102. Read Between the Lines

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Hello hello! I'm down from cloud ten - more like cloud or four or five - since the Cubs didn't do anything of note on their first game back from the All-Star break. Trade deadline is coming up soon, so we'll have to see what happens!

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1. Puzzle #101 answer: 101 DALMATIANS

Correct entries: 40 (more of a Level 3 or 4 than anticipated!)

Shortest explanation: Precisely 13 black squares, playing the role of "spots," have a white space upon them. These, in order, spell out 101 DALMATIANS (the "I" and the "O" playing numeric duty), the answer to our meta. No bones about it!

This one played a lot harder than intended and was definitely SAD. Granted, it was a bit of a leap to make "spot" = "black square." I threw plenty of Easter eggs as well: ANITA is the mom, SMITH is the author, CLOSE played the villain once, and apparently there were also 101 white squares, along with the numeric tie-in.

Mailbag:

"Your WAG guess is almost certainly going to be correct."

Yep! But the mechanism was obfuscated enough to drive up the difficulty, for sure.

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2. The next few on the horizon are meant to play easier; this should be a Level 1 today!

Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful!

Mikey G

The answer to the meta is a bookworm's goal.