Conundrum: Pic Tac Toe in 3D!
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.
Oh, yeah. I went there.
You can click on each image to see a larger version:
Top Level
Middle Level
Bottom Level
Please post whatever you come up with in the comments section.
Enjoy!
UPDATE: Correct themes provided by Neel Mehta (30). Alternate themes suggested by Neel Mehta (5). See comments for all answers.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Okay. I want to praise you on your creation, but I can’t quite get a handle on what you did. Could you (or a more astute reader) explain what images I’m supposed to connect?
I assume each 3×3 level are Pic-Tac-Toe puzzles themselves, right? So a total of 9 rows, 9 columns, and 6 diagonals there. That’s the 2-D aspect of your work.
Now, how do I look at this three-dimensionally? Because a cube has 6 faces, which would seem to require 6 levels. (Not that I’m asking you to do that next time. Lord, no.) Do I connect them at a corner, like those schematics in the movie CONTACT, or an XYZ graph? Or, more likely, do I just stack each level on top of each other?
I guess I just want to make sure it’s the latter. So, for example, is one of your cross-cube diagonals supposed to unite Uncle Sam, MASH, and Justin Timberlake? And each pillar is supposed to unite the three pictures at a particular position, like the bottom left corner (The Specials, Caesar, Prison Break)?
Also, you may want to standardize how we name, say, the lateral diagonals. Even if I knew how to connect Dan Rather, MASH, and Designing Women, I wouldn’t know what to call that grouping. Central Lateral Diagonal, bottom to top?
Again, it seems very impressive, but until I wrap my mind around it, I’m not qualified to properly compliment it.
October 2nd, 2007 at 1:49 pm
You are SICK, Bill! I’m going to have to take off work! You know I’m not going to be able to sleep! Fabulous.
Neel, I color coded the 3 sets of images, so that there would be R1/R2/R3/C1/C2/C3/159/357 for each color (Pink/Blue/Yellow). So it’s complicated – you’re right! – but that yields all “cubes” with a 3D designation based on color: i.e. PR1, Y159, BC3. I have no idea if it’s going to work, but I think it will…
My brain hurts!!!!
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I’m glad color coding works for you, Annalisa, but it just makes me more confused.
Well, let me at least share what I know/guess.
TOP LEVEL
1. Top row: Americana (Uncle Sam, eagle, founding fathers)
2. Middle row: Carson (Daly, Kressley, Kit)
3. Bottom row: Presidential surnames (Kennedy, Carter, Lincoln)
4. Left column: red, white, and blue?
5. Middle column: straight? (but I don’t see how it applies to Designing Women)
6. Right column: hats?
7. 159 diagonal: recruiting? (though that’s not really how the Queer Eye guys work) Or maybe phonetic letters (You, Eye) but I don’t see how it applies to Abe.
8. 357 diagonal: really gay looking teams? And I mean that in the nicest way possible.
MIDDLE LEVEL
9. Top row: maps?
10. Middle row: Two relate to medicine, but…
11. Bottom row: outstretched bodies?
12. Left column: Gold (star, Oro, coin?)
13. Middle column: David (McCallum, Ogden Stiers, Blaine)
14. Right column: Two are hand drawn, but…
15. 159 diagonal:
16. 357 diagonal:
BOTTOM LEVEL
17. Top row: 3-letter acronyms? (NBA, CBS, HBO)
18. Middle row: Marlowe (Theatre, Philip, Christopher?)
19. Bottom row: TV shows? (Prison Break, The West Wing, SNL)
20. Left column:
21. Middle column:
22. Right column: Chris? (Moltisanti, Marlowe, Kringle or-tmas?)
23. 159 diagonal: Lake (Salt, Lady in the, Justin Timber-)
24. 357 diagonal: Murder mysteries?
