Reign, Reign, Go Away, Little Johnny Wants to Play
Composed in Dallas in 1974, Peggy Oglesby Allison’s puzzle owes no acknowledgement, except perhaps to Mother Goose.
How to Play
To solve it, first fill in the numbered blanks by deciphering the clues. As an added help to the solver, the first letters of the clues are arranged in alphabetical order, though every letter of the alphabet does not appear and some letters are repeated.
Each time you fill a clue, the letters will be transferred to the to the correspondingly numbered blanks in the message. Even with a very few words filled in, you will begin to see words and phrases take shape in the message. Good luck!
For our 50th anniversary issue, we searched out D Magazine’s first in-house puzzle maker, Peggy Oglesby Allison. You can read about the enigmatic Highland Park housewife, the 1960s love triangle that came full circle, and the unusual octagonal home built just for her right here. But we also wanted to give today’s readers a tangible taste of Peggy’s mindbogglers.
The puzzle below is a digital version of Peggy’s first puzzle for D Magazine, printed in the November 1974 issue, and you’ll find that the final message references local politics of that time. Yet, one need not be a history buff to answer the clues at hand. An added incentive: those who manage to solve this puzzle will be rewarded with a special offer. Godspeed.
The Puzzle Maker
Searching Out D Magazine’s Original Puzzle Maker
