The 'Shroom:Issue 201/Fun Stuff
Director's Notes
Greetings, beautiful 'Shroom readers! Welcome to the Fun Stuff offices, where we're taking things slow and snowy this month. We're just a couple days past winter solstice now, and with some candles burning and tea brewing, we're all bundled up for whatever this winter brings. I hope you're feeling nice and comfortable back at home, and that the holidays treat you kindly, if they haven't already.
Even though we're on our rest period from the monster that was Issue 200, we actually still have quite a stacked team this month! I've debuted Connections as a full-time section, alongside the bimonthly return of It's aMAZEing under the guidance of Ninja Squid (talk). With them joining our line-up alongside our regular attendants, we're looking to have a healthy Fun Stuff team moving into 2024! Make sure to read through all of Fun Stuff, for we have a special treat at the bottom of the page: a fully-interactive Picross game crafted by Camwoodstock (talk) and Espyo (talk)! It genuinely blew me away the first time I gave it a spin, so I know you all will love it. Thank you for such a unique guest submission!
The family celebrations call, and I must be on my merry way. Take care, you 'Shroom readers you, and have an excellent rest of your year!
Section of the Month
Congratulations to Andymii (talk) for triumphantly returning to Fun Stuff with a first place victory! Big kudos go to FunkyK38 (talk) and Meta Knight (talk) for their tied second place triumph. Thank you to everyone who voted last month! Make sure to vote again this month!
| FUN STUFF SECTION OF THE MONTH | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Section | Votes | % | Writer |
| 1st | Guess Who: Issue 200 Special! | 9 | 19.57% | Andymii (talk) |
| 2nd | Where in the Marioverse is Carmen Sandiego? | 7 | 15.22% | FunkyK38 (talk) |
| 2nd | Logic Puzzle | 7 | 15.22% | Meta Knight (talk) |
Anagrams
Written by: BBQ Turtle (talk)
Hi everyone, and welcome to Issue 201 of the 'Shroom! As much as we've calmed down a bit from last time, it's lovely to see you all back here. This month, I thought the only appropriate theme would be Super Mario RPG, as we've just had the remake, so I'll let you have a go at some anagrams for that- hopefully it's fairly fresh in your mind! If you fancy suggesting next month's theme, please let me know on my talk page or in a PM to me on the forums, I'd love to hear from you and would be happy to incorporate it! And with that, I'll leave these anagrams with the starring role.
How it works...
Basically, this puzzle consists of solving the anagrams. Each month has a specific theme, which will give you a clue about what sort of words or phrases the anagrams will be. I've also included the boxes that the anagrams will fit into, so you'll be able to tell how many words it will solve to be and how many letters will be in each word, which should give you a hand too. You'll also notice that within each set of boxes, one of the squares are yellow. As you solve each anagram, note down the letter which appears in the yellow squares, and if you can solve all of the anagrams, you'll also get a bonus anagram to solve from completing all of the others. I've included the letter configuration for this one at the bottom too, just to give you an extra helping hand. Best of luck!
1. MAMA SIX LEG
2. CHOKING DEAN
3. RIPEN ART
4. NEAT ANVIL
5. LIP LUNCHEON
6. FOCUS IF RUG
7. TRY GAUGE
8. GAGS IN MYTH
9. GARNER EXAM
10. CHOPPY HATS
11. WRING HOLE
12. FROZE STEAM
13. NUMB ISLAND
Bonus anagram:
- Megasmilax
- Chained Kong
- Terrapin
- Valentina
- Punchinello
- Frogfucius
- Grate Guy
- Smithy Gang
- Axem Ranger
- Psychopath
- Geno Whirl
- Forest Maze
- Nimbus Land
Bonus anagram: Smithy Factory
Word Search
Another month another Word Search, Fun Stuff readers' third-favorite word-based section. This month's Word Search is all about my favorite robots from the hit show Robot Wars. No real theme with these robots, just random robots that I happen to fancy! Words can be found vertically, horizontally, diagonally, backwards, and finally inside other words. As always, have fun and stay safe!!!
Crossword
Written by: MarioMorty (talk)
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another edition of Crosswords presented by me, MarioMorty. We've got a small one today, but in the holiday spirit, it is about winter themed characters. Not much else for me to say, so I'll step away so you can cozy up with a drink and a crossword for this wintery time.
Hiding Koopa
Written by: Waluigi Time (talk)
Hello there, 'Shroom readers! For this month's edition of Hiding Koopa, five Koopas have decided to get festive by hiding in this Yoshi-themed Christmas scene that blends Nintendo 64 and Gamecube era renders together for some reason! This is clearly done in the Yoshi's Story style, but it's dated 2002 and has a Shine Sprite in it. Maybe it was an older piece of unreleased art they had lying around in a Nintendo vault somewhere, and they wanted to remind people that Super Mario Sunshine was new and cool and existed so they would buy it as a Christmas gift. Who knows! But this isn't Random Image of the Month, so I should probably stop talking about it and just let you find the Koopas already. Good luck!
Thanks for playing! Did you find them all?
It's aMAZEing
Written by: Ninja Squid (talk)
Hello 'Shroom readers! Your stealthy squid is back for some shenanigans in the Fun Stuff office. Welcome to It's aMAZEing. A section done in the past by both my mates in the 'Shroom staff, Meta and Lakituthequick. With this section, I'll be bringing some mazes for you to solve. Fear not, it's nothing regarding some schemes I may have in mind. It's not like I always have some ulterior motives in action!
Anyway, speaking of mazes, today I brought to you a maze of a Wonder Flower from Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Hope you have what it takes to solve it quickly! Otherwise, I may grow bored from waiting here.
Have fun!
- Copy the image into an art program (such as Paint, Photoshop, Krita, etc.).
- Click the pencil, brush or line tool and adjust the size as needed.
- Use the pencil, brush or line tool to get from arrow to arrow.
- If needed, zoom in and out as you progress.
- Print the image.
- Use a pencil and trace the path to the exit.
Regardless of how you did, thank you so much for playing! See you again next time! ;-)
Connections
Greetings, beautiful 'Shroom readers! Welcome to Connections, the newest Fun Stuff section! This opening was more correct before Ninja Squid applied with It's aMAZEing, but his section is a returning concept, so uh, half points?
After having a lot of fun crafting this game for Issue 200, I decided to bring it to Fun Stuff full-time! A big thank-you goes to Lakituthequick (talk) for his work cleaning up this section's code last month - it's definitely looking a lot more pristine now. I promise I know wiki code (they do not know wiki code)
How it works:
Below is a table of sixteen different words, all of them with some sort of connection to the Mario series. These words correlate in sets of four, and it's up to you to figure out which words belong to a set! Work through the grid and decide which words are connected. Once you think you have the answer, check against the provided answers. If you get stuck along the way, feel free to utilize the clues. There's only one correct answer, so be on the lookout for words that feel like they might fit in more than one category. Good luck!
| Key | Mach | Bowser | Bounce |
| Event | Thunder | Ally | Mario |
| Boomerang | Wario | Sport | Bill |
| Hat | Bullet | Lucky | Boo |
Start with "Event"
___ in arms
Don't be too scared of this category!
- Event, Bowser, Lucky, Ally: ___ Space
- Bounce, Mario, Boomerang, Thunder: ___ Bros.
- Bill, Boo, Key, Hat: Collectables in Luigi's Mansion
- Sport, Wario, Bullet, Mach: ___ Bike
How did you do? Did you figure out the connections? Thanks for playing!
Where in the Marioverse is Carmen Sandiego?
Each issue, you will be given a case to solve and clues to use to help you find the solution! Use your Mario knowledge to crack the case!
