The 'Shroom:Issue 165/Fun Stuff

Staff Notes

Written by: Roserade (talk)

Greetings, beautiful 'Shroom- er, Shroob readers! Welcome to the December edition of Fun Stuff, where minus the whole alien invasion thing, spirits are festive and bright! We find ourselves once again in the month of December, one of my favorite months of the year. As I type this intro, I'm living in the limelight of adulthood! That's right, I'm finally eighteen, and literally nothing feels different. The most difference I've felt is the surrealism of realizing I'm technically not a child anymore. Very odd.

Past my birthday, though, December for me symbolizes a month of relaxation, coziness, and family. Though my family may be much more distant this year, the feeling remains, and I'm absolutely rocking out to Christmas music and eating all the peppermint Oreos I can find. For those of you who might have been participating in Whammageddon, the event where you see how long you can last without hearing Wham's fantastic "Last Christmas", I'm proud to report that I have not yet lost! Though I fear the tune will absolutely sneak up on me... In all seriousness, I'm simply glad to see this year finally come to its conclusion. It's been a long one, a tedious one, occasionally a very painful one, but I can breathe easy knowing brighter sparks are on the horizon.

In terms of Fun Stuff news, I'm happy to report that the absolute superstar that is Ninja Squid (talk) has supplied us with four sections this month! Thank you so much for your continued support of Fun Stuff, regardless of if its one section or many. Speaking of thank you's, I also extend my deepest thanks to our other regulars throughout the 2020 year, BBQ Turtle (talk), Goombuigi (talk), FunkyK38 (talk), and Lakituthequick (talk). Our writers make The 'Shroom the newspaper that it is, and all of you bolster so much life and, well, fun into Fun Stuff. I'm proud to have shared another year with all of you.

As a final thank you, my deepest appreciation goes to The Pyro Guy (talk), who has updated my staff portrait for the coming year! It looks absolutely amazing, and along with your backgrounds for this issue, your art goes a long way to make The 'Shroom special.

That's all from me up in the Fun Stuff booth. Swirl some marshmallows into that hot cocoa and enjoy this edition of Fun Stuff!

Section of the Month

Congratulations to FunkyK38 (talk) for snagging first yet again, and congratulations to Ninja Squid (talk) and Goombuigi (talk) for your second and third place successes! Thank you to our fantastic readers and, in the wise words of Anton, make sure to vote vote vote!

FUN STUFF SECTION OF THE MONTH
Place	Section	Votes	%	Writer
1st	Where in the Marioverse is Carmen Sandiego?	19	55.88%	FunkyK38
2nd	Hiding Koopa	9	26.47%	Ninja Squid
3rd	Picross	3	8.82%	Goombuigi

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Word Activities

Anagrams
BBQ Turtle (Talk)

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Hopefully our secrets are safe from the Shroobs in these anagrams...
[read more]

Crossword
Ninja Squid (Talk)

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Round 2 of Crossword from our resident ninja!
[read more]

Word Search
Ninja Squid (Talk)

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Yipes, is that Princess Shroob in the Fun Stuff office?! Please solve it quick so she'll leave...
[read more]

Graphic Activities

Hiding Koopa
Ninja Squid (Talk)

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War of the Worlds? Nah, this is Warriors of the Worlds.
[read more]

Picross
Goombuigi (Talk)

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Help guide Goombuigi through this epic Picross story!
[read more]

Mind Games

Where in the Marioverse is Carmen Sandiego?
FunkyK38 (Talk)

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Gumshoe? More like Gumshroob, right, guys? Guys?
[read more]

Mystery Images
Ninja Squid (Talk)

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Ah, when will it be my turn for my close-up...
[read more]

Anagrams

Written by: BBQ Turtle (talk)

Hello everyone, I hope you're all having as nice a holiday season as you can in 2020! And fear not, because the year is finally drawing to a close- hopefully 2021 should be a bit better at the very least, we seem to be making some progress on several fronts at the moment. Anyway, onto the main part of this section, and no prizes for guessing what the theme of the section is this time- if you've been paying even half attention to the rest of this issue, you should have picked up that we've got a Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time theme going on, so the anagrams for this month are going to be based on that. Of course, if you'd like to have an advantage in guessing next month's theme as well, you can always suggest one for me by sending a PM to me on the forums or by leaving me a message on my talk page- and of course, if there are any funny related Mario-related anagrams that you've stumbled across, then I'd love to hear those too. And I think that concludes just about everything I have to say here for now, so happy holidays, happy anagramming, and hopefully I'll see you all again in the new year!

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. YE NUN DISC

2. SPONSOR BIRCHES

3. OPAL KEY KOI

4. BOYS WEB BAR

5. CHOMP OVAL TOWN

6. DRAWS TOOTH

7. FORM CAVITY

8. ROB RADISH BOOT

9. ILL HALO ILL LOG JIVE

10.TILL RASH

Bonus anagram:

Answers
Sunnycide Princess Shroob Kylie Koopa Baby Bowser Thwomp Volcano Toadsworth Vim Factory Shrooboid Brat Hollijolli Village Star Hill
Bonus anagram: Cobalt Star

Crossword

Written by: Ninja Squid (talk)

Hello 'Shroom readers! Welcome to yet another Crossword from your wonderful ninja! I didn't expected doing another one so soon after the Breath of Wild one just last month, but with this being a Special Issue, it was worth putting in a little more effort to get yourself a second crossword! As I said, this month's issue is themed about the Shroobs, from the game Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the second game of the Mario & Luigi series.

So, I have simply prepared a crossword for you with the theme of the Mario & Luigi series. With the clues below, find the characters, and important items related to this game series. Have fun!

CLUES
ACROSS		DOWN
-	1.	The Miracle Cure is used to heal those infected by this disease.
-	2.	Prince Dreambert, please, let him take a nap on you, at least once.
-	3.	Toadette needs them to make a papercraft with fire abilities.
Luigi cannot create a Dream Portal to Dreamy Somnom Woods, unless he sleep on this in the Pi'illo Temple.	4.	-
-	5.	???: Nice, I will be able to hypnotize Luigi again, thanks to the remake of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga! Dr. Toadley: Allow me to introduce myself!
-	6.	She is the representative of the Star Sprites.
-	7.	Please, don't be like this guy, and never call stupid a Wiggler's inspiration, or you might regret it.
It was used by Princess Peach to trap Elder Princess Shroob in it.	8.	-
She works as a journalist for the Koopa Kronicle. I wonder if we can get her in The 'Shroom, and give her a better salary. Take that, competition!	9.	-
I HAVE FURY!	10.	-

Answers:

How you did? I hope it went well! Regardless, thank you so much for playing, and see you again next month, but perhaps not with a crossword this time :P.

Word Search

Written by: Ninja Squid (talk)

Hey there, 'Shroom readers, and welcome to Word Search. We are right into a Special Issue infested with Shroobs. I wonder who's behind this fungus infection, but trust me, he will be dealt with accordingly, unless it's me, in which case I will take a break and cure myself. I mean, there's no need to resort to violence, right? Right? Well, for this edition, you'll have to find words that are related to various members of the Shroobs.

Are your eyes sharp enough to find them all? If that's the case, well, good luck, because Princess Shroob will be watching you... menacingly!

Answers:

Hiding Koopa

Written by: Ninja Squid (talk)

WANTED!

Hello, folks! Welcome to the last Hiding Koopa of 2020!

Another year is soon coming to an end, but for the moment, the Christmas celebrations are in full swing, and I'm fully enjoying the little positivity that I can gather from this absolute mess of a year.

