagram, note down the letter which appear on the ? Blocks, and if you can solve all of the anagrams, you'll also get a bonus anagram to solve from completing all of the others. I've included the letter configuration for this one at the bottom too, just to give you an extra helping hand. Best of luck!
1. THROTTLES EARS
2. A COARSE NOURISHMENT
3. ALONG MY MOOR
4. STONEWARE THUD
5.CELERY PEEP SET
6. OUTWEIGH HILTS
7. MINI SOULS GAIN
8. SHAGGY OX TALLY
9. RECYCLE TAPES
10. COOL BROTHER SOARS
11. MIND AT SNOWIEST
12. MANIC OBOE
Bonus anagram:
- The Last Resort
- Treacherous Mansion
- Gloomy Manor
- Haunted Towers
- Creepy Steeple
- Twilight House
- Luigi's Mansion
- Ghostly Galaxy
- Creepy Castle
- Boo's Horror Castle
- Twisted Mansion
- Boo Cinema
Bonus anagram: Big Boo's Haunt
Crossword
Written by: MarioMorty (talk)
Thank you for tuning back into Crosswords, everyone! This month, we'll be focusing on the music of the Mario franchise, so you'll have to remember the titles of songs as well as some facts associated with them! From chiptune to big bands, a wide range of musical Mario memory will be required to solve this one. With that, enjoy, and I'll see you again at the turn of the season!
Welcome back to Picross! It's the 10th anniversary of Paper Mario: Color Splash this month, and so this set of picrosses is themed around that game. Paper Mario: Color Splash was my first Paper Mario game, so I have some fond memories of it, and I like it despite its downsides. It has its moments, I'll say that much. Anyway, let's get into the picrosses!
For anyone who isn’t already familiar with picross, here’s a tutorial on how to play:
Let’s use this 5x5 picross as an example, and I’ll show my process of solving it step by step, explaining my rationale for every step as I go along.
The obvious first move here is to fill the middle row, denoted with the number “5”. Since this is a 5x5 grid, filling five squares of any row or column would fill every square in the row. (As a general tip, the first move you’ll want to do when solving any picross is to look for rows and columns with the number of columns or rows of the grid, or any rows / columns with a “0” (as that means no squares are filled in).
There are several moves that we can do next, but the one I chose to do next is as pictured above. The second-to-left column has the numbers “1 3”. Each number denoted the number of consecutive squares filled, with there being at least 1 blank square between them. So, using quick math, we can deduce that 1 filled square + 1 blank square + 3 filled squares = 5 squares. Thus, we can confidently fill in the full column.
We can repeat the same for the second-to-right column.
We can apply the same logic to the middle column, i.e. 1 filled square + 1 blank square + 1 filled square + 1 blank square + 1 filled square = 5 squares.
Alternatively, since the bottom row has two filled squares with a blank square between them, and is denoted with the number “3”, then that means that there must be three consecutive squares. Thus, the square in between must be filled. The same logic can be applied to the top row.
Next, let’s take a look at the rows. Both the top and bottom rows are now complete, so the rest of the squares in each row can be marked as blank. The same goes for the second-to-bottom row.
We’re almost done now! Let’s take a look at the second-to-top row, which has two unmarked squares. Since the row is denoted as “1 1”, that means there are two single squares with one or more blank squares between them. There are only two unmarked squares here, so these must be filled.
And voilà! We’ve solved the picross and have been rewarded with a mushroom!
Hopefully, this tutorial was helpful. If you’re still a bit confused, the best practice is to actually solve picrosses on your own! A lot of the tips and tricks I showed here come down to intuition and practice. There are more advanced ones, but I’ll leave you to discover those on your own. Here’s just a few strategies you’ll want to keep in mind when solving picrosses:
- Start by filling in numbers corresponding to the amount of rows or columns (or zeroes). For example, for a 10x10 picross, this would not only count rows / columns marked with “10”, but also ones marked with, say, “4 5” or “2 3 3”. This is because you have to account for the blank space of at least one square, and with quick math (4 filled squares + 1 blank + 5 filled = 10; 2 filled + 1 blank + 3 filled + 1 blank + 3 filled = 10), you can deduce the specific square that you should and shouldn’t fill in.
- Always stick to steps that you are 100% certain of. Every strategy I’ve shown in my example is based on elimination and finding squares which I could fill in for certain. Although it may be tempting to take a chance, it could end up being a mistake, and without a mistake-checker of some sort, it can be difficult to figure out where it is, and you might even have to restart.