You will begin each case at the scene of the crime, and you will be given three clues from passerby as to where the next hot spot is and what game it’s from. Using your knowledge of Mario games and the Super Mario Wiki, figure out where the crook is and go track them down! There are four locations each round: the crime scene (1) at the start, two locations (2 and 3) with clues, and the hideout for the crook of the month (4). Answers for locations will be given with the corresponding round, for example, the clues from the crime scene will lead you to location 2, and once you open the spoiler bubbles for location 2, you will be given the correct answer. You can open the clues for each location in any order you’d like, but be careful! You may encounter an incorrect clue that could throw you off the case!
Clues offered will give you a hint either about the next location or the game it’s in. Unlike a regular Carmen Sandiego game, you do not have to collect information about the crook you are tracking down.
Challenge round (optional):
-Find all locations and games correctly in two minutes or less
-Find all locations and games correctly without using the rest of the Wiki for help
“Carmen’s got big aspirations for this one, gumshoe! She’s managed to snatch Donkey Kong’s own home! Yes, in the past, we’ve seen Carmen pull her strings to pick up some pretty large targets, and while DK’s little hut isn’t as large as Peach’s Castle or one of Bowser’s airships, it’s still a home where Donkey Kong lives when he’s not out adventuring or playing sports with Mario and co. Seen in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze while the entire island was frozen by the Snowmads, and then again in trailers for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where DK, Diddy, and even King K. Rool were waiting for new challengers, the hut has featured multiple times and is obviously important to DK. He’s offered you a handsome reward in bananas, but as this is a confirmed Carmen case, we’d take it no matter what the reward! The queen has emerged to cross the board, gumshoe, it’s time to pull out all the chess pieces and capture her!”
|
Crime Scene |
The Crime
|
CLUE 1
|
CLUE 2
|
CLUE 3
|
|
Location 2 |
CORRECT ANSWER
|
CLUE 1
|
CLUE 2
|
CLUE 3
|
|
Location 3 |
CORRECT ANSWER
|
CLUE 1
|
CLUE 2
|
CLUE 3
|
CASE CLOSED
HIDEOUT ANSWER:
Shy Guy Junglefrom Paper Mario: Sticker Star 
“An unfortunate turn of events, gumshoe. Carmen wasn’t in the ship- it was one of her best agents disguised as her. The entirety of ACME is in an uproar- this means that while we were focusing most of our attention on this heist, Carmen was free to plunder and steal whatever she could with only our minimal field teams to stop her. We’re getting in reports from them already, so keep on your toes. Your next job will come sooner than you think. Oh, and DK has sent ahead several big bunches of bananas for you with his thanks as a reward for getting his home back. We’ve got a lot of work to do around here to make sure everything is in shape, so stay sharp, gumshoe!”
Trivia
Trivia, Facts, Factoids. Did you know?
- That the Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Prima guide mistakenly refers to Rambi as a her?
- That Banjo was originally a minor character in an unreleased SNES RPG called Project Dream?
- That Professor E. Gadd was at one point going to be playable in Mario Kart: DS?
- That according to both the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart Wii Prima guides, Princess Daisy and Princess Peach are cousins?
- That Reznor is named after Trent Reznor from the Nine Inch Nails?
- That universal once sued Nintendo claiming that Donkey Kong infringed on their copyright of King Kong?
Picross
Written by: Camwoodstock (talk)
Original code by: Espyo (talk)
A Shroomsmas Poem: A Behind-the-Scenes, Seen
'Twas some weeks before Shroomsmas, and all through the wiki,
Not a creature was stirring... Except for Ukiki.
"I'm literally just a monkey," she protested,
"But we've got larger problems, ones that must be detested!"
For months at a time, some Picross did they bring,
but at one point they stopped; life was too much of a thing.
"But no longer!", she chanted, she said with a tear;
"Picross must come back... And yet, there's currently none here."
So the monkey schemed, along with her Luxray,
To bring Picross to The 'Shroom again; there must be a way!
The means were simple; asking permission was the easy part,
Pikipedia had made their own Pikmin Picross, so the problem was art.
And the timing was wrong, life still kept roaring by,
But no matter how long it'd take, "they'd do it!", they decry!
Weeks upon weeks, creating puzzles, editing code,
just because they had slowed, they felt it was still owed.
