This week: After a tough pair of Underscores in Ladies First and Ladies Last, we are debuting a new puzzle type!

From John Denver and the Muppets to rapper Dessa and the Minnesota Orchestra, sometimes an unlikely collaboration can lead to something special. I only wish we could experience some of the magic this week’s puzzle entries could come up with!

Super Group is a new mashup-style puzzle where two bands or musicians come together into one before-and-after phrase. Spanning genres, decades, and sometimes generations, how well can you identify this diverse group of artists?

Director’s Notes: I am so thrilled with how this one turned out! I did my best to prioritize pictures that really blend together, making it look like real, live collaborations, while still keeping a bit of that “anachronistic” Culture Clash feel. Hope you enjoy!

Solve now: cultureclash.app

A new and improved leaderboard is live on the site!

How it works: There are ten slots on the leader board. Upon puzzle completion, if your score is in the top 10, you will be prompted to enter your name and submit it to the leader board.

You also have the option to validate your identity with a Google account. I do not see or store any of your account information—this is between you and Google! This step exists only to put a bit of credibility on your results, given the fairly manipulable anonymous entry system.

You do not need to validate to make the leaderboard, but the top 5 slots will always prefer validated submissions to anonymous submissions. So to get that top slot you will likely need to validate!

How does scoring work? Each image is worth 10 points. Tier 1 hints subtract 1 point, tier 2 hints subtract 2 points, and tier 3 hints subtract 3 points. Subtract the total of the points for all hints used. If you reveal an answer, you get 0 points for that picture. Add it up across all pictures, and that’s your score!

In the event of a tie, the tie is broken by fastest completion time. The clock starts as soon as you open up the puzzle set.

Hope to see your name on the scoreboard Marquee!

Cutting Clash: Just like last week’s entry, today’s Cutting Clash features a band I have seen many times over the decades! (No, not Megadeth.) I’m talking of course about Death Cab for Cutie, who I have had the pleasure of seeing everywhere from the opening act at club venues to headlining Lollapalooza.

I like this one quite a bit. The image of Ben Gibbard and crew being joined by Dave Mustaine and crew is fun to imagine. They actually look like they fit together much better than I thought they would, certainly aided by Ben Gibbard's signature black outfit, as well as his totally metal arm band.

As much as I enjoy this one, it is what I call a “slant overlap” (derived from the concept of slant rhyme). While verbally this one works very well, the misspelling in “Deth” unfortunately leads to a messy match. We are nothing if not elegant here at Culture Clash!

Next week we’ve got a break from the musicians! I continue to be really excited about some of the upcoming content.

Did you see our first ever guest puzzle this week? Longtime friend and often evil puzzlemaster Chris Polley treated us to a fun and adorable visual interpretation of movies with animals in their names. But be warned: some are in plain sight, and some are a bit camouflaged. I had lots of fun solving this one and working with Chris to bring it to life. Thanks so much Chris!

Did you know you can submit your own puzzles and puzzle ideas? Even if it’s just a list of entries or a puzzle concept, I would love to hear from you!

See you next Friday when our next puzzle sets drop. Until then,