To help you solve the riddle, Riddler offers four clues hidden somewhere on the Web. And to help you find these, Riddler provides four hints per clue. Hints are only awarded, however, for correctly answering trivia questions. Answer four questions in any of eight categories and you get the hints, which lead you to a page somewhere on the Web where one of the clues is hidden. The trivia is sponsored by advertisers, whose pages you have to step through to get to the questions. As an added incentive, whoever has answered the most trivia questions when each riddle is solved gets a bonus cash prize.
So why am I miserable? I've been playing this thing since it first began, three or four months ago, and i've still not won a darn thing. I like to think I'm a pretty good puzzler, and those who know me can back me up on that. But these riddles... "obscure" would be generous. "Lame" would be more accurate. Once in a blue moon, the riddle is reasonable. Interactive Imaginations argues that if they made it too easy, the riddles would be solved too quickly. As it is, virtually all the riddles do get solved. Which boggles my mind. I can't help but wonder if the winners spend hours trying hundreds of different answers hoping to stumble upon the right one.
Allow me to illustrate my point. Here's an actual riddle and accompanying clues. This riddle was actually one of the most reasonable ones. Most are far less sensical.
Working after hours Madonna called her name On weatherbeater powers A sweetly druggin' dame
Clue 1: Found sitting in a cell Clue 2: Andy's jewely star Clue 3: Hark! Orville's stuff is flying! Clue 4: Friend of friend of big fat squabs
Can you solve it? The answer is at the end of Grey Matter. Unlike most of their riddles, I think this one is solveable without the clues. More often, even with the clues, and the explanation they give after the riddle is solved, I still scratch my head and wonder what drugs these people are on. But hey— that's just me. You might find you're in turn with their thinking and win some cash— in which case, I hope you'll remember who sent you there. =)
In addition to the riddle, this site also poses a daily puzzle with a prize starting at $50 and increasing by one dollar for every time you win. It's posted at a random time each day and tends to be solved very quickly— often within five minutes. I think a bunch of college students run spiders which notify them when the page is changed, so they can take the first crack at the puzzle. These puzzles are generally much more reasonable than the riddles— I've actually solved a bunch, although I was never first to do so (hence no cash).
The daily puzzle makes Riddler worth keeping up with. And hey— if you win, remember who sent you there!
Update 6/13/96: Riddler is now in version 3.0 and now offers other games besides the daily riddle, including trivia (single and multi-player) and crossword puzzles. The multi-player crossword game, Checkered Flag, is a blast. On the down side, they no longer offer instant prizes-- instead you compete for "caps" which you can then trade in for prizes. I've collected various Riddler gear-- t-shirt, mouse pad, and baseball cap-- but I've yet to pick up anything else.
Buzzle by Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge and Peter Olotka, published by Franjos. This is essentially a German version of the Eon game Runes, in which players try to guess words using pieces of letters. Fun, but hardly Game of the Year material.
Condottiere by Dominique Erhard and Duccio Vitale, published by Eurogames/ Descartes.
Galopp Royal by Klaus Teuber, published by Goldsieber. A game of sedan chair racing which I felt was too random. Adjusting the payoffs so the last couple of races don't determine the game's winner might make me try it again.
Kaleidos published by Editrice Giochi
La-Trel by Richard Morgan, published by ASS (licenced by Millenium 2 Games). An abstract strategy game of the move-pieces-with-different-abilities-on-a-chessboard variety which has received good reviews in Games Magazine and Sumo.
Linie 1 by Tom Schoeps, published by Goldsieber. The first phase of the game, an 18xx-style affair in which players construct trolley car routes through a city using square tiles, is enjoyable enough. But it's merely preamble to a lame die-rolling second phase in which players race their trolleys through town to determine the winner. A disappointment, especially considering the attractive pieces, but I can see how it might appeal to the family set.
Die Maulwurf Company by Virgina Charves and Bertram Kaes, published by Ravensburger. Apparently, the German version of Milton Bradley's Inner Circle.
Medici by Reiner Knizia, published by Amigo. If it weren't for Siedler...
Note that this is a "Special Edition" of Bazaar, and they've made a couple of changes since its last incarnation. There are ten single-sided equation cards instead of five double-sided ones. Inflation has driven the point values up to the 40-150 range. The change which most affects gameplay is the elimination of single-star cards at the bottom of each stack. In the previous versions, when one of the four stacks of cards ran out, the point values increased. In this version, gem cards with one or two stars are mixed into the deck. When these cards come up, they're worth more than other cards.
If the changes bother you, it shouldn't be too difficult to play using the original rules. The quality of these components makes for a much-enriched experience, and I for one am thrilled to see this game back in circulation.
The Riddler answer is: Mary Poppins.