- Use process of elimination to determine squares which can 100% be filled in. If there’s a certain row whose numbers don’t quite add up to the number of rows or columns, but are pretty close; or you have a lot of crossed out spaces in that row or column, identify every possible solution to that row or column, and determine if there are any filled / unfilled squares in common between all of them. If so, you can 100% fill those in.
- Lastly, while there can be multiple ways to solve a picross, each picross has only one solution. Each of the ways you can solve a picross leads to the same solution. You can try the example picross on your own and experiment with different steps, but you’ll find that the end result is the same.
I hope those tips proved helpful! As I mentioned before, though, the best way to improve is to play some picrosses on your own. Mario's Picross and Mario's Super Picross are a great place to start, and there are numerous other picross games and websites that you can find with a quick Google search.
Lastly, if you want to solve the picrosses from this section, all you need to do is download the images. You can either open them in your image editing program of choice, or you can print them out and solve them with pen and paper. Happy solving!
Level A
Level B
Level C
Thank you for playing Picross! See you next month for more.
Hiding Koopa
Written by: Waluigi Time (talk)
Hello there, 'Shroom readers! Welcome to a spooooky edition of Hiding Koopa... This month, five Koopas are hidden in this artwork from Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping! I did the first game in the series earlier this year, so why not tackle the sequel too? I really wish they'd make a third game to resolve that cliffhanger, but the developers are working on something else at the moment, so... who knows. But you don't have to wait for this edition, because you can play it right now! Start looking!
Thanks for playing! Did you find them all?
Pixel Personas
Welcome one and all to a very spooky and scary edition of Pixel Personas! It's going to be Halloween in about 2 weeks so it makes sense, right? Don't worry, there won't be any sudden scares.
New to Pixel Personas? Here's what it's about: Pixel Personas is a game played in three rounds. In each round, I'll show an image of a Super Mario character (this includes enemies), but they're all pixelated! You (the readers) must analyze and identify who these characters are. Each round is tougher than the last, with more lesser-known characters and larger pixels, making it more difficult to tell who it is. After you make your guess, click/tap onhover over the card the image is on to flip it over and reveal the character!
Now let's see if you can unmask these creepy characters Scooby-Doo style! Go!
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
They would've gotten away with their disguises if it wasn't for you! Happy early Halloween and enjoy your candy, kids!
Riddle Moves
Written by: Sentient freedom (talk)
Hi everyone! So today is the spooky month, so as a result, today's move is going to be a fitting one. Here goes!
How it works:
Below will be a riddle relating to a random Pokémon move; the chosen move will not be a Z-Move, a Max move, any of the moves that are exclusive to the Starmobiles, or any of the two Tera moves. What you have to do is use the information provided by the riddle to piece together what the move may be. I will tell you the move's type, so you can think about it a bit more. Anyway, enough talking! Here's the riddle, let's see how sharp your knowledge is!
Type: Ghost
"I send out a bunch of spirits from the afterlife to haunt the life out of my targets. What am I?"
This is the signature move of a Pokémon that is too OP for its own good.
It used to be weaker than a similar move of its kind.
Just like Close Combat, this move is very popular in VGC.
Astral Barrage
So, how did you do? Did you manage to get it right? Well, regardless, thanks for playing, and I will see you next month to test your move knowledge again.
Where in the Marioverse is Carmen Sandiego?
Each issue, you will be given a case to solve and clues to use to help you find the solution! Use your Mario knowledge to crack the case!
You will begin each case at the scene of the crime, and you will be given three clues from passerby as to where the next hot spot is and what game it’s from. Using your knowledge of Mario games and the Super Mario Wiki, figure out where the crook is and go track them down! There are four locations each round: the crime scene (1) at the start, two locations (2 and 3) with clues, and the hideout for the crook of the month (4). Answers for locations will be given with the corresponding round, for example, the clues from the crime scene will lead you to location 2, and once you open the spoiler bubbles for location 2, you will be given the correct answer. You can open the clues for each location in any order you’d like, but be careful! You may encounter an incorrect clue that could throw you off the case!
Clues offered will give you a hint either about the next location or the game it’s in. Unlike a regular Carmen Sandiego game, you do not have to collect information about the crook you are tracking down.
Challenge round (optional):
-Find all locations and games correctly in two minutes or less
-Find all locations and games correctly without using the rest of the Wiki for help
"Seems we have another issue of real estate plundering, gumshoe! Mario and Luigi have approached us- or rather, Mario shoved Luigi to us as he dug his heels into the ground- as someone has made off with the keys and land deed to Luigi's mansion! I'm sure you already know about the mansion- it starred as the setting to the game of the same name, where Luigi was gifted the mansion as a contest prize- all for it to be a trap for King Boo to kidnap Mario and hold him hostage inside a painting! With courage and technology, Luigi was able to defeat the evil ghost king and rescue his brother. It seems that he has been dragging his feet during the renovation of the mansion, and someone was able to sneak in and nab the important documents! Mario pushed him to report the crime to us right away, and we are dispatching you to get to work tracking down our culprit. It's time to save our spooky real estate from the clutches of this crafty criminal!"
|
Crime Scene |
The Crime
|
CLUE 1
|
CLUE 2
|
CLUE 3
|
|
Location 2 |
CORRECT ANSWER
|
CLUE 1
|
CLUE 2
|
CLUE 3
|
|
Location 3 |
CORRECT ANSWER
|
CLUE 1
|
CLUE 2
|
CLUE 3
|
CASE CLOSED
HIDEOUT ANSWER:
Maple Treeway from Mario Kart Wii 
"Another case solved, gumshoe, and not a moment too soon! It seems our culprit was a Toad who had been drafted by King Boo to steal the paperwork and ownership of the mansion back for the Boos to enjoy. While Luigi may be a hesitant owner, all of his hard work rescuing Mario and keeping King Boo at bay shouldn't be overlooked. It doesn't appear that Carmen had anything to do with this, so we can safely write it off as a one-off crime. Mario is going to help Luigi handle King Boo, and they are moving forward with the renovation as planned, with some help from Professor E. Gadd to offset anymore ghostly pranks or crimes. Your fee has been paid in full, so it's time to head back to HQ to get caught up on your case files, gumshoe! We'll be in touch for your next assignment."
Musical Quiz
Written by: Ninja Squid (talk)
Greetings, 'Shroom readers! Welcome to an all-new Musical Quiz!
Looks like there was indeed a shadowy purple figure that came in my office while I was out, and what a mess they left! There are Super Arrow merch everywhere, and the banner above was all messed up. I just finished cleaning it, but there is still a bit more cleaning to be done on my desk. Looks like Halloween tricks arrived earlier than I thought they would this year. Oh well, it doesn't matter, I still have two weeks to take a bit of revenge. Just wait and see, the Director office will soon have a big overflow of Draq merch! >:-)
Returning to our main topic here, the usual rules applies as usual: Can you take a guess at which games the tracks below come from? Oh, and since this is our Halloween month, all of the soundtracks are themed around haunted areas or Boos!
 Song No.1 | File info |
| Song No.2 | File info |
| Song No.3 | File info |
| Song No.4 | File info |
| Song No.5 | File info |
| Song No.6 | File info |
| Song No.7 | File info |
| Song No.8 | File info |
- Mario Kart 64 (Banshee Boardwalk)
- Wario World (Horror Manor (outside))
- Super Mario Galaxy (Kingfin)
- Mario Power Tennis / New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis (Luigi's Mansion Court)
- Paper Mario: Sticker Star (The Enigmansion)
- Mario Party 9 (Battle with King Boo!)
- Super Mario 3D World (Captain Toad Plays Peek-a-Boo)
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (Poshley Sanctum)
How well did you do? Thanks again for playing Musical Quiz, and come back next month!
Trivia
Written by: Harold Harefoot (talk)
Spooky Season... Demons is really good... Everyone should go see it... Why were the theater doors boarded up??? Ocarina of Time soon.... did you know?
- That a rejected pitch for Super Mario Bros. 3 included a power-up that turned Mario into a centaur?
- That the Goomba Shoe isn't mentioned in the Super Mario Bros. 3 instructional manual or the Virtual Console operations guide?
- That Diddy Kong was originally a redesigned Donkey Kong Jr.?
- That Super Mario World was originally going to have Toad Houses?
- That until the 1860 Presidential vote, South Carolina didn't do a popular vote; rather, their electors for the electoral college were selected by the State Legislature?
- That at one point in the development of Donkey Kong Country, a giraffe Animal Buddy was pitched?
- That the PS1 game Croc originally started its life as a rejected 3D Yoshi game?
'Shroom Quiz
It's time for another issue of 'Shroom Quiz! Even though Halloween is coming up, the spooky stuff will be covered in Issue 234, so we do have a normal Fun Stuff section amongst the Halloween-themed ones.
For those of you who haven't played before, let me explain how this all works! I'm going to ask you 12 questions about sections submitted for Issue 234. All of these questions have to deal with either "Fake News", "Fun Stuff", "Palette Swap", "Pipe Plaza", "Critic Corner" and "Strategy Wing". All features get 2 questions each.
If you're struggling, I have provided two hints below each question. The first hint is about the answer, and the second one explains where to find the answer! Don't be afraid to use hints if you need them! Say it with me now:
IT'S!! 'SHROOM!! QUIZ!! TIME!!!
QUESTION #1: Viola Shipman wrote what book promised as a "sharp, witty, and delightful family drama"?
This 335-page book does not deliver on that claim, unfortunately.
Answer: The Page Turner
QUESTION #2: For just 20 coins, you can purchase what food item from Hotel Mario?
Found in Roy's Hardbrick Hotel, this item became involved in a meme because of one of Mario's silly quotes.
You know what they say: head to Fake News to get the help you need from TheBlueCatMenace's The Bar D. Jokue Travel Guide!
Answer: Bowser's Sourpuss Bread
QUESTION #3: What is the premium currency for the now defunct Mario Kart Tour?
These are shiny red gems with ? marks on them. What are they called?
Answer: Ruby
QUESTION #4: Toy Time Galaxy is infamous for having what hard-to-control power-up?
It lets you jump super duper high, but it's very odd.
Relieve your childhood by venturing to Fake News to check out BigBoom1946's Star Ratings section!
Answer: Spring Mushroom
QUESTION #5: When Luoyang was secured, the brother of Dong Zhuo was captured in the process. What is his name?
He shares the same first name with his brother, but not the last name!
Harold Harefoot (talk) provides details of the attack in his Strategy Wing section, So You Want to Romance the Three Kingdoms?
Answer: Dong Min
QUESTION #6: Obtaining almost 51% of the total votes, what was the most popular option for Ninja Squid (talk)'s "Favorite Koopaling fight" poll for Super Mario Bros. Wonder + Meetup in Bellabel Park?
This is what happens when there's a poll right when Nintendo Switch 2 DLC for an existing game releases...
Check out The Shadow Prince (talk)'s Poll Committee Discussion section in Pipe Plaza for the solution! He even made nice tables!
Answer: I have not played this game.
QUESTION #7: What LazyTown villain disguised himself as a pirate to encourage Stephanie and her friends to go on a treasure hunt?
Let's just say... he's number 1!
The treasure (answer) lies at my Random Video Analysis section in the island of Palette Swap!
Answer: Robbie Rotten
QUESTION #8: What is the name of the main villain in Super Mario RPG?
This guy has a gang named after him!
I use "Guide" to direct you towards MarioMorty (talk)'s Fun Stuff section, Crossword!
Answer: Smithy
QUESTION #9: What Pokémon move allows a Pokémon to perform a random move that the party has learned?
This move is similar to Metronome, but it can't call any move in the entire game.
His Pokémon Academy section may have concluded, but Hooded Pitohui (talk) still has a Strategy Wing section all about the cute creatures! This one's Move Reminder.
Answer: Assist
QUESTION #10: Based on the To-Do template, which category continues to shrink?
The team behind this is really putting in the work! It's at about. 600 now, down from 640.
Need some help? Camwoodstock (talk) has got your back with Pipe Plaza's To-Do Tracker!
Answer: Media Needed
QUESTION #11: In Minecraft, which mode allows the player to have godlike powers so they can do whatever they want?
The other mode is called "Survival", but what about when you wanna build stuff without restrictions?
Answer: Creative
QUESTION #12: What is the name of the friendly sea monster who helped Cayde save Zerris from the Bony Brigadier?
This character appeared in various community events before the story. She's also green...
See the adventure for yourself in Palette Swap's Too Bad, Storytime! A collaboration by Waluigi Time (talk) and MightyMario (talk)
Answer: Shippy
Nicely done! But how many questions did you get right? For each question you answer, I'll give you one point. Below are ranks based on how many questions you got right:
- 10-12 points - 'Shroom Expert
- 7-9 points - 'Shroom Pro
- 4-6 points - 'Shroom Veteran
- 1-3 points - 'Shroom Novice
If you managed to answer every question correctly without using any hints, then congratulations! You are a 'Shroom Master! Hooded Pitohui's created much better rank titles, but these ones still suffice. 'Shroom Quiz will get its one-month late Halloween edition in November, so stay tuned for that! See ya!
| The 'Shroom: Issue 235 | |
|---|---|
| Staff sections | Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight • Poochy's Picks • Credits |
| Features | Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing |