Phew. I tried every possible permutation of ways to interpret the numbers representing each one.
1: element in the list corresponding to the numerical difference between original and replacement answers
2: letter of the replacement word corresponding to the numerical difference between original and replacement answers
3: box number in the grid corresponding to the numerical difference between original and replacement answers
4: box number in the grid corresponding to the replacement answer
5: box number in the grid corresponding to the original answer
After a while, I finally noticed I had the letters to spend RUNING in one of my 5 methods... and then figured- crap, I must have missed something! I didn't realize Turquoise was a birthstone... went back and looked it up... voila, that should actually be AQUAMARINE, letter 9 for 12-3... got my last N!
omnilynx 🤓13:14 · 2024-08-31T05:43:38.289Z
Not sure I understand the "ordering" step. I guessed RUNNING once I had enough letters but by traditional ordering it should be NRUNING, right?
3Strikerz constructor · 2024-08-31T06:24:52.488Z
Each of the original clue answer is 1st (MERCURY, planets) to 7th (GOLF, NATO phonetic alphabet) in a well known sequence - it's the ordering.
...Well, it should be, until I noticed I forgot to replace DIAMOND for AQUAMARINE after inserting JEFFERSON (leading to a clash in the 3rd position and an empty 4th position).