From the archive · Oct 29, 2026
The 25 clues of Oct 29, 2026, column by column from the left edge to the right (the columns get harder as you cross), with the letters on each hex and the answer. The board above plays this day and never touches your streak.
The 2016 Disney film about a Polynesian girl who sails to save her island, with a song “How Far I’ll Go”.
Answer: Moana
The brightest witch of her age, best friend of Harry and Ron.
Answer: Hermione Granger
The country with a maple leaf on its flag and the longest coastline on Earth.
Answer: Canada
The Norse god of thunder who wields the hammer Mjölnir.
Answer: Thor
The largest ocean on Earth.
Answer: Pacific Ocean
The neon crossroads of New York where a ball drops on New Year’s Eve.
Answer: Times Square
The tower game where players pull wooden blocks until it all falls down.
Answer: Jenga
The smallest unit of an element, made of protons, neutrons and electrons.
Answer: Atom
The football rule that frustrates fans when a striker is ahead of the last defender.
Answer: Offside
The dating app known for swiping right.
Answer: Tinder
The jukebox musical, later a hit film, built from the songs of ABBA.
Answer: Mamma Mia
The giant particle accelerator beneath the border of France and Switzerland.
Answer: Large Hadron Collider
The Nordic country with the most lakes, known as the Land of a Thousand Lakes.
Answer: Finland
The 1848–55 stampede to the West Coast after gold was found at Sutter’s Mill.
Answer: California Gold Rush
The 1990s plush toys stuffed with pellets that became a collecting craze, from Ty Warner.
Answer: Beanie Babies
The Japanese-born pastime of singing along to instrumental tracks, from words for “empty orchestra”.
Answer: Karaoke
The Frankish king crowned Emperor of the Romans by the Pope on Christmas Day in the year 800.
Answer: Charlemagne
The British mathematician who cracked the Enigma code and proposed a famous test for machine intelligence.
Answer: Alan Turing
The Mediterranean island nation south of Sicily, once home to the Knights of St John.
Answer: Malta
The 1986 sequel in which Ellen Ripley returns to confront the xenomorphs with marines.
Answer: Aliens
The Ethiopian capital, whose name means “new flower”.
Answer: Addis Ababa
The Muslim sultan who recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187.
Answer: Saladin
The German physician who identified the bacteria that cause tuberculosis and cholera.
Answer: Robert Koch
The sitcom starring Larry David as himself in Los Angeles, on HBO.
Answer: Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Scottish scientist who discovered penicillin in 1928.
Answer: Alexander Fleming