PILLARS
25. Pictures 1: star? (Uncle Sam’s hat, sheriff badge, star of the team)
26. Pictures 2:
27. Pictures 3:
28. Pictures 4: -er? (Pronger, Manager, Croucher)
29. Pictures 5:
30. Pictures 6: Kit (Carson, First Aid, nickname)
31. Pictures 7:
32. Pictures 8: D names? (Delta, David, Dule)
33. Pictures 9:
MULTI-LEVEL LATERAL DIAGONALS:
34. Left lateral diagonal, top to bottom:
35. Left lateral diagonal, bottom to top:
36. Center lateral diagonal, top to bottom: Charles (Charley Straight, Charles Winchester III, Charlie Young)
37. Center lateral diagonal, bottom to top: CBS shows (Evening News, MASH, Designing Women)
38. Right lateral diagonal, top to bottom:
39. Right lateral diagonal, bottom to top: charities (Red Cross and Salvation Army, but I don’t see a connection to the founding fathers)
40. Top lateral diagonal, left to right: Uncle (Sam, Man from, Junior)
41. Top lateral diagonal, right to left:
42. Center lateral diagonal, left to right: Christopher (Pronger, William, Marlowe)
43. Center lateral diagonal, right to left:
44. Bottom lateral diagonal, left to right:
45. Bottom lateral diagonal, right to left:
CROSS CUBE DIAGONALS
46. Uncle Sam/MASH/Justin Timberlake: Army (U.S., army medics, Salvation)
47. Founding Fathers/MASH/Prison Break: There are 2 Dominics, but it’s Ben Franklin (the original, Hawkeye’s real name, C-Note’s real name — this was awesome, by the way)
48. Specials/MASH/Sopranos: Jamie (Kennedy, Farr, -Lynn Sigler)
49. Lincoln/MASH/Utah Jazz:
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Ah. Just realized that Pillar 4 (#28) is “A Streetcar Named Desire” character names (Stanley, Stella, Mitch). I was wondering why Stella was relevant.
October 2nd, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Neel, thanks for numbering the themes. That will make this much easier. When I was planning it, I gave each picture a number from 1-27, and then just used the three picture numbers – so your #28 was called 4-13-22. Either notation is fine.
Neel, you are correct on 1,2,3,6,9,11,12,13,17,23,30,36,37,40,42,46,47, and 48. Well done!
Your second answer for 28 was correct as well.
None of the themes are related to homosexuality.
The places where you don’t see a connection, the guess is wrong.
Maps is fine for 9, though all three maps do show the Florida coastline. In 11, the outstretched bodies are all inscribed in circles.
I’ll also give you an alternate answer credit for 22, since that totally holds up, but since that’s also the answer for 42, I was thinking of something else. I’ll also give you one for “MURDER” in 24 and “STAR” in 25, though I was thinking of something else. The two Dominics are actually in 24, but that’s not the answer either.
A great start!
October 2nd, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Ah, the map in the Man From U.N.C.L.E. picture is topsy-turvy. I thought that was Greenland.
As you can tell by my confusion with diagonals in the 3-D realm (Center lateral diagonal, bottom to top — that’s bottom row, not bottom level), I’m not particularly fond of my labels either. Your system is the more precise, but incredibly hard to visualize or apply. In your example, 4-13-22, it’s easy to think of the 4 but less so for 13 and 22.
A variation on your notation might employ letters, so that the top level is A1-A9, the middle level B1-B9, and bottom level C1-C9. The descriptions are just as precise, but easier to imagine (4-13-22 becomes A4-B4-C4). I think I’ll use that from now on, but still adhere to the 1-49 order above.
I’d like to see Ken Jennings visit here again, if only to offer his two cents on the best nomenclature.
October 2nd, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Also, am I correct in assuming that no themes within this puzzle are duplicated?
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:29 pm
In my solution, no themes are duplicated.
So even though CHRISTOPHER may work for C3-C6-C9, it’s not the solution because I also used that theme in A4-B5-C6.
Hey, you’re right… that is a useful notation!
