Conundrum: Pic Tac Toe in 3D, Part V
Has it really been almost a year since we’ve had a 3D Pic Tac Toe?
In a normal “Pic Tac Toe” puzzle, there are nine pictures in a 3×3 grid, like Tic-Tac-Toe. In each of the three rows, three columns, and two diagonals, there is a common theme that unites the three pictures. The challenge is to find the eight themes.
In this “Pic Tac Toe” puzzle, however, there are twenty-seven pictures in a 3x3x3 grid, like a Rubik’s Cube. In each of the nine rows, nine columns, nine pillars, eighteen lateral diagonals, and four cross-cube diagonals, there is a common theme that unites the three pictures. The challenge is to find the forty-nine themes.
Imagine stacking the three levels below on top of one another. For reference, and notation guidelines, check out my last 3D Pic Tac Toe, including the comments. The rules here are identical to that puzzle.
You can click on each image to see a larger version:
Top Level – Level A
Middle Level – Level B
Bottom Level – Level C
Please post whatever you come up with in the comments section.
Enjoy!
UPDATE: Correct themes provided by Neel Mehta (37), ArtVark (4), and Billie (8). Alternate themes suggested by Billie (2), Neel Mehta (3), and Annalisa (1). See comments for all answers.
June 9th, 2009 at 8:27 am
What a way to bring me out of hibernation.
A1-B5-C9: KEVIN SPACEY (The Usual Suspects, Glengarry Glen Ross, L.A. Confidential)
A2-A5-A8: SKETCH COMEDY (Mad TV, The Kids in the Hall, SNL)
A3-A5-A7: THE KIDS IN THE HALL
A7-A8-A9: FOLEY (Dave Foley, Matt Foley, Scott Foley)
A7-B7-C7: THE DAILY SHOW (Rob Corddry, Steve Carell, Colbert/Stewart)
A7-B8-C9: LOS ANGELES (LA Times, Escape from LA, LA Confidential)
A9-B6-C3: UNIFORMS?
B2-B5-B8: VIDEO/DVD COVERS?
B3-B5-B7: GET SMART (Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin, Johnson/Carell)
C7-C8-C9: ALL WHITE (on Jon Stewart, Ellen Barkin, Kim Basinger)
That’s enough for now.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
A9-B9-C9 –Colorful character names. (Cool Breeze Brown, Miss Scarlet, Bud White).
June 9th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
c1-c4-c7 guns
c4-c5-c6 facial hair
June 9th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
a6-b6-c6 shop
a5-b5-c5 glass
a1-a4-a7 Celebrity Poker hosts
June 9th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
a4-a5-a6 table
a8-b8-c8 bodies of water
June 10th, 2009 at 6:21 am
Wow, great job, guys!
All of these are correct, except for C1-C4-C7. I can give Billie an alternate answer credit for GUNS, but I have that somewhere else and something else here.
Otherwise, that’s six points for Billie, ten for Neel, and one for ArtVark. Seventeen down, thirty-two to go!
June 10th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Dude.
A9-B5-C1: DAVID MAMET (The Unit, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Untouchables
Also:
A2-B5-C8: -ARKIN (Stuart Larkin, Alan Arkin, Ellen Barkin)
A9-B8-C7: GUNS (unless Colbert is wearing something snake-related)
C1-C5-C9: DE SURNAME (De Niro/De Palma, DeLuise, DeVito)
June 10th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
All of those are correct. Four more points for Neel! Only 28 themes remain.
June 11th, 2009 at 4:03 am
A1-B2-C3 Michaels? Michael McManus, Michael Moore, Mickey Dolenz
June 11th, 2009 at 6:28 am
Yes! (I was actually looking at Michael Nesmith.)
June 11th, 2009 at 6:50 am
Speaking of…
C1-C2-C3: KNITTED HATS? (on Sean Connery, Woody Allen, Michael Nesmith)
More of a reach…
A6-B5-C4: AL? (Al Borland, Al Pacino, Al-Qaeda or Al-Jazeera)
B1-B2-B3: MAD MEN NAMES? (Ken/Paul/Salvatore, Roger, Betty)
June 11th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
C1-C2-C3: KNITTED HATS – Alternate answer credit, since I have CAPS somewhere else and something else here. Yours may be better for both, but I try not to repeat themes.
