SpecGram Puzzles and Games

Collected all in one place for your brain-teasing pleasure, below is a list of the currently available linguistically themed puzzles and games that have appeared over the years in SpecGram and related publications.

Puzzles?
Acrostics:
> Akróstichon—Dr. Dr. Fortina Haecceity, M.D., Ph.D.
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Linguacrostic—Drs. Oniomania Succedaneum and Lex Quisquis, Ph.D.s
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
Anagrams:
> Lingo Jumble—Orang Pendek, D.Sc. and Orang Mawas, Litt.D.
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> The “Panama Guzzler” Anagram Puzzle—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLXVI.2, January 2013
Crosswords:
> Crossword for Linguists—Doug Files
World of Language I.2, February 1991
> Indo-European Crossword Puzzle No. 1—Donald Reindl
Speculative Grammarian CXLVII.2, February 1993
> A SpecGram Crossword for Devoted SpecGram Readers and other Linguists and Researchers—Lila Rosa Grau
Speculative Grammarian CLV.4, February 2009
> Crossword—Tim Pulju
Speculative Grammarian CLVI.2, April 2009
> Crossword—Tim Pulju
Speculative Grammarian CLVI.3, June 2009
> Et Al.—Nick Williams
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Crossword for Indo-Europeanists—Tim Pulju
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Critical Readings in Linguistics Crossword Puzzle—H.D. Onesimus
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Crossword—Keith Slater
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.4, December 2009
> SpecGrammatical Crossword—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLVIII.1, February 2010
> Modal Mania—Keith Slater
Speculative Grammarian CLX.4, January 2011
> Crossword: Just In Case—Keith Slater
Speculative Grammarian CLXI.2, March 2011
> Language Relationships?—Tim Pulju
Speculative Grammarian CLXI.4, May 2011
> Bewitched, Bothered, and Begoogled—Rick Bryan
Speculative Grammarian CLXIII.1, October 2011
> First Names First—Tim Pulju
Speculative Grammarian CLXIII.3, December 2011
> Crossword for Historical Linguists—Keith W. Slater
Speculative Grammarian CLXVI.3, February 2013
> Cryptolinguistic Puzzle—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXXV.1, January 2016
> Cryptolinguistic Puzzle 2—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXXV.4, April 2016
> Cryptolinguistic Puzzle Γ—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXXVI.3, July 2016
> Cryptolinguistic Puzzle 四—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXXVII.2, October 2016
> Cryptolinguistic Puzzle ڄ—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXXVIII.1, January 2017
> Cryptolinguistic Puzzle 0110—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXXX.4, February 2018
> Cryptolinguistic Puzzle 𒑂 (Sebē)—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXI.4, June 2018
> Cryptolinguistic Puzzle Uaxac—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXII.4, October 2018
> Cryptolinguistic Puzzle ⠼⠊—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXIII.4, February 2019
> Cryptolinguistic Puzzle И—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXIV.4, June 2019
> Crossword for Young Linguists—Avga Ah Morbror
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXV.3, September 2019
> Cryptolinguistic Puzzle ԺԱ—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXV.4, October 2019
> Cryptolinguistic Puzzle Dodecahedron—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXVI.4, February 2020
> What Does the Fax Say?—Ada Cross and Tad Fox
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXVII.3, May 2020
Cryptograms:
> E’s-y Cryptogram—Prof. Dr. phil. habil. Erlösende Einigkeit
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> /fənɛtɪk krɪptəgræm/—Moko Dude, Ph.D.
