“The Social Distancing Puzzles” is live!

Recently, some rather important things have taken our attention away from the coronavirus pandemic, but the pandemic is not over, and the economic effects of the pandemic are DEFINITELY not over.

Over ten million people have lost their jobs since the beginning of the year. Many of those people do not have enough savings to see them through this dire time, and the government seems disinterested in extending financial assistance any further than they already have. Demand on food bank charities is increasing, and will likely increase further before the economy finally gets back on its feet.

And what can a puzzlemaker do about any of this? Well, I guess I can make some puzzles, and ask people who would like to solve them to first make a donation to Feeding America, a four-star rated charity (Charity Navigator) with a network of hundreds of food banks around the country.

For this project, I devised a suite of puzzles that you’ll need to solve with a partner, either over the phone or in the same room. Sometimes you’ll work on your own, exchanging answers with your partner when you have them. Sometimes you’ll need to work closely with your partner to reach those answers.

To get the puzzles, click here. You’ll see a link to my page on the Feeding America Web site. Make a donation, take a screenshot of your receipt, and upload it to me. (It’s easy, you’ll see.) You’ll get the puzzles via e-mail moments later.

I hope you — and whoever you solve with — enjoy The Social Distancing Puzzles.

There’s an awful lot going on in the world right now. With the headlines focused (as well they should be) on the protests for racial justice, it’s easy to place on the mental back burner the massive spike in unemployment this country recently suffered — 13.3% as I write this, up from a mere 4.4% a few months ago. People who are entitled to unemployment benefits can’t get them because the states’ ancient systems are overwhelmed with new applicants. Combine that with the fact that many people don’t have enough savings to see them through even a mild emergency, and you have a formula for lasting pain.

Oh, and by the way, the coronavirus pandemic is still very much with us.

With all these terrible things happening at the same time, this is a job for… well, probably not a professional puzzle constructor. But that’s what I am, and we all need to do what we can.

Later this week or early next week, I’ll present a new puzzle project: The Social Distancing Puzzles. These are 11 challenging puzzles designed to be solved with a partner — perhaps a spouse, roommate, or family member in the same room with you, or perhaps with a friend over a videochat.

To acquire the puzzles, I’ll first ask you to make a donation to Feeding America. There will be a place on my Web site to send me the proof of your donation. You’ll then receive the puzzles via e-mail. (You’ll receive TWO sets of puzzles — one for each solving partner. Plus a third packet with hints and answers.)

Feeding America is a four-star charity (according to Charity Navigator) with a nationwide network of food banks. A lot of people have had the rug pulled out from under them, thanks to the pandemic and the related unemployment — and many of those people are discovering they aren’t sure where their next meal will come from. There’s a weekly food bank a short walk away from where I live, and on Mondays the line of cars extends down the block. Such a sight made my charity of choice for this project easy to select.

My Web site for the Social Distancing Puzzles will be up soon. Keep an eye on Twitter or Facebook for the big release announcement, which I hope will happen by June 15 at the latest.