Now now, you aren't here to hear me complain about 2020, but rather to know what I have prepared for you this time. Well, this year, I made a great discovery concerning video games. Well, you know that I much I love Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and that thanks to this game, I end up not only discovering how great of a franchise Fire Emblem is, but also some new games for me to indulge in. Fire Emblem: Awakening, and Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia are among those games, but my most important discovery for me would be another Fire Emblem title called Fire Emblem Warriors. It was my first experience in this form of hack and slash genre, and I end up absolutely loving the gameplay of it. Also, as a bonus, I also end up loving Leo, a character from Fire Emblem Fates who is also playable in this game. A lot of positive to take from this game, so I consider it my best video game discovery of 2020. Overall, there's never something like "too much Fire Emblem", so be wise to remember that, especially for the one trying to apply rule 12 :P.

You see where I am going with this, right? Yeah, that's right, this month's artwork is from Fire Emblem Warriors! So, this month, I forced humbly requested to my Koopas to go and hide in an artwork from that game. So, now, it's all up to you to find them all. As usual, they are five of them, so good luck!

Answer:

Did you find them all? Regardless, thank you for very much for your support, come back again next year for more rounds of Hiding Koopa! In the meantime, enjoy the rest of our newspaper.

Picross

Written by: Goombuigi (talk)

The end of the year is here,
Soon will come a fresh new year,
And although 2020 was a mess,
It had its moments nonetheless.

That was my (rather weak) attempt at an end-of-the-year poem. Anyway, greetings, and welcome to the final Picross section of the year! Not only that, this issue is Shroobified to celebrate 15 years of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. I'll admit, I haven't played the game, but it looks like quite a wacky one, as most [Mario & Luigi] games are. As this is a special issue, I have four picross puzzles for you to solve, each revolving around a character from this particular game.

Note: To enhance the experience, please solve the picrosses in order. For this edition, the solutions for each puzzle are located directly below them, rather than at the end of the section, as usual.

For new readers:

For new readers to this section, here's a short explanation about it: Every issue, you'll find two to four picross puzzles based on a certain theme, based on a Mario game, series, character, or item. If you have any ideas for themes, feel free to suggest them here. If you're new to picross, or need a refresher on the rules, here is a step-by-step walkthrough. You can also find many tutorials online. To play, download the picture and print it, or open it in a drawing program of your choice. Happy solving!

Level 1: Easy

Solution:

E. Gadd's Time Machine

The time machine solidifies.
Goombuigi: It's a time machine! It popped out of the solved picross?!
Goombuigi walks over to it, but while doing so, trips over it. You run over to check if he's OK, but you both get sucked into the time machine and travel to the past.
When you step out, you see a vastly different world. You look for Goombuigi, but can't find him. Instead, you hear a rumbling noise, and find a paper with a picross flying from the time machine. Puzzled, you sit down, look at it, and solve it.

Level 2: Medium

Solution:

Cobalt Star

The Cobalt Star glows up, and places itself in the time machine. You realize that the time machine is powered by the Cobalt Star, and that you can travel back to the present, but first, you have to find Goombuigi.
You look around, when you see a small brown dot in the distance. You run over to it, and find that it's Goombuigi, but looking much younger.
Baby Goombuigi: Ha! Mama!
You pick him up, and go back to the time machine, when Goombuigi is grabbed by a monstrous figure.
Princess Shroob: Ah, the time machine. Perfect. I'll grab that, and your little buddy too.
You try to grab Goombuigi back, but, using her magic powers, Princess Shroob traps him inside a picross and disappears. You set to work and solve the next picross.

Level 3: Hard

Solution:

Baby Goombuigi

Princess Shroob reappears, frustrated that you solved the puzzle. Meanwhile, you rush to put Goombuigi, who is still a baby, into the time machine, and you stand protectively in front of it.
Princess Shroob: Very well, I shall have to do this the hard way.
To your horror, you find that the Cobalt Star is in Princess Shroob's hand.
Princess Shroob: With the power of the Cobalt Star at my disposal, I shall end this petty conflict once and for all!
Using a strange supernatural power, Princess Shroob transforms the world around you into a picross. To escape, you must solve it.
You look at the picross in bewilderment. It looks impossible to do! You look around, and see a paper with a hint. The hint says:
"The picross is vertically symmetrical."

