Layers Game #11

Sep 25 Hints

Reveal only what you need. Nothing on this page shows an answer until you open it.

Quick hint

Messages, lawyers, ships' captains and places to put a vase.

Layer 1 hints

Mini puzzle 1 · Clue Stack

First clue: “He was obsessed with one animal.”

Hint 1 · General direction

He's a character in a novel.

Hint 2 · More specific

He hunted a white whale.

Hint 3 · Reveal letters

A _ _ B

Mini puzzle 2 · Missing Link

___, LINE AND SINKER · FISH___ · OFF THE ___

Hint 1 · General direction

Anglers use one.

Hint 2 · More specific

Peter Pan's enemy is named after it.

Hint 3 · Reveal letters

H _ _ K

Mini puzzle 3 · Word Shift

Start at BELL and shift 2 times. First clue: “A bird's beak — or a restaurant check”

Hint 1 · General direction

You'll end at a window.

Hint 2 · More specific

It's the flat part at the bottom of a window frame.

Hint 3 · Reveal letters

B?LL → ?ILL

Mini puzzle 4 · Letter Path

Clue: “Where stockings hang above the fireplace”

Hint 1 · General direction

It's a piece of furniture you can't move.

Hint 2 · More specific

It sounds like a cloak.

Hint 3 · Reveal letters

M _ _ T _ L — starts at the highlighted M (row 4, column 3)

Layer 2 hints

Most straightforward group

What the group is about

One group is how you get in touch.

Two words that belong together

TEXT and EMAIL

Medium group

What the group is about

One group belongs in a courtroom.

Two words that belong together

CASE and CLIENT

Tricky group

What the group is about

One group commanded ships — real, fictional or starbound.

Two words that belong together

COOK and HOOK

Trickiest group

What the group is about

One group is a place to rest an ornament.

Two words that belong together

SHELF and LEDGE

Final layer hints

Today's final layer is a Before & After.

Final hint 1

Libraries lend them.

Final hint 2

Recipes are collected in one.

Final hint 3

The answer looks like: B _ _ K

Still stuck?

How to play

Every puzzle has three layers. Peel them one at a time.

  1. Layer 1 — Mini Puzzles. Solve four quick puzzles: a Clue Stack, a Missing Link, a Word Shift and a Letter Path.
  2. Layer 2 — Connections. Sort 16 words into four groups of four. Your Layer 1 answers are on the board, marked ●. Five mistakes and the groups are revealed.
  3. Final Layer. Each group gives you a key word. Use all four keys to crack one last question. You get three tries.

Stuck? Every layer has hints. A new puzzle unlocks at midnight in your time zone.

Read the full guide