Lemmings Forums

I think this may belong in "forum games" instead, except it's not quite so random like the games there. Admin feel free to move the thread as appropriate.

The objective is to come up with a a few phrases or sentences that form some sort of riddle/clue to a specific level in a Lemmings games.  (I have in mind the kinds of clues you may see in a crossword puzzle, but feel free to be creative, while avoiding being too straightforward or convoluted.)  The next person guesses the level, identifying it by the level name, and then post a riddle/clue to some other level. 

Rules for the riddle/clue:

• Avoid all words from the level title, including derived words such as synonyms (ie. same meaning words or phrases), grammatical derivatives (ie. "lines", "linear" from "line"), compound words & word embeddings (ie. "outline" from "line"), etc.  I suppose some exceptions can be made for really generic words like "a", "the" etc.  As it's just a game, use common sense and just stick to the spirit of the rule.
• Banned words (including derived words as above) that must never be used: lemming, any species of rodents, climb, float, block, bomb, explode, bash, build, mine, dig

Rules for taking turns:

I forgot how