Level 4: Boss

Solution:

Princess Shroob

You punch the Picross with all of your might. With Princess Shroob stunned, you grab the Cobalt Star and head rapidly to the time machine, sending you and Goombuigi back to the present.
Goombuigi: My, what happened? Last I remember, I entered a time machine…
You explain the whole story to Goombuigi, whose expression changes from confused to relieved.
Goombuigi: Your picross-solving abilities have saved me! But how come you didn't become younger when I did? … It must be because you're not actually with me, but you're reading this story in a digital paper! But … how did you save me?
You think, but can't find a reasonable answer other than you've broken the fourth wall beyond repair.

I hope you enjoyed this month's picross. And of course, I'd like to wish you happy holidays and a happy new year! See you in 2021, with more picrosses in store.

Where in the Marioverse is Carmen Sandiego?

Written by: FunkyK38 (talk)

HOW TO PLAY

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

We're on the brink of a serious shroob situation here!

“Gumshoe, we have a massive problem! The Mushroom Kingdom has seen a massive amount of Shroobs running amok and causing chaos- and our office is no different! The Shroobs first appeared to try and free their leader, Elder Princess Shroob, and they actually succeeded in breaking her out of her prison. Luckily for the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi were able to stop her and her clan of evil little mushrooms. But now, it seems that they’ve returned, and their big goal is the Cobalt Star again! We need you to track down the team of Shroobs that are bringing the final pieces of the Cobalt Star together, before they can release the Elder Princess Shroob again! We’ll try to keep them from destroying the office here, so hurry and get to work solving this case!”

Crime Scene

The Crime Stop the Shroobs from completing the Cobalt Star!

CLUE 1 “We saw a crowd of little purple guys running across the beach! They seemed to be fascinated by all the bubbles in the water, though.”

CLUE 2 “Gotta love the clear water here. Swimming is great!”

CLUE 3 “Grab your cap and let’s go on an adventure!”

Location 2

CORRECT ANSWER Seaside Kingdom from Super Mario Odyssey

CLUE 1 “These guys fell through a bunch of the trap doors. They don’t seem to be scared of the ghosts, though.”

CLUE 2 “Less of a mansion and more of a museum, really.”

CLUE 3 “A dark sequel- be sure to bring your flashlight!”

Location 3

CORRECT ANSWER Treacherous Mansion from Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

CLUE 1 “They were headed towards the gate at the top.”

CLUE 2 “It’s a place where you can be close to the heavens above.”

CLUE 3 “The Shroobs are going… home?”

CASE CLOSED

HIDEOUT ANSWER: Star Hill from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Shroob situation stopped successfully! “Gumshoe, you’ve done it! We rushed to Star Hill and managed to stop the group of Shroobs with the shards of the Cobalt Star from reaching the summit at the top. If you hadn’t hurried with your investigation, we would be facing a Shroob catastrophe of epic proportions! Mario and Luigi both thank you for all of your hard work, and the denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom have sent you a treasure chest of goodies, including Stars, Coins, and Super Mushrooms! We’ve left it on your desk. You can open it up after you help the rest of the department clean up the mess left by all of these Shroobs!”

Mystery Images

Written by: Ninja Squid (talk)

Is is just me, or am I quite frequent right now in Fun Stuff? Well, whatever...

Hello, 'Shroom readers! I am here for you with another edition of Mystery Images. The goal of this section is pretty simple. You have zoom-in images of three characters coming from the Mario & Luigi series, and you will have to find out who they are. Hey, how about you try to find them all, but with the least amount of clues? That might be fun to try out!

Anyway, I've already said more than enough already, so now, give this game a try and have fun!

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Answers:

Round 1: Queen Bean! Round 2: Toadsworth the Younger! Round 3: Dr. Snoozemore!

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