ArcaMax

Ole Santa's pack held thirty toys
Made by his elfin crew;
And though none made the same amount,
Each elf made more than two.
The elf named Cher made one more Christmas toy
Than the elf who dressed in reds,
But Cher made one less Christmas toy
Than the elf who made the sleds.
Spry Johnny Elf made racing cars;
Five toys were made by Jane.
The elf who dressed in yellow suits
Made each and every train.
The elf who always dressed in green
Made one-third as many as Sue;
Cute Marcia elf was dressed in orange,
And one elf dressed in blue.
The elf who made the spinning tops
Made the most toys of ...

There is an island filled with grass and trees and plants. The only inhabitants are 100 lions and 1 sheep. The lions are special:
1) They are infinitely logical, smart, and completely aware of their surroundings.
2) They can survive by just eating grass (and there is an infinite amount of grass on the island).
3) They prefer, of course, to eat sheep.
4) Their only food options are grass or sheep.

Now, here's the kicker:

5) If a lion eats a sheep he TURNS into a sheep (and could then be eaten by other lions).
6) A lion would rather eat grass all his life than be eaten by another lion (after he turned into a sheep).

Assumptions:
1) Assume that one lion...

What does this rebus mean?

J, ____ & Titanic

Each of the following sentences contains clues to a set of three words that are spelled the same, except for one letter (each sentence describes a different set). Example: malt, melt, molt.

1) To reduce the strength of the enemy, the general ordered a siege of the citadel.

2) The winner of the contest won a vessel and the loser received a kick in the pants.

3) Bill tried to remove a piece of wood from the pile, but it was jammed between two logs.

4) Ed grabbed the bucket of hot water with his bare hands, causing an ache to two of his fingers.

Six words have had their fish removed. The fish have been placed into Group A. The remaining letters of each word have been placed into Group B. Your task is to reconstitute the words by merging each fish with the proper set of letters. Other than merging the two groups together, there is no rearranging of the letters. Example: sand + pne= spanned (SpANneD).

Group A: bass, carp, gar, shark, trout, tuna
Group B: acue, hugho, moc, rnula, rtble, sholshi

The American Civil War has ended. Can you repatriate the Confederacy (gray) into the Union (blue) by changing one letter at a time? Each step must create a valid word in the English language. President Abraham Lincoln made the change in 6 steps (for the history buffs out there, Abe planned these changes before he was assassinated). Can you do as well ... or better?

GRAY ---- BLUE

The countries of Russia and Egypt share a characteristic that only one of the countries in the following list also shares. Which country and for what reason? It has nothing to do with spelling or pronunciation.

Austria
France
Iran
Japan
Mexico
Nigeria
Pakistan
Spain
Turkey
Venezuela

(Hint: The answer covers a lot of ground ...)

Harry took a hike away from home. Unfortunately, birds ate his trail of bread crumbs. Can you help Harry return home by changing one letter at a time? Each step must create a valid word in the English language. Harry made the change in 8 steps. Can you do as well ... or better?

AWAY ---- HOME

Which word in Group B can be added to Group A? Why?

Group A: ambler, ingrate, leash, steal
Group B: crushed, pudding, singes, tundra

Mike and Dave like to play Scrabble. Mike never cheats. He always plays valid words and never plays out of turn. Dave, however, cheats. Sometimes he plays invalid words, but Mike never challenges. Sometimes he makes two plays in one turn. Mike never notices. Today, Mike and Dave have started playing a game. Mike played first. After 7 plays, the board looked like this:

SPUD
PORE
OPEN
TEAT

As usual, Dave has already cheated one time. How has Dave cheated?

The following three equations represent words that have a common relationship. The first letter of each word is given. Where will you find the following equations to be true? (Be sure to 'check' your answer carefully.)

Q = 1, B = 2, P = 8

Each statement describes two words that when fused together create a new unrelated word (not a compound word). The clues do not necessarily indicate in which order the two words are attached. Example: This is the oldness of a tablet (pill + age = pillage).

1) This is the part of a book that describes sheep.
2) This is the natural way to turn a grape into a raisin.
3) These are informal neckwear.
4) This is the admission price for an enthusiastic follower to enter a stadium.

What is the meaning of this rebus?

FEANCIENTFE

Each of the following sentences contains clues to a set of three words that are anagrams of each other (each sentence describes a different set).

1) I have a painting of a small mammal wearing a coating without the feathers.

2) A winged apparition will harvest the grain where the two lines intersect.

3) The members of the two groups were fearful of the Holy Grail.

4) Trying to reach home and score the winning run, Joe jumped over the catcher and ripped the fold of his uniform.