# What Is This Type Of Puzzle/Game Called? ("88 K on a P") or ("12 D of C") **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 30, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-type-of-puzzle-game-called-88-k-on-a-p-or-12-d-of-c/834790 "2019-05-30T20:43:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-type-of-puzzle-game-called-88-k-on-a-p-or-12-d-of-c/834790/1 "2019-05-30T20:43:33Z")
That’s pretty much it: is there a name for the type of puzzle/game described in the thread title? ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-type-of-puzzle-game-called-88-k-on-a-p-or-12-d-of-c/834790/2 "2019-05-30T20:57:29Z")
I believe they are called ‘letter equations’. If I remember correctly, the first one I saw appeared in Games Magazine a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-type-of-puzzle-game-called-88-k-on-a-p-or-12-d-of-c/834790/3 "2019-05-30T21:01:13Z")
Wikipedia uses “[ditloid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditloid)” from the _Daily Express_ and provides a history of what they have been called. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-type-of-puzzle-game-called-88-k-on-a-p-or-12-d-of-c/834790/4 "2019-05-30T21:10:44Z")
So, does anyone remember the one we drove ourselves crazy trying to figure out that we never did? Just asking… ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-type-of-puzzle-game-called-88-k-on-a-p-or-12-d-of-c/834790/5 "2019-05-30T21:15:35Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Wikipedia uses “[ditloid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditloid)” from the _Daily Express_ and provides a history of what they have been called. Holy crap! That Wiki page confirms what I remembered (and that happens with less frequency these days): > [@](#): > > Will Shortz originated the current form of this puzzle and first published it in the May–June 1981 issue of Games magazine, calling it the Equation Analysis Test. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-type-of-puzzle-game-called-88-k-on-a-p-or-12-d-of-c/834790/6 "2019-05-30T21:41:03Z")
I believe the one that drove the Dope crazy was “14 K of G in a FPD” Which was almost certainly a typo in whatever the heck the original source was, and was probably supposed to be “karats of gold” in something. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-type-of-puzzle-game-called-88-k-on-a-p-or-12-d-of-c/834790/7 "2019-05-30T22:21:06Z")
I’d yell at you guys for bringing it up, but the thread title alone raised my blood pressure about thirty points. Somebody named their website after it: [http://www.14kofginafpd.com/items.php?id=11](http://www.14kofginafpd.com/items.php?id=11) ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-type-of-puzzle-game-called-88-k-on-a-p-or-12-d-of-c/834790/8 "2019-05-30T23:52:16Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I’d yell at you guys for bringing it up, but the thread title alone raised my blood pressure about thirty points. Somebody named their website after it: [http://www.14kofginafpd.com/items.php?id=11](http://www.14kofginafpd.com/items.php?id=11) Heh. Sorry about your blood pressure, but that question I asked was in fact posed with malice aforethought. Ready for another 9 pager? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-type-of-puzzle-game-called-88-k-on-a-p-or-12-d-of-c/834790/9 "2019-05-31T01:07:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I believe the one that drove the Dope crazy was “14 K of G in a FPD” > > Which was almost certainly a typo in whatever the heck the original source was, and was probably supposed to be “karats of gold” in something. There was no typo, nor was there a source beyond the OP. That was a highly effective practical joke, to put it nicely (and within the rules.) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-type-of-puzzle-game-called-88-k-on-a-p-or-12-d-of-c/834790/10 "2019-06-05T09:03:55Z")
Gah! I hated that it ended with no resolution.