I see another theme of mine that could be applied to a different 3 in a row, though the latter has a better solution.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:25 pm
45. C7-B8-A9: Lincoln (Burrows, Center, Abraham)
More later. Maybe.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Correct! Also, I accidently skipped over correct response 18 when reviewing your first salvo.
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:38 pm
26. A2-B2-C2: New York? (recording laboratory, agent headquarters, network news bureau)
31. A7-B7-C7: Buried treasure? (in the DVD pile, golden relic, Westmoreland’s $5 million)
49. A9-B5-C1: Titles? (President, Colonel/Major/Captain, Baron)
Or maybe captains, if AK-47 is the Jazz captain and one of those guys with Lincoln is a military captain.
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:05 pm
26. New York holds up, but that’s not the answer to this particular theme, so an alternate answer credit there. The answer has to do with my favorite line from the movie Johnny Dangerously.
31. Buried treasure is too much of a stretch in all three pictures (what DVD pile?). Take a look at the themes you’ve already solved for these pictures, and it may come to you.
49. Titles in general is too broad of a category, unless there were people who were known primarily by a title (Col. Sanders, Cap. Crunch, etc.). So Baron Davis would definitely fit a category like that, but the others wouldn’t really. There’s a better answer there. You’re already half way there having determined the necessary information to solve #23.
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:55 pm
The “buried in a DVD pile” thing was a joke. Few people have ever heard of that movie, despite its amazing star power. Clearly at this point I’m grasping at straws.
I’ve never seen “Johnny Dangerously,” and a quick scan through its IMDb quotes page didn’t help.
You may want to unleash this to the forums over the Ken Jennings blog; smarter people than me would love to take a crack at it.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:03 am
Neel, I just posted this link to the Ken Jennnings forum. Let’s see if we get any new participants. Also, Annalisa usually visits on Thursday mornings and she has a good eye.
Thanks for keeping the ball in the air for the past two days.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
The remaining themes are still unsolved:
A1-A4-A7
A2-A5-A8
A1-A5-A9
A3-A5-A7
B4-B5-B6
B3-B6-B9
B1-B5-B9
B3-B5-B7
C7-C8-C9
C1-C4-C7
C2-C5-C8
C3-C6-C9
C3-C5-C7
A1-B1-C1
A2-B2-C2
A3-B3-C3
A5-B5-C5
A7-B7-C7
A8-B8-C8
A9-B9-C9
A1-B4-C7
A7-B4-C1
A3-B6-C9
A9-B6-C3
A3-B2-C1
A6-B5-C4
A7-B8-C9
A9-B5-C1
October 5th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Silly me.
5. A2-A5-A8: Phonetic alphabet (Charley, Bravo, Delta)
24. C3-C5-C7: Robert (Iler, Montgomery, Knepper)
I knew taking some time off would help!
October 5th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
39. A3-B6-C9: buckles/fasteners? (Jefferson’s shoe, first aid bag, Santa’s belt)
October 6th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Yes, all of those are correct. Nicely done!
October 8th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Hey, in A3: is that 3rd guy Jefferson or Madison? All this time I assumed it was Jefferson. But if it’s Madison, then
27. A3-B3-C3: James (Madison, Island, Gandolfini)
Also, since I’m scraping the bottom of my brain matter:
19. C7-C8-C9: Crew cuts? Or -ill names?
Sorry, but I may have to give up on this.
October 8th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
The third guy in A3 is Thomas Jefferson. I’m not sure who the -ill name is in the Prison Break cast.
Don’t feel bad about giving up; there’s a lot going on here, and you’ve basically been working on your own. But at least your correct response of “Crew Cuts” puts you over the halfway mark.
I’ll try to post the answers by tomorrow evening.
October 8th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Wentworth Miller. I said it was a reach. I’m glad it was crew cuts; after guessing wrong on TV shows, I was running out of ideas (and hair).
So many times I would wonder: why THIS picture? Why not any map of Florida, or a picture of Christopher Marlowe, or any other depiction of Lincoln? I can’t begin to imagine how you came up with this puzzle, but for someone who can do a Shakespearean anagram every week, I shouldn’t be too surprised.
I’d ask for hints, but I’ve done nothing so far with the hints you’ve provided. I really wish this post received more attention.
October 9th, 2007 at 5:30 am
Thanks for your comments.
I think in a lot of cases, it is a good idea to ask: why THIS picture? Each of the twelve edge cubes has to fit four themes. The six central cubes have to fit five themes each. The eight corners each have to fit seven themes. And the center cube has to be flexible enough to accomodate thirteen themes. So each picture had to be chosen very carefully.
A few hints:
The war map has the name “John” on it. The field kit is made of canvas. Baron Davis is a point guard. HHOF stands for “Hockey Hall of Fame.” The text of the help wanted ad contains an element visible in the other two pictures. The coin commemorates Julius Caesar’s victory in war. The picture “Study of Proportions” was drawn by Da Vinci, who had a well-known physical feature. As you’ve already realized, the basketball game is in Salt Lake City. And as you suspected, I did not use a picture of Marlowe because the word “signature” is significant.
Of the seven themes related to “The Specials”, three of them play off of the name Jamie Kennedy. Three play off of the name Thomas Hayden Church. The seventh – and I tell you this because it’s the biggest stretch in the puzzle – is the word “Position”, which holds up better in the other two pictures than it does in this one.
That should help. Otherwise, I’ll post the answers later this evening if I get a chance.
October 9th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Thanks for jump-starting my mind again. My eyes were starting to glaze.
27. A3-B3-C3: Beatles (George, John, Paulie?)
If that’s correct, I would’ve never gotten it without the hint.
8. A3-A5-A7: Thom/as (Jefferson, Felicia, Haden Church)
I should’ve thought of that.
35. A7-B4-C1: Ex? (“The Jamie Kennedy Experiment,” Work Experience, The NBA Experience)
Don’t know about this one.
20. C1-C4-C7: Crouch (AK-47 bent over? I see Brian Croucher and more obvious crouching by Sucre in Prison Break)
25. A1-B1-C1: Point (finger point, five-pointed star, point guard)
49. A9-B5-C1: Rifles? (AK-47, Winchester, and there’s a Lincoln Rifle Club, unless that picture has something to do with Civil War muskets)
October 9th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Beatles, Thomas, Crouch and Point are correct. I’ll give you an alternate answer credit for Rifles, though I was thinking of that as an alternate answer for A3-B2-C1 (there’s also a Benjamin Franklin rifle).
Thanks for the bump on Ken’s message board. But now I feel like I want to leave the puzzle active a little longer to give folks who visit from there a fair chance to participate.
The remaining themes are still unsolved:
A1-A4-A7
A1-A5-A9
B4-B5-B6
B3-B6-B9
B1-B5-B9
B3-B5-B7
C2-C5-C8
C3-C6-C9
A2-B2-C2
A5-B5-C5
A7-B7-C7
A8-B8-C8
A9-B9-C9
A1-B4-C7
A7-B4-C1
A9-B6-C3
A3-B2-C1
A6-B5-C4
A7-B8-C9
A9-B5-C1
October 10th, 2007 at 1:36 am
10. B4-B5-B6: + (“5+”, Father Mulcahy’s cross necklace, medical cross logo)
October 10th, 2007 at 5:26 am
Yes. I was actually looking at the red cross on the tent behind Charles, but that works too.
I’ll try to post the answers this evening.
October 10th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Well, I think that just about does it for my first (and possibly last) attempt at a 3D Pic-Tac-Toe. I hope you enjoyed it.
