It’s a beautiful day for an anti-match game, so let’s climb aboard the trolley and take a journey to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe! The inhabitants of that wondrous kingdom have questions to share and each question has many possible correct answers. Try to choose a correct answer that is chosen by as few other neighbors as possible. A correct answer scores 1 point plus 1 point for every other neighbor who chooses the same answer. An incorrect answer (or non-answer) receives a penalty score: the highest correct-answer score for the given question plus 1. The neighbor with the lowest total score wins.
The ten questions cover a variety of general knowledge subjects, but none of them requires significant knowledge of Fred McFeely Rogers, his long-running children’s television series, or the puppet characters he created and performed on that series. Some questions include the notation “11C”. This refers to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Researching answers is not allowed and reasonably close spelling is acceptable unless otherwise indicated.
NOTE: The image for question 7 originally posted was incorrect. The current image is correct.
Email answers to me at tmcclar [at] gmail.com before Sunday, June 9, 11:59 p.m. (MST)
1. Trolley emerges from a tunnel and enters the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. King Friday XIII waves from the balcony of his castle and has a game to present.
“It’s called Wheel of Misfortune,” King Friday explains. “I changed the rules of a certain TV show to create a totally original game! Each of the thirteen puzzles is an item listed on the Wikipedia page titled ‘List of Bad Luck Signs.’ I’ve revealed the R’s, S’s, T’s, L’s, N’s, and E’s. You can solve at least one of puzzles, I presume.”
“Correct as usual, King Friday,” you reply.
You choose one puzzle and answer by giving the full word/phrase.
2. Trolley stops at the other side of the castle where Queen Sara Saturday is holding a quilt.
“I made this as a present for Queen Elizabeth II,” Queen Sara tells you. “It features the flags of the sixteen world nations for which Elizabeth currently serves as head of state. Do you have a favorite?”
You choose a nation represented by one of the flags in the quilt and answer by giving the name of this nation, though you do not specify a particular flag in your answer.
3. Before Trolley leaves the castle, you notice Prince Tuesday sitting in his room sniffing despondently.
“I’m doing a school report on famous musicians who used one-word performing names,” the Prince whimpers. “This poster was supposed to feature photos of all the singers along with their birth names. But something went wrong when I used Google Images to find the photos of the musicians. My report is ruined!”
“Actually,” you observe, “It makes an interesting puzzle.” Prince Tuesday notes your interest and it seems to cheer him up.
You choose one of the images on the poster and answer by giving the image letter (A-P) and the one-word performing name represented by the image.
4. The trolley heads for a bustling factory near the castle. Cornflake S. Pecially stands outside the factory handing some mail to Speedy Delivery man Mr. McFeely. Trolley’s arrival startles Mr. McFeely and he drops the letters to the ground.
“Oh no!,” Corney shouts. “Those letters are addressed to companies ranked among the top 100 retailers in the United States according to the National Retail Federation. I want to see if they will sell my Rockit chairs. But now the envelopes are splattered with mud!”
“Can you figure out where any of these letter should be delivered,” Mr. McFeely asks.
You pick up an envelope and answer by giving the unobscured letter (or punctuation mark) in the company name, followed by the full company name.
5. Trolley approaches a large tree where Henrietta Pussycat sits in front of her schoolhouse looking through a book.
“Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, yearbook, meow, meow.” She shows you a page.
“Ah yes,” you say, “It’s an old yearbook, and there’s you with the word ‘Meow’ beneath your photo.”
“Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, guess, meow, meow, meow, caption, meow.”
“I think I’ve got it,” you reply. “Each of your pictured classmates has some word or phrase that makes up a majority of their vocabulary or is otherwise prominent in their speech. You’ve replaced these words and phrases with enumerations, so I can try guess them.”
“Meow,” Henrietta assents.
You choose a photo and answer by giving the letter in the photo’s upper left corner and the word or phrase represented by the enumeration below the photo.
6. The wooden door next to Henrietta’s house swings open and X the Owl leans out.
“I’m going to build a vacation house,” the proud owl bellows, “And I want you to choose the kind of tree in which I should build it. To be honest, it doesn’t have to be a tree. It could be any kind of plant. I only ask that it appears as an entry in 11C and has the letter X somewhere in its name. Oh, and I’m not interested in the name of a botanical structure like CALYX or XYLEM. It should be a type of tree or plant!”
X the Owl is being bossier than usual, but you oblige his request. You choose a type of tree or plant and answer by giving its name.
7. As Trolley pulls up to Museum-Go-Round, Lady Elaine Fairchilde calls you over. She makes a grand to-do about a new gallery show that you absolutely must see. Before you can respond, she snatches the admission fee from your pocket, slaps a program in your hand and shoves you through in the museum door. You stroll through the exhibit and then approach Lady Elaine.
“The prints are just images of typographical symbols,” you reply. “And the program lists 24 prints, but I only count 12 in the gallery.”
“Don’t worry, Toots,” Lady Elaine says, “I’ll make sure you get your money’s worth … Boomerang … Toomerang … Zoomerang.”
Lady Elaine’s incantation disorients you for a moment, but then you look around the gallery and see 12 seemingly new prints!
“So how did you like the show,” Lady Elaine asks.
You figure out Lady Elaine’s scheme and answer by giving the titles of two of the prints that are actually the same print — one an upside-down version of the other!
8. As you head back to Trolley you spot a disgruntled Ana Platypus outside Museum-Go-Round.
“I got taken in my Lady Elaine’s gallery scam too,” Ana mutters.
“Yeah,” you say, “She needs to stop causing mischief with her magical boomerang.”
“Oh, and that silly incantation of hers,” Ana complains, “It trivializes a fine Australian aboriginal word that entered the English language. There are a number of uncapitalized 11C entries that have an Australian aboriginal origin according to the etymology notes. Can you name one?”
You answer Ana with a word that meets her requirements.
9. Trolley swings by a series of tall industrial towers. Donkey Hodie and Harriet Elizabeth Cow are near the towers and hand you a menu when you arrive.
“We’ve washed, dried, sorted, and dumped a whole mess of potatoes,” Donkey Hodie brays, “So we’re opening a restaurant.”
“The menu is unusual,” you observe.
“The dishes are listed alphabetically,” Harriet explains, “But we replaced each dish name with a single letter. Each description is the enumeration of the dish followed by its 11C definition. So, what’ll it be?”
Harriet is poised with a server’s pad in hoof, so you realize that spelling counts. You answer Harriet by naming a letter in the menu along with the name of the dish the letter represents.
10. Trolley approaches the tall clock where Daniel Striped Tiger lives. Daniel is studying a chalkboard and looking very distraught.
“I volunteered to be a sports timekeeper,” Daniel mewls, “But I’m struggling to remember the sport that goes in each of these sentences.”
“Hmm,” you ponder, “Is there any case where the facts in a sentence apply to more than one sport?”
“I’m not sure,” Daniel replies, “But if a sport fits a sentence and it’s distinct from the sport originally intended for that sentence, I’ll accept it as a different answer. Can you help me?”
You can’t help but sympathize with Daniel’s plight. You answer by giving the letter of one of the sentences and identifying the sport name that goes in the blank or blanks of that sentence.
TIEBREAKER. As Trolley approaches the tunnel leaving the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, you spot a sign with this tiebreaker question: According to Box Office Mojo, what is the current lifetime gross, in dollars, of the 2018 documentary film “Won’t You Be My Neighbor”? Ties will be broken in favor of the entrant whose guess is closer to the actual figure.
life as a puzzle 