At the end of it all, though, it all felt so sweet;
32 distinct Picross puzzles! All for the internet to complete!
Spanning the Mario series' history, from the Arcade to the Switch,
and a few odd-ball categories--can you tell which is which?
As they sent the final script in, there was one thing to do:
let other people play it; yes, even you!
And on 'Shroomsmas Eve, as the issue went out,
Two hooligans could be heard, running about.
All the Toads woke up, with puzzles in their stockings,
What could be heard over the hills were two weirdo's talkings;
"Merry Shroomsmas to all", the Luxray sang, "And to all, a good night!"
"May you solve all our puzzles," the monkey chimed, "and enjoy this Picross delight!"
~Camwoodstock & Tori
Gameplay guide
Okay, we feel like with that introductory poem out of the way, we'd like to say something important: Happy Holidays!
But secondly, just a few pointers for Picross Newbies:
- This was originally created for the Pikmin wiki as part of their April Fool's (no joke!) and permission to use and modify this has been granted by Espyo from there; thank you very much! Anyways, if you're stuck at any point, please see their extensive documentation on it for more information.
- Mario's Super Picross is on the Nintendo Switch Online service! Despite the Japanese-only tutorial text, doing is better than reading, after all, so you can get a good feel for it there. If you happened to snag it before the 3DS eShop closed, Pokemon Picross will also work.
- Note that if you've played Mario's Super Picross before, these puzzles are formatted similarly to Wario's puzzles in that game; there is absolutely zero time limit and zero penalty for making mistakes, but because there's no penalty for mistakes, you'll only notice you made one in the first place if a contradiction appears when you mark off a row/column. So, stay alert!
- Of course, there are plenty of online Picross tutorials out there, so feel free to look them up. For a very brief overview, here's some basic explanations of the game:
- Each number on a given row or column (which are referred to as "hints" in Picross) represents a line of filled-in squares (or tiles/cells, as I prefer calling them) on that particular row or column; for instance, a row starting with "3" would have a row of three filled-in squares with no white/blank squares in-between them.
- There can be multiple lines in a single column, however. (For example, a row of 7, then a row of 4. In this case, there'd be 7 in a row, then a gap, then a row of 4.)
- A gap between two "rows" is defined as one white/blank square between two rows.
- Each square is filled with either black or white. You can fill the white squares you know of with an X to keep track easier.
- It's way, was easier to start off with rows that have few gaps, and ESPECIALLY easier to start with rows with large numbers.
There's a pattern to these puzzles; can you figure it out? (There's no real reward for doing so, but it's a fun mystery!)
For controls:
- On desktop, these are simple enough. Left click to fill a square, right click to mark or "X" a square out, and if you do those inputs on a filled square or X'd square again, it blanks them out all over. Click a hint number to highlight it off yourself, to denote you've figured out that part. Dragging will impact multiple squares at once.
- On mobile, it's largely the same, but because there's zero left/right click, you tap a square to cycle its states--first tap fills, second tap marks/X's it, third tap blanks it out again.
- On some devices, puzzles may be too large to fit on one screen; in this case, you can pan the puzzle by clicking or tapping the puzzle preview in the top left, and dragging in the direction you want.
Before we leave, however, we do have a little closer to say; we know we're comparatively small-timers that like to just operate on the side-lines, but thank you all so much for your continued patronage of the wiki. We may not look it, but we lurked this place without an account since the late 2000s and have been on-and-off here with an account ever since a bit later than that. Even if most of it has just been going down silly rabbit holes of obscure Mario information, this place has genuinely helped us through a very strange year overall. This is just our gift to everybody on this site, be they seasoned wiki veterans, total newbies, or even people coming in from the future after this issue was made, as thanks for that. Ah, we're feeling sentimental again--this always happens to us, darn it! Just play the game already! We worked really hard on those puzzles, y'know! ;P
Game
| The 'Shroom: Issue 201 | |
|---|---|
| Staff sections | Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight • End-of-the-Year Awards • Director Election |
| Features | Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing |
