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i dunno if this has ever been posted....but....

ive seen this contest in magazines forever....and have always wanted to try it out....so i signed up and completed the first set of puzzles....now im waiting for the next set to be mailed to me....

it goes like this....in some magazines (recently the june 04 issue of psm on page 61) they have this contest advertised....where you pay as you play (a few bucks)...filling out mystery word grids and puzzles to compete with other people who are filling out different versions of the same puzzle for prizes....you can win "the ultimate gaming rig" of over $20,000 in prizes.......they have a computer contest, video game contest, and media rig contest......

does anyone know what im talking about? has anyone ever tried this? is it a scam?

Is it that silly crossword contest I always used to see in GamePro where the example crossword's answer is 'POWER'?

If so, yes I know what you are talking about. Seems like a rip off to me, but it ain't my money either.

yeah....thats it....its like $5 so far for each time you send away for the next round of puzzles (thats if you signed up for all of the contests)....i figured id give it a try....if all else fails....i can at least warn others not to waste their money on it

That crossword puzzle thing was in my Nintendo Power in 1989, I swear it's still the same answers too. Hey, let me know how it works out though.

I always assumed this was a scam, but it has been around quite a while, so you never know.

yeah....im hoping its legit....i dont think it would be able to keep its home in all of these magazines still if it wasn't legit

Keep us posted...I always saw those and never understood how that puzzle could get harder as you go...

I always wanted to do it when i saw it in magazines and never had the disposable income to do it, a big concern of mine is that it probably goes on for years, bringing the cost up to 100 or more dollars.

its supposedly only like 5 or 6 rounds....im either on round 2 or 3....i dont see how the puzzles get any harder either....but....we'll see.....ill keep ya posted as we go....im not supposed to receive the next round til mid-late may

Ive always wondered if that was a scam. It would be great to get that TV in the ad though.

I've seen those for years and yes it seems like the same puzzles! Good luck I hope you aren't throwing your money out the door. If you win, you gotta post a pic of your winnings. So all of us who wouldn't do it can kick ourselves in the ass :wink: ......

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I have seen them around for at least 6 or 7 years but never tried it.

What I didn't like about the rules was that it says if contestants are tied at the end, they split the prize value.

Now I'm not sure how many people make it to the last round and have the higest score possible but I am guessing it's a lot (judging by how simple the puzzles seem to be). Maybe once everyone splits the final prize, they get something like $20 or less because there are so many winners.

the paper that i got in the mail with the first round states that (exactly) in the rules....but it also states that they have never ever had a tie before in the past

I'm doing the phase one thing...( the first one you get besides the one in the mag) and i've done multiple searches on the company but i can't find anything... but nothing about it being non-legit either so there is no way to know

I decided to be so bold as to email Rattlebrain and ask them whether this contest was legit or was it a scam. Amazingly enough, they replied. The following is the letter from the contest director. None of it has been manipulated (BTW, I posed under a different name just in case):

Hi Stephanie,

I've been doing puzzle tournaments for twenty years. In that time, if I
had been a scam, none of the magazines would let me advertise. I do what I
say I will do and if you find yourself not happy at the end of the
contest, I'll send you a complete refund. This is why I have lasted so
long.

I hope you give us a shot.

Rick Lund
Contest Director
Baindramage, Inc.
503-889-4070

I also asked several other puzzling things about their contest. I'm waiting for their answers. I might just post them.

have none of you seen that episode of Doug where he decides to enter it using his $50 US Bond his grandmother had given him? well long story short he didn't win because there were plenty of competition.

i forgot all about this thread...anyways, i didn't win...why? because the puzzles that they send you are all time sensitive and they sent the last set of puzzles to me later then the due date...great scam, bastards

I was smart enough to get my hands on their Official rules. If it came after the deadline, it is not their fault. It is the postage system's. I was worried that because of Hurricane Katrina, the mail system was clogged or destroyed or something like that. Not that I wasn't worried about the victims, either. I donated alot of money, it was just a thing that bothered me. It was like 4 weeks between the puzzles. So, yeah.

Anyway, their official rules explain alot, too. What caught my eye the most was the possibility of getting a FULL refund if my puzzle came past the deadline or if I'm not happy with contest results. I might just post it. Also, I'm in the finals and just mailed it out. On the off chance I do win something, I'll take pics or something.