A6-B5-C4: AL – Yes! The original picture I was using for C4 had his full name: Saddam Husayn Al-Tikriti. That picture was chosen to resonate with A4, but in the end, I couldn’t find a B4 to cooperate.
B1-B2-B3: MAD MEN NAMES? (Ken/Paul/Salvatore, Roger, Betty) – Alternate answer credit, though having only 2/3 of a full-fledged Mad Men theme drives me nuts. For this one, we’re not looking at Betty, but rather the actress who plays her.
June 11th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
The following 26 themes remain unsolved:
Rows
A1-A2-A3
B1-B2-B3
B4-B5-B6
B7-B8-B9
C1-C2-C3
Columns
A3-A6-A9
B1-B4-B7
B3-B6-B9
C1-C4-C7
C2-C5-C8
C3-C6-C9
Pillars
A1-B1-C1
A2-B2-C2
A3-B3-C3
A4-B4-C4
Lateral Diagonals
A1-A5-A9
B1-B5-B9
C3-C5-C7
A3-B2-C1
A4-B5-C6
A1-B4-C7
A7-B4-C1
A8-B5-C2
A3-B6-C9
Cross-Cube Diagonals
A3-B5-C7
A7-B5-C3
June 11th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
C1-C4-C7 — Wanted by the US Government? (Al Capone, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden)
June 11th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
I was going for EVILDOERS, but yours is probably more objective. Point for ArtVark!
June 12th, 2009 at 5:04 am
C3-C6-C9 — Doubles? Double breasted shirts, “Take 2” double feature, 2 disc set.
June 12th, 2009 at 9:13 am
B1-B2-B3: ALLITERATIVE NAMES (Bryan Batt, Michael Moore, January Jones)
B7-B8-B9: EYEWEAR (goggles, patch, glasses)
C3-C5-C7: CAPS (by default, I think)
June 12th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
All of these are correct! So that’s another one for ArtVark, and three more for Neel. Only 21 themes remain.
June 12th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
B1-B5-B9: Food names? Jon Hamm, Jack Lemon, Professor Plum
June 12th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Now I’m just guessing.
A1-B1-C1: LINEUPS?
A3-A6-A9: PRIME TIME TV? (Slings and Arrows, Home Improvement, The Unit)
A4-B4-C4: EMBLEMS ON OUTERWEAR?
June 12th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
B1-B5-B9: Food names? – That’s a great theme, but Jon Hamm is not pictured. Pity, because this is one of the lamer themes of the puzzle. It has to do with what people are wearing.
A1-B1-C1: LINEUPS? – No. This one also has to do with what people are wearing, and yet, it is not lame. Go figure.
A3-A6-A9: PRIME TIME TV? – No. I actually like this theme, but I admit that it’s very difficult. There is an item pictured in A6 with a connection to the other two pictures for people who know the shows.
A4-B4-C4: EMBLEMS ON OUTERWEAR – Yes, point for Neel. 20 themes remain.
June 12th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
I’m not familiar with Slings and Arrows (is that the show depicted?) or The Unit, so I probably won’t get A3-A6-A9.
A1-B1-C1: WATCHES? (on Spacey, Sommer/Batt, De Niro)
B1-B5-B9: MEN IN SUITS?
Also…
A1-B4-C7: STEVEN/STEPHEN (Stephen Baldwin, Stargate: Atlantis character Steven Caldwell, Stephen Colbert)
June 12th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
I’m not familiar with Slings and Arrows (is that the show depicted?) or The Unit, so I probably won’t get A3-A6-A9.
Yeah, it’s Slings & Arrows. That’s Richard Smith-Jones (Mark McKinney) bonding with Sanjay (Colm Feore) from Froghammer, an advertising agency hired by the New Burbage Shakespeare Festival to boost ticket sales. Puzzle aside, it’s definitely work checking out.
A1-B1-C1: WATCHES – No. I’ll give you an alternate answer credit, but I have something much better here.
B1-B5-B9: MEN IN SUITS? – Close enough. I was going for TIES. You reach a point in this process where that seems like a good theme.
A1-B4-C7: STEVEN/STEPHEN (Stephen Baldwin, Stargate: Atlantis character Steven Caldwell, Stephen Colbert) – Yes.
