Director's Notes
Greetings, beautiful 'Shroom readers! Welcome into the 2024 Fun Stuff office, where our resolution this year is even more fun! ...Yeah, okay, maybe the writers were right, that is too on-the-nose. But I mean, what else are we going to be doing in here? Put up a "NO FUN ALLOWED" sign? What do you think we are, robots?
This January, we have a new directorship in the bigwig chairs! Congratulations to Shoey (talk) and Meta Knight (talk) for their promotion - with your collective excitement for The 'Shroom, I'm thrilled to see what this year holds for the paper! Is that good word enough for a raise in my evil allowance, boss?
Ahem, never mind that! It's the New Year, and there's new games to play, so go and be new and Happy New Year new new new!!
Section of the Month
Congratulations to Camwoodstock (talk) for a runaway win with Picross! Not a surprise with how inventive and fun the section was. Further kudos go to FunkyK38 (talk) and Waluigi Time (talk) for second and third place respectively! Make sure to vote for your favorite sections this month!
| FUN STUFF SECTION OF THE MONTH | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Section | Votes | % | Writer |
| 1st | Picross | 17 | 48.57% | Camwoodstock (talk) |
| 2nd | Where in the Marioverse is Carmen Sandiego? | 6 | 17.14% | FunkyK38 (talk) |
| 3rd | Hiding Koopa | 5 | 14.29% | Waluigi Time (talk) |
Anagrams
Written by: BBQ Turtle (talk)
Happy new year everyone! It feels a bit weird saying it this late, but hey, weird's one of the things I do best. Anyway, I don't know about your hemisphere, but around by me it's pretty cold right now, so I've put some anagrams together to represent that- snow time like the present! If you fancy suggesting a theme that's more accurate to your current weather conditions, or anything really, for next month, then please let me know on my talk page or in a PM to me on the forums, it's always a treat to get a message from someone. OK, ice better let you slide onto these anagrams!
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. DAMN LAWN SONS
2. TIE TO OCCUPIES
3. ALLERGIC GAME
4. BEST HANDLER
5. FROWNED SAP PLAN
6. CAUTION COLON LOOM
7. ANKLE A VILLA
8. COLDER FRIGATES
9. VARY EXHALING RUBS
10. AIR HIVES
11. OF NOMINAL WALNUTS
12. DAD LINKS
13. COWARDLINESS OR AIR
Bonus anagram:
- Snowman's Land
- Ice Ice Outpost
- Gleam Glacier
- Sherbet Land
- Frappe Snowland
- Cool Cool Mountain
- Vanilla Lake
- Frosted Glacier
- Shiverburn Galaxy
- Shiveria
- Snowfall Mountain
- DK Island
- Rosalina's Ice World
Bonus anagram: Merry Mountain
Word Search
Hello, and welcome to another exciting death-defying word search! This month's puzzle is all about the first Mario & Luigi game, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. This month, words can be found vertically, diagonally, backwards, and, finally, inside other words! As always, have fun and stay safe!
Crossword
Written by: MarioMorty (talk)
Welcome back to Crosswords everyone, brought to you by me, MarioMorty. And with a new year, comes a new crossword. The theme of this edition is the new enemies in New Super Mario Bros Wii. Hope you enjoy!
Hiding Koopa
Written by: Waluigi Time (talk)
Hello there, 'Shroom readers! Per a suggestion from our very own Fun Stuff Director Roserade, this month's edition of Hiding Koopa is themed after Pizza Tower, the real Best Debut Indie Game! Look, even those sneaky Koopas are getting in on pizza time. There's five of them hidden in this artwork from the game, can you find them?
Now it's time for Lap 2! Just kidding.
Thanks for playing! Did you find them all?
Connections
Greetings, beautiful 'Shroom readers! Welcome to Connections! A brand new set of terms for a brand new year... Shall we get started, then?
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!
| Fear | Big | Cap | Snow |
| Game Boy | Dark | Scarecrow | Down |
| Airplane | Para | Dog | Spiked |
| Moon | Pig | Lost | Mute |
Start with "Scarecrow"
Have you ever tried chestnut before?
Figuring out this puzzle? Music to my ears!
- Scarecrow, Fear, Down, Mute: Super Mario RPG status conditions
- Big, Dark, Para, Spiked: Goomba variations
- Game Boy, Airplane, Dog, Pig: Mario Paint instruments
- Cap, Snow, Moon, Lost: Odyssey kingdoms
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
“Gumshoe, your next case has come in. We don’t have any new leads on Carmen’s whereabouts yet, but you do have a client request from the man in red himself. Mario needs your help finding his stolen Hammer! Mario has brought his hammer with him to many different games, ranging from Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi, Mario Maker, and many more. It’s one of his most iconic weapons in any Mario RPG. We do have some information from the client regarding the theft- he was working with his hammer one day, and while his back was turned, it was snatched by a passing Paratroopa! He’s not sure if it’s connected to Bowser or not, but he’s fairly certain that Carmen is not involved. It’s just a tool, after all. You can investigate this case for Mario and chase down that sticky-fingered Koopa while we look for new leads here. Time to get to work, gumshoe!”
|
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:
Haunted Trail from Mario Party 10 
“You’ve done well once again, gumshoe, and acting completely solo! We’ll take the crook from you, and Mario is waiting for you at your desk for his hammer. I would have sent a team with you to catch this troublemaker, but we’re all stretched so thin trying to make sense of Carmen’s mess that we didn’t have any hands to spare you. Nonetheless, you handled it perfectly and didn’t keep Mario waiting. Excellent work! I’ll let you get to your client so you can return that hammer, and we will keep you updated for when your next case will land. You can catch up on all of your paperwork in the meantime.”
| The 'Shroom: Issue 202 | |
|---|---|
| Staff sections | Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight • Directorial Address |
| Features | Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing |