Show notes
Well, we're right in the middle of Hanukkah, but we already did an episode on that last week. That means I don't really have a holiday to base a puzzle around today, so instead, I've turned to my own hobbies for inspiration. I've always been a fan of video games, and one of my favorite game series is called Mega Man. The original game is about a robot boy named Mega Man who fights against his robot brothers, who've been re-programmed to be evil by the fiendish Dr. Wily. The original Mega Man series has 11 entries to date, and each of those games features brand new baddies for Mega Man to fight, from Cut Man (a lumberjack robot with scissors on his head) to Pump Man (a sewer-dwelling robot who works like an old-timey water pump). You may notice that the name of our hero, Mega Man, as well as that of all of his enemies, end with the word “man.” That's all I need to put together a quick puzzle. (With music by Landon Beall, Broke for Free, Nheap, Mark Sparling [”Day 2″ and “Day 8″], and Takashi Tateishi [“Game Start”].)