18 themes remain.
June 12th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
The following 18 themes remain unsolved:
Rows
A1-A2-A3
B4-B5-B6
C1-C2-C3
Columns
A3-A6-A9
B1-B4-B7
B3-B6-B9
C2-C5-C8
Pillars
A1-B1-C1
A2-B2-C2
A3-B3-C3
Lateral Diagonals
A1-A5-A9
A3-B2-C1
A4-B5-C6
A7-B4-C1
A8-B5-C2
A3-B6-C9
Cross-Cube Diagonals
A3-B5-C7
A7-B5-C3
June 13th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
A1-B1-C1: The only other things I see them “wearing” are SERIOUS EXPRESSIONS (not a smile among them) and RINGS.
June 13th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
They are all wearing PINKY RINGS. Point for Neel.
June 17th, 2009 at 8:33 am
The pillar A2-B2-C2 is somewhat frustrating. Mo Collins and Michael Moore were on Arrested Development, and the former (but not the latter) was also on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Michael McDonald has directed some TV, but I doubt that’s your intended theme.
A1-A2-A3: McSURNAME? (Michael McManus, Michael McDonald, Mark McKinney)
A3-B2-C1: SMITH? (Richard Smith-Jones, Roger Smith, Charles Martin Smith)
A3-B3-C3: JONES? (Richard Smith-Jones, January Jones, Davy Jones)
B3-B6-B9: CARPET? (Not sure if that’s carpet in B6. And do I need to know who that is in B3 between Melissa George and Anne Hathaway?)
June 18th, 2009 at 6:43 am
A2-B2-C2: You don’t need to know who any of the people are for this theme.
A1-A2-A3: McSURNAME? (Michael McManus, Michael McDonald, Mark McKinney) – Yes.
A3-B2-C1: SMITH? (Richard Smith-Jones, Roger Smith, Charles Martin Smith) – Yes.
A3-B3-C3: JONES? (Richard Smith-Jones, January Jones, Davy Jones) – Yes.
B3-B6-B9: CARPET? – Yes. (It’s Anna Paquin, but I think you’ve got all of the themes for this picture now.)
Four more points for Neel! 13 themes remain.
Rows
B4-B5-B6
C1-C2-C3
Columns
A3-A6-A9
B1-B4-B7
C2-C5-C8
Pillars
A2-B2-C2
Lateral Diagonals
A1-A5-A9
A4-B5-C6
A7-B4-C1
A8-B5-C2
A3-B6-C9
Cross-Cube Diagonals
A3-B5-C7
A7-B5-C3
June 18th, 2009 at 8:09 am
That’s Anna Paquin? I thought Amy Sedaris got Botox.
A2-B2-C2: RED? (T-shirt, plush chair, ambulance)
B4-B5-B6: BALD MEN?
June 18th, 2009 at 9:51 am
A2-B2-C2: RED? – Nope. Getting warmer, though.
B4-B5-B6: BALD MEN? – Yes! 12 themes remain.
June 18th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
A3-A6-A9: Open? Open mouths/shirt/vehicle?
June 18th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
a2-b2-c2 plaid
June 18th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
a7-b5-c3 Dave/Davey (Foley, Moss, Jones)
c1-c2-c3 buttons?
June 18th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
A3-A6-A9: Open? – That holds up, so an alternate answer credit for Annalisa. I really like my theme for this, but I’m hoping it isn’t too difficult for people who haven’t seen the shows. After all, Unit member callsigns are easily found on Wikipedia, aren’t they?
A2-B2-C2: Plaid – Yes. Nice job, Billie. Thanks for loosening the cap, Neel.
A7-B5-C3: Dave – Yes!
C1-C2-C3: Buttons – Alternate answer credit. My answer is also a visual element.
Nice work, guys. Only 10 themes left!
June 20th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I would not have come up with this without your many hints. I looked up The Unit in IMDb instead, where the only callsigns provided were “Snake Doctor” and “Cool Breeze.”
A3-A6-A9: HAMMER (Froghammer, ball peen hammer, Hammerhead)
A4-B5-C6: JACK (of Spades, Lemmon, Nicholson)
A7-B4-C1: ROB/ROBERT (Corddry, Picardo, De Niro)
June 20th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
All of these are correct. Well done, Neel!
