India, Oct. 27 -- Bringing puzzles to a wide audience can sometimes bring unexpected rewards. Whether you create a new puzzle or adapt an existing one, readers can make observations that you had not noticed before. "The answer to your puzzle," a reader or two occasionally may write to me, "has this interesting feature or that additional aspect."

I am fortunate to have such observant readers. Obviously, one cannot use the new information for a new puzzle immediately after the original. But three years is long enough. I had presented one version of the following puzzle during the 2022 football World Cup, and at least one reader subsequently pointed out an aspect I hadn't originally observed. In the new version, I have incorporated that asp...