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
Domino Puzzles:
> Domiphones and Dominasals—Keith Slater & Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXV.1, July 2019
> Domiphones II—Keith Slater & Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXVI.2, December 2019
Drop Quotes:
> Drop Kick the Quote—Phil Trum, Doctor of Linguology
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Yet Another Drop Quote—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLXIII.2, November 2011
EtymGeo™:
> EtymGeo™—U.S. Edition—The SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLXI.3, April 2011
> EtymGeo™—International Edition, Part I—The SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLXII.1, June 2011
> EtymGeo™—International Edition, Part II—The SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLXII.3, August 2011
> EtymGeo™—Weird Little U.S. Towns, Part I—The SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLXVII.3, June 2013
> EtymGeo™—Weird Little U.S. Towns, Part II—The SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLXVIII.1, September 2013
> EtymGeo™—Weird Little U.S. Towns, Part III—The SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLXVIII.1, November 2013
> EtymGeo™—Weird Little U.S. Towns, Part IV—The SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLXIX.3, March 2014
> EtymGeo™—Weird Little U.S. Towns, Part V—The SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLXX.4, August 2014
> EtymGeo™—Weird Little U.S. Towns, Part VI—The SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLXXI.4, December 2014
Fieldwork Puzzles:
> Ple Nvæn-ila Fieldwork Puzzle—Claude Searsplainpockets
Speculative Grammarian CLVIII.4, April 2010
> Vallelz Noun Class Word Search—Keith Slater and Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLIX.1, May 2010
> Out-of-this-World Fieldwork Puzzle #1—Pecha Kucha
Speculative Grammarian CLIX.3, July 2010
> Out-of-this-World Fieldwork Puzzle #2—Pecha Kucha
Speculative Grammarian CLX.2, November 2010
FonoFutoshiki:
> FonoFutoshiki—Ulfheðnar ber Sarkur
Speculative Grammarian CLVI.1, March 2009
> FonoFutoshiki II—Ulfheðnar ber Sarkur
Speculative Grammarian CLVI.2, May 2009
> FonoFutoshiki III—Ulfheðnar ber Sarkur
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
FonoNurikabe:
> FonoNurikabe—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLII.3, May 2007
HanjieLinguru:
> HanjieLinguru—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLIV.2, June 2008
> HanjieLinguru II—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLIV.4, August 2008
> HanjieLinguru III—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLV.2, November 2008
HashiWordakero:
> HashiWordakero—Lacuna Mamihlapinatapai
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
HitoriGuistiku:
> HitoriGuistiku—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLII.2, March 2007
> HitoriGuistiku II—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLIII.2, November 2007
HomonimoKakuro:
> HomonimoKakuro—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLII.4, July 2007
Interactive Fiction:
> Choose Your Own Career in Linguistics—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CL.α, November 2005
IPA Code Puzzles:
> IPA Code Puzzle I—Animals in Disguise—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXII.2, July 2011
> IPA Code Puzzle II—Enchanted Household—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXII.4, September 2011
IPAlindromes:
> IPAlindromes I—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXV.1, July 2012
> IPAlindromes II—Find the IPAlindrome!—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXV.3, September 2012
> IPAlindromes III—What Should We Do With/To Noam?—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLXV.4, October 2012
Language Identification:
> Language Identification Puzzle—Keith Slater and Jouni Maho
Speculative Grammarian CLIX.2, June 2010
> Language Identification Puzzle II—John Miaou
Speculative Grammarian CLIX.4, September 2010
Latin Squares:
> A Diagonal Latin Square—Ulfheðnar ber Sarkur
Speculative Grammarian CLXXVII.3, November 2016
> A Semi-Diagonal Latin Square—Ulfheðnar ber Sarkur
Speculative Grammarian CLXXIX.1, May 2017
> A Deluxe Diagonal Latin Square—Ulfheðnar ber Sarkur
Speculative Grammarian CLXXX.3, January 2018
LingDoku:
> LingDoku—Like SuDoku, But For Linguists—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLI.2, April 2006
> LingDoku II—More, Better, Harder—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLI.3, July 2006
> Samurai LingDoku: LingDoku—But So Much More So—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLI.4, October 2006
> Monster LingDoku—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLIII.1, September 2007
> LingDoku II—The Revival—Tangent Wong and the SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLXIX.2, February 2014
Ling-Ken:
> Ling-Ken—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLVIII.1, January 2010
> Ling-Ken II—Mary Shapiro
Speculative Grammarian CLVIII.3, March 2010
L’Ishing:
> L’Ishing du Gwujlang—Dorothea Dorfman and Theodora Mundorf
Speculative Grammarian CLXVIII.4, December 2013
> L’Ishing du Gwujlang II—Dorothea Dorfman and Theodora Mundorf
Speculative Grammarian CLXX.2, June 2014
> L’Ishing du Gwujlang III—Dorothea Dorfman and Theodora Mundorf
Speculative Grammarian CLXXI.3, November 2014
> L’Ishing du Gwujlang IV—Phicorthogra—Dorothea Dorfman and Theodora Mundorf
Speculative Grammarian CLXXII.2, February 2015
> L’Ishing du Gwujlang V—Phicorthogra—Dorothea Dorfman and Theodora Mundorf
Speculative Grammarian CLXXIII.3, July 2015
> L’Ishing du Gwujlang VI—Phicorthogra—Dorothea Dorfman and Theodora Mundorf
Speculative Grammarian CLXXIV.3, November 2015
> L’Ishing du Gwujlang VII—Lusrveer—Dorothea Dorfman and Theodora Mundorf
Speculative Grammarian CLXXVI.1, May 2016
> L’Ishing du Gwujlang VIII—Lusrveer—Dorothea Dorfman and Theodora Mundorf
Speculative Grammarian CLXXVI.4, August 2016
> L’Ishing du Gwujlang IX—Lusrveer—Dorothea Dorfman and Theodora Mundorf
Speculative Grammarian CLXXVII.4, December 2016
> L’Ishing du Gwujlang X—Lusrveer—Dorothea Dorfman and Theodora Mundorf
Speculative Grammarian CLXXIX.2, June 2017
> L’Ishing du Gwujlang XI—Lusrveer—Dorothea Dorfman and Theodora Mundorf
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXII.2, August 2018
> L’Ishing du Gwujlang XII—Mịʀʀŏ̯яяịm—Dorothea Dorfman and Theodora Mundorf
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXIII.1, November 2018
Logic Puzzles:
> Everything that Linguists Have Always Wanted to Know About Logic—Prof. D. Innere Form
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> The Logic of Teaching Linguistics—Ulfheðnar ber Sarkur
Speculative Grammarian CLXXX.2, December 2017
Mad Libitum Games:
> Mad Libitum—The SpecGram Puzzle Editors
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
Magic Squares:
> The Polyglot’s Magic Square—John Miaou
Speculative Grammarian CLV.3, December 2008
Masyu Ortograpiu:
> Masyu Ortograpiu—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLII.1, January 2007
> Masyu Ortograpiu II—Linguistic Boogaloo—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLIII.3, January 2008
Math Puzzles:
> Verbal Arithmetic—Fnu Nmn Lnu, A.B.D.
