NPR Puzzle 1/8/12 - Off One's Game

This is Crossword Man blogging for Magdalen, who is in Freeport, ME, at one of her residencies for the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing. She seems to be doing well, but we have relatively little time to chat: the residency periods are few and far between, so the students have to work very long hours when they're on campus.

Anyway, here's this week's NPR puzzle:

Name four parts of a car that are also terms used in a particular game. One of the parts is spelled in three letters, two of them in five letters each, and one has six letters. Two places a car might go are also terms used in the game. What game is it, and what are the terms?

Probably due to Magdalen's absence from the house, I feel I'm off my game today: I've tried all the Usual Suspects in the games world, and found several which the puzzle fits partially. But so far I don't have a satisfying list of all four car parts.

I thought I'd do a few chores before posting in the hopes I'd think of the answer while not thinking of the answer (if you see what I mean) ... but no luck yet. If you've worked out the answer, don't tell me, but Submit Your Answer to NPR. You can show your extreme cleverness to me by solving the puzzle below.

At the risk of getting close to the right answer by accident, here's a picture puzzle for you. Each of these illustrates a term from a game I'm familiar with, as interpreted by Flickr users (clicking on the picture will give you the attribution, and may also help you figure out the answer).

Which brings us to ....

This is where we ask you how many entries you think NPR will get for the challenge above.  If you want to win, leave a comment with your guess for the range of entries NPR will receive.  First come first served, so read existing comments before you guess.  Magdalen and I guess last, just before we publish the Thursday post.  After the Thursday post is up, the entries are closed.  The winner gets a puzzle book of our unspecified choosing.

Last week skydiveboy won again; I'll see if there's anything left in Santa's sack for him. Dang, we're going to have to change those ranges again soon: we're paying out too often and life has to get tougher for you all. The good times will end soon, so send in your picks before the mistress comes home and decides what our all-new right-sized slots are going to be....

Here are the ranges:

Fewer than 50        51 - 100 101 - 150 151 - 200 201 - 250 251 - 300 301 - 350 351 - 400 401 - 450 451 - 500 501 - 550 551 - 600 601 - 650 651 - 700 701 - 750 751 - 800 801 - 850 851 - 900 901 - 950 951 - 1,000

1,001 - 1,050          1,051 - 1,100 1,101 - 1,150 1,151 - 1,200 1,201 - 1,250 1,251 - 1,300 1,301 - 1,350 1,351 - 1,400 1,401 - 1,450 1,451 - 1,500 1,501 - 1,550 1,551 - 1,600 1,601 - 1,650 1,651 - 1,700 1,701 - 1,750 1,751 - 1,800 1,801 - 1,850 1,851 - 1,900 1,901 - 1,950 1,951 - 2,000

2,001 - 2,050 2,051 - 2,100 2,101 - 2,150 2,151 - 2,200 2,201 - 2,250 2,251 - 2,300 2,301 - 2,350 2,351 - 2,400 2,401 - 2,450 2,451 - 2,500 2,501 - 2,750 2,751 - 3,000 3,001 - 3,250 3,251 - 3,500 3,501 - 4,000 4,001 - 4,500 4,501 - 5,000 More than 5,000 More than 5,000 and it sets a new record.

Our tie-break rule:   In the event that a single round number is announced, AND two separate people picked the ranges leading up to and leading up from that round number, the prize will be awarded to whichever entrant had not already won a prize, or in the event that both entrants had won a prize already or neither had, then to the earlier of the two entries on the famous judicial principle of "First Come First Serve," (or in technical legal jargon, "You Snooze, You Lose").  And yes, this rule is most-likely obsolete but I just like having fine print.