Only 7 themes remain:
A8-B5-C2
C1-C2-C3
A3-B6-C9
A1-A5-A9
B1-B4-B7
C2-C5-C8
A3-B5-C7
June 21st, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Looks like I’m having a real problem with C2. Why that picture? I’m not seeing it yet. As far as I can tell, I can’t make use of Woody Allen, Larry David, or Whatever Works.
A8-B5-C2: TRANSPORTATION? (van, car, ambulance)
C1-C2-C3: CITY BACKDROP?
C2-C5-C8: RED? (worth another try)
Other lame guesses…
A1-A5-A9: ALTERNATE NAMES? (Keyser Soze, sketch comedy characters, callsigns)
A3-B5-C7: HOLES? (in decorative sculpture, in glass, wall recesses)
A3-B6-C9: PHOTOS? (poster on wall, postcard, of detectives)
B1-B4-B7: RICH/RICHARD? (Sommer, Woolsey, Agent 23’s real name?)
June 21st, 2009 at 5:23 pm
A8-B5-C2: TRANSPORTATION? (van, car, ambulance) – Yes.
C1-C2-C3: CITY BACKDROP? – Yes.
C2-C5-C8: RED? – No. The four people pictured share a biographical detail.
A1-A5-A9: ALTERNATE NAMES? – Clever, but no. Back to wardrobe on this one.
A3-B5-C7: HOLES? – Neel, this isn’t quite right, but I’m going to give it to you because it’s kind of on the right track and to draw this theme out would be tedious. It’s things that are FRAGILE (ceramic sculptures, broken glass, china plate/decorative egg)
A3-B6-C9: PHOTOS? (poster on wall, postcard, of detectives) – Yes!
B1-B4-B7: RICH/RICHARD? – No. The three pictures share an odd visual element. It doesn’t stand out in any one picture, but when seen together, it struck me as a common theme.
So that’s four more points for Neel, and only 3 themes remain:
A1-A5-A9
B1-B4-B7
C2-C5-C8
June 21st, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Ah.
A1-A5-A9: VESTS?
B1-B4-B7: FLUORESCENT LIGHTING?
C2-C5-C8: BORN IN NYC?
June 21st, 2009 at 6:18 pm
And we’re all done! Nice work, Neel! Congratulations to you and to everyone who stopped by to work on the puzzle.
A full set of answers and picture credits will be posted soon.
June 21st, 2009 at 7:37 pm
This is the first of the 3D puzzles to be solved in its entirety. I take that as a sign that we’re getting better at this.
Just for closure, and to have everything in one place, here’s a recap of all of the answers. Enjoy!
Answers
Rows
A1-A2-A3: M. McSURNAME (Michael McManus, Michael McDonald, Mark McKinney)
A4-A5-A6: TABLE (Pictured)
A7-A8-A9: FOLEY (Dave Foley, Matt Foley, Scott Foley)
B1-B2-B3: ALLITERATIVE NAMES (Bryan Batt, Michael Moore, January Jones)
B4-B5-B6: BALD (Mitch Pileggi/Robert Picardo, Ed Harris/Alan Arkin/Alec “Bald”win, Sutton)
B7-B8-B9: DISTINCTIVE EYEWEAR (Goggles, Eyepatch, Monocle)
C1-C2-C3: BACKGROUND BUILDINGS (Pictured)
C4-C5-C6: MUSTACHIOED MEN (Saddam Hussein, Dom DeLuise, Jack Nicholson)
C7-C8-C9: DRESSED IN WHITE (Jon Stewart, Ellen Barkin, Kim Basinger)
Columns
A1-A4-A7: CELEBRITY POKER SHOWDOWN HOSTS (Kevin Pollak, Phil Gordon, Dave Foley)
A2-A5-A8: RECURRING CHARACTERS IN SKETCH COMEDY SHOWS (Stuart Larkin from Mad TV, Cabbagehead from The Kids in the Hall, Matt Foley from Saturday Night Live)
A3-A6-A9: HAMMER (Froghammer, Ball peen hammer, Hammerhead)
B1-B4-B7: FLUORESCENT LIGHTING (Pictured)
B2-B5-B8: DVD EMBLEM (Pictured)
B3-B6-B9: CARPET (Pictured)
C1-C4-C7: EVILDOERS (Al Capone, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden)
C2-C5-C8: BORN IN NEW YORK CITY (Woody Allen/Larry David, Dom DeLuise, Ellen Barkin)
C3-C6-C9: DOUBLE (Double-breasted shirts, “Take 2″ double feature, 2-Disc Special Edition)
Pillars
A1-B1-C1: PINKY RINGS (on Fenster, Sal, Capone)
A2-B2-C2: PLAID (on Stuart Larkin, Michael Moore, Larry David)
A3-B3-C3: JONES (Richard Smith-Jones, January Jones, Davy Jones)
A4-B4-C4: SHIRT EMBLEMS (worn by Phil Gordon, Mitch Pileggi, Saddam Hussein)
A5-B5-C5: GLASS (Pictured)
A6-B6-C6: SHOP (Workshop, Army/Navy Shop, Little Shop of Horrors)
A7-B7-C7: THE DAILY SHOW (Rob Corddry, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert/Jon Stewart)
A8-B8-C8: BODIES OF WATER (“River”, Pictured, Ocean’s Thirteen)
A9-B9-C9: COLORFUL CHARACTER NAMES (Brown/Grey/Betty Blue, Scarlet/Green/White, Bud White).
Lateral Diagonals
A1-A5-A9: VESTS (on Kevin Spacey, Scott Thompson, Dennis Haysbert)
A3-A5-A7: MEMBERS OF THE KIDS IN THE HALL (Mark McKinney, Bruce McCulloch/Scott Thompson/Kevin McDonald, Dave Foley)
B1-B5-B9: RED TIES (on Sal, Blake, Col. Mustard)
B3-B5-B7: CAST OF GET SMART (Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin, Dwayne Johnson/Steve Carell)
C1-C5-C9: DeSURNAME (Robert De Niro, Dom DeLuise, Danny DeVito)
C3-C5-C7: CAPS (on Michael Nesmith, Dom DeLuise, Jon Stewart)
A1-B2-C3: MICHAEL (Michael McManus, Michael Moore, Michael Nesmith)
A3-B2-C1: SMITH (Richard Smith-Jones, Roger Smith, Charles Martin Smith)
A4-B5-C6: JACK (Jack of Spades, Jack Lemmon, Jack Nicholson)
A6-B5-C4: AL (Al Borland, Al Pacino, Saddam Hussein Al-Tikriti)
A7-B8-C9: LOS ANGELES (Los Angeles Times, Escape from L.A., L.A. Confidential)
A9-B8-C7: GUNS (Pictured)
A1-B4-C7: STEPHEN (Stephen Baldwin, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Colbert)
A7-B4-C1: ROBERT (Rob Corddry, Robert Picardo, Robert De Niro)
A2-B5-C8: RHYMING NAMES (Stuart Larkin, Alan Arkin, Ellen Barkin)
A8-B5-C2: ROAD VEHICLES (Van, Car, Ambulance)
A3-B6-C9: PHOTOGRAPHS (poster on the wall, postcards, on the tray)
A9-B6-C3: UNIFORMS (Army, Navy, Monkee)
Cross-Cube Diagonals
A1-B5-C9: KEVIN SPACEY (Pictured in The Usual Suspects, Glengarry Glen Ross, L.A. Confidential)
A3-B5-C7: FRAGILE (Ceramic sculptures, Broken glass, China plate/Decorative egg)
A7-B5-C3: DAVE (Dave Foley, Dave Moss, Davy Jones)
A9-B5-C1: WRITTEN BY DAVID MAMET (The Unit, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Untouchables)
Picture Credits
Picture A1
Picture A2
Picture A3
Picture A4
Picture A5
Picture A6
Picture A7
Picture A8
Picture A9
Picture B1
Picture B2
Picture B3
Picture B4
Picture B5
Picture B6
Picture B7
Picture B8
Picture B9
Picture C1
Picture C2
Picture C3
Picture C4
Picture C5
Picture C6
Picture C7
Picture C8
Picture C9
June 19th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
Rayures verre…
Free advice on How to Fix Scratched Window Glass….