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> The Fifteen Linguists—Hortatory Ergative Dudeney
Speculative Grammarian CLXIX.1, January 2014
Miscellaneous Puzzles:
> Knights of the Linguistic Roundtable—Fergus Falls-Brainerd
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> IPA Analogies—Dr. Watalodabaloni Überwoggle, B.F.E.
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Famous Extracts—John Miaou
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> A Poem Puzzle—Bryan Allen
Speculative Grammarian CLXIV.1, February 2012
> Christmas Carol Orthography Puzzle—Mary Pearce
Speculative Grammarian CLXVI.1, November 2012
> Decrypt the Missives from the Cosmos—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLXX.3, July 2014
> A Speculative Scavenger Hunt—The SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLXXV.3, March 2016
> Fly, Sigh, Sentence Ugly—Siva Kalyan & Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLXXVIII.3, March 2017
> Post Script—Chip Carver
Speculative Grammarian CLXXIX.4, October 2017
> The Phonology Test—Ulfheðnar ber Sarkur
Speculative Grammarian CLXXX.1, November 2017
> What Is Sil Doing?—Silvestre Ninelette
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXI.1, March 2018
> Phorensic Phonology—The SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXI.2, April 2018
> Occam’s Safety Scissors—Lex Parsimoniae
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXIII.2, December 2018
Mix & Match
> Mix & Match *—Max & Mitch Ninelette
Speculative Grammarian CLXXIV.2, October 2015
> Mix & Match †—Max & Mitch Ninelette
Speculative Grammarian CLXXV.2, February 2016
> Mix & Match ‡—Max & Mitch Ninelette
Speculative Grammarian CLXXVI.2, June 2016
> Mix & Match §—Max & Mitch Ninelette
Speculative Grammarian CLXXVII.1, September 2016
> Mix & Match ‖—Max & Mitch Ninelette
Speculative Grammarian CLXXVIII.2, February 2017
> Mix & Match ¶—Max & Mitch Ninelette
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXI.3, May 2018
> Mix & Match ※—Max & Mitch Ninelette
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXIV.1, March 2019
> Mix & Match ☞—Max & Mitch Ninelette
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXV.2, August 2019
> Mix & Match #—Max & Mitch Ninelette
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXVI.3, January 2020
> Mix & Match ◊—Max & Mitch Ninelette
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXVII.2, April 2020
Move-αnαgrαms:
> Move-αnαgrαms—Trey Jones and Keith Slater
Speculative Grammarian CLXVI.4, March 2013
> Move-αnαgrαms II: Historical Edition—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLXVII.2, May 2013
> αdvαnced Move-αnαgrαms—The Yì Līng—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLXVII.4, August 2013
> αvαnt-Gαrde Move-αnαgrαms—Gαvαgαi!—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLXVIII.2, October 2013
Pseudo-Q:
> Pseudo-Q—Mark Mandel & Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXIV.3, May 2019
Rasmus Rask Puzzles:
> Rasmus Rask Puzzle I—Lila Rosa Grau
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Rasmus Rask Puzzle II—Rasmus vs Ethnologue!—Lila Rosa Grau
Speculative Grammarian CLIII.2, September 2009
> Rasmus Rask Puzzle III—Lila Rosa Grau
Speculative Grammarian CLXIII.4, Janaury 2012
> Rasmus Rask Puzzle IV—A New Hope—Lila Rosa Grau
Speculative Grammarian CLXV.2, August 2012
> Rasmus Rask Puzzle V—Diamonds Are Forever—Lila Rosa Grau
Speculative Grammarian CLXXVIII.4, April 2017
> Rasmus Rask Mini Puzzle VI—Lila Rosa Grau
Speculative Grammarian CLXXIX.3, August 2017
> Rasmus Rask Diamond Puzzle VII—Lila Rosa Grau
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXII.1, July 2018
> Rasmus Rask Diamond Puzzle VIII—Lila Rosa Grau
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXIII.3, January 2019
> Rasmus Rask Mini Puzzle IX—Lila Rosa Grau
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXIV.2, April 2019
> Rasmus Rask Diamond Puzzle X—Lila Rosa Grau
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXVI.1, November 2019
Rebuses:
> Rebus—Wulfila Bruinne, M.F.A., Ph.D.
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> ull ou all the sos—Laura Payne
Speculative Grammarian CLIX.4, September 2010
Sliding Puzzles:
> Sliding Vowels Puzzle—Basil Quinn
Speculative Grammarian CLXXII.3, March 2015
Συυιτχεροο:
> Συυιτχεροο—Ἄλφα—Ἔλλειψις Ἀστερίσκος and Ἔλλειψις Ἀπόστροφος
Speculative Grammarian CLXXII.1, January 2015
> Συυιτχεροο—Βῆτα—Ἔλλειψις Ἀστερίσκος and Ἔλλειψις Ἀπόστροφος
Speculative Grammarian CLXXII.4, April 2015
> Συυιτχεροο—Γάμμα—Double Trouble—Ἔλλειψις Ἀστερίσκος and Ἔλλειψις Ἀπόστροφος
Speculative Grammarian CLXXIII.4, August 2015
Transform Puzzles:
> Transform Puzzles I—Vaguely Linguistic Transforms—Jonathan van der Meer
Speculative Grammarian CLIII.4, March 2008
> Transform Puzzles II—Now With Enhanced Sound!—Jonathan van der Meer
Speculative Grammarian CLIV.1, May 2008
> Transform Puzzles III—The Final Showdown—Jonathan van der Meer
Speculative Grammarian CLIV.3, July 2008
Trickle Down Linguonomics:
> Trickle Down Linguonomics I—K͡Parul K͡Brugmann
Speculative Grammarian CLXXIII.1, May 2015
> Trickle Down Linguonomics II—K͡Parul K͡Brugmann
Speculative Grammarian CLXXIV.1, September 2015
> Trickle Down Linguonomics III—K͡Parul K͡Brugmann
Speculative Grammarian CLXXIV.4, December 2015
Visual Puzzles:
> Scrambled Linguist—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Self-Defining Puzzle—Swivelhips Smith, D.Phil.
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Who’s Who in Linguistics—Dniester Ostrogoth, Ph.D. and Dnieper Ostrogoth, D.Phil.
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Anglomorphic Cuneiform—Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLXIV.3, May 2012
> The Ro-Zeta Stone—The SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLXVII.1, April 2013
Word Ladders:
> Word Ladder 一—Learned Hand and Benighted Foot
Speculative Grammarian CLXX.1, May 2014
> Word Ladder 二—Learned Hand and Benighted Foot
Speculative Grammarian CLXXI.2, October 2014
Word Puzzles:
> Linguistic Story Time—Abbernathy Ljunqvist, M.B.A.
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Mars Linguists—Prof. Yamātārā­jabhānasa­lagām Ouroboros
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Words of Dubious Roman Origin—Numerius Negidius et Aulus Agerius
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Linguistic Equations—Prof. Lars Tyndskids and Dr. Jef Van Pijperzele
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> DIS(PLAY)FUL END(GAME)SOMELY—Maija Meikäläinen, Ph.D. and Matti Meikäläinen, J.D.
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Double or Nothing—Schön “Sean” Kaunis, Ph.D.
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Missed It By THAT Much!—Tel Monks and the SpecGram Puzzle Elves™
Speculative Grammarian CLX.3, December 2010
> Word Relations—Jonathan van der Meer
Speculative Grammarian CLXI.1, February 2011
> A Panoply of Stupid Hijinks—The Dijkstra Triplets (Stuart, Kirsten, and Elizabeth)
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXII.3, September 2018
> Θησαυρός Γρίφος—Ternion Crave
Speculative Grammarian CLXXXVII.1, March 2020
Word Searches:
> Word Search—Marco Manni Quadi-Suebi und Al P. Engermanen
Speculative Grammarian CLVII.η, July 2009
> Vallelz Noun Class Word Search—Keith Slater and Trey Jones
Speculative Grammarian CLIX.1, May 2010
> Linguistics Acronym Word Search—H.D. Onesimus
Speculative Grammarian CLXIX.4, April 2014