Answers
A1-A2-A3: AMERICANA (Uncle Sam, Eagle, Founding Fathers)
A4-A5-A6: CARSON (Carson Daly, Carson Kressley, Kit Carson)
A7-A8-A9: PRESIDENTS (Kennedy, Carter, Lincoln)
A1-A4-A7: BUILDINGS (Recruiting Station, Hall of Fame, Church)
A2-A5-A8: NATO PHONETIC ALPHABET (Charley, Bravo, Delta)
A3-A6-A9: HATS (Founding Fathers, Kit Carson, Abraham Lincoln)
A1-A5-A9: JACKETS (Uncle Sam, Fab Five, Abraham Lincoln)
A3-A5-A7: THOMAS (Thomas Jefferson, Thom Filicia, Thomas Haden Church)
B1-B2-B3: FLORIDA COASTLINE MAP (Badge, Map in background, War map)
B4-B5-B6: + (5+, Cross on tent, Cross on field kit)
B7-B8-B9: HUMAN FIGURES INSCRIBED IN CIRCLES (Caesar, David Blaine, Study of Proportions)
B1-B4-B7: GOLD (Gold star, “Oro,” Gold coin)
B2-B5-B8: DAVID (David McCallum, David Ogden Stiers, David Blaine)
B3-B6-B9: SYNONYMS (Survey, Canvas, Study)
B1-B5-B9: POINTING BOTH EAST AND WEST (Star, Sign, Vitruvian Man)
B3-B5-B7: WAR (War Map, Korean War, War Coin)
C1-C2-C3: TELEVISION STATION LETTERS (TNT, CBS, HBO)
C4-C5-C6: MARLOWE (Marlowe Theatre, Philip Marlowe, Christopher Marlowe)
C7-C8-C9: CREW CUTS (Wentworth Miller, Dulé Hill, Justin Timberlake)
C1-C4-C7: CROUCH (AK-47, Brian Croucher, Sucre)
C2-C5-C8: SUITS (Dan Rather, Philip Marlowe, Charlie Young)
C3-C6-C9: MUSICAL TERMS (Soprano, Signature, Forte)
C1-C5-C9: LAKE (Salt Lake City, Lady in the Lake, Justin Timberlake)
C3-C5-C7: ROBERT (Robert Iler, Robert Montgomery, Robert Knepper)
A1-B1-C1: POINT (Uncle Sam pointing, five point star, point guard)
A2-B2-C2: DID YOU KNOW YOUR LAST NAME IS AN ADVERB? (Charley Straight, Napoleon Solo, Dan Rather)
A3-B3-C3: THE BEATLES (George, John, Paul)
A4-B4-C4: CHARACTERS FROM A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Stanley, Stella, Mitch)
A5-B5-C5: EYE (Queer Eye, Hawkeye, Private Eye)
A6-B6-C6: KIT (Kit Carson, First Aid Field Kit, “Kit” Marlowe)
A7-B7-C7: ASSASSINATED LEADERS (Kennedy, Julius Caesar, Lincoln)
A8-B8-C8: ADJECTIVES (Smart, Alive, Young)
A9-B9-C9: FAMOUS BEARDS (Lincoln, Da Vinci, Santa)
A1-B4-C7: WANTED (Uncle Sam Wants You, Help Wanted, Wanted Criminals)
A7-B4-C1: POSITION (Lowe, Level, Forward)
A2-B5-C8: CHARLES (Charley Straight, Charles Emerson Winchester, Charlie Young)
A8-B5-C2: CBS SHOWS (Designing Women, M*A*S*H, CBS Evening News)
A3-B6-C9: BUCKLES (on Jefferson’s Shoe, on the field kit, on Santa’s belt)
A9-B6-C3: FIELDS (Battlefield, Field Kit, Meadow Soprano)
A1-B2-C3: UNCLE (Uncle Sam, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Uncle Junior)
A3-B2-C1: 19TH CENTURY POLITICAL LEADERS (Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon, Davis)
A4-B5-C6: CHRISTOPHER (Chris Pronger, William Christopher, Christopher Marlowe)
A6-B5-C4: NEW YORK (New York Library, Coney Island, Music Scope and Stage Musicals Ltd. of New York)
A7-B8-C9: CHRISTIANITY (Church, Angels, Christmas)
A9-B8-C7: LINCOLN (Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Center, Lincoln Burrows)
A1-B5-C9: ARMY (U.S. Army, Army Doctors, Salvation Army)
A3-B5-C7: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin Pierce, Benjamin Miles “C-Note” Franklin)
A7-B5-C3: JAMIE (Jamie Kennedy, Jamie Farr, Jamie-Lynn Sigler)
A9-B5-C1: STATE CAPITALS (Lincoln, Boston, Salt Lake City)
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
October 11th, 2007 at 2:48 am
At best I could’ve gotten maybe 2-3 more of these. No forehead slapping here.
What’s surprising is how some of these themes (assassinations, musical terms, etc.) crossed my mind, but for the wrong set of images, and were quickly dismissed.
I also considered “Did you know your last name is an adverb?” but decided it only described Rather. I think of Straight and Solo as adjectives (or nouns).
Oh, and I didn’t know that Leonardo da Vinci had a famous beard. I read a few short bios and learned only that he had paralysis of his right hand.
October 11th, 2007 at 5:31 am
I figured as much, which is why I decided to call it a day.
“Straight” and “solo” both have various uses. Both can be used as adverbs, to modify the verb “fly” for example.
Do a Google image search for “Da Vinci self portrait” and you’ll see the magnificence of the beard. Honestly, I wasn’t crazy about this one, because the beard isn’t pictured. But… well, let’s just say this was difficult to put together.
It was fun to see you finding themes I hadn’t seen. Sometimes a theme would just suggest itself, or would emerge over time. I noticed the possibility of CHEST for B1-B5-B9, and KINGS OF ENGLAND (George, John, James) for A3-B3-C3.
If I were to do it again, I know I’d have some better strategies. It will be some time before I’ll want to do this again, though I do still want to keep Conundrum going.
October 11th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
But… well, let’s just say this was difficult to put together.
Oh, I’m sure. I had assumed that some of the themes would be tenuous or weak — there are 49 of them, after all — but I was surprised to see that almost all of them were actually quite strong.
How long did this take to compose, by the way? I couldn’t summon the courage or brainpower to put one together myself, so I have no idea how massive this undertaking must have been.
I look forward to future puzzles (of the 2 or 3 dimensional variety), but you’re certainly entitled to a week off.
P.S. How does CHEST apply to Sarasota law enforcement?
October 11th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
The badge is worn on the chest. It’s a chest badge. I don’t know. As I said, it was an alternate answer.
Thanks for your comments. I’m glad you felt like the solution was satisfying.
It took me a week to create this puzzle. I started composing it just after posting the January Jones puzzle on Tuesday, and I worked on it obsessively all week. I started with the M*A*S*H picture, of course, and then hit on the Benjamin Franklin theme, which I put in a cross-cube diagonal. The Prison Break photo suggested possibilities with Lincoln, and I was on my way. In some cases, I used placeholders before finding a picture – like “Charlie” in A2 or “Lincoln” in A9 – without actually having a picture yet. The last picture I got was the Designing Women picture, because I knew any picture of that show would fit my themes and I could afford to wait until the end to see if there was anything extra that I would need.
I had found all of the pictures by Sunday. I tried to see if I could improve the puzzle, but once all of the pictures were locked in, it was very difficult to make any changes. On Monday, I created the post, including resizing all of the pictures to fit three to a column. Then I posted it early Tuesday morning. So the answer to your question is one week.
But I probably put more time into this than any other post on this blog, with the possible exception of the original Shakespeare Teacher Special Feature, which I worked on over the course of several weeks. It even took longer than the sonnet anagram, and that took a lot of work over the course of two days.
And there will certainly be more puzzles to come. You know, you might enjoy a game I used to post to the blog called Six Degrees of Sir Francis Bacon. Perhaps tomorrow morning would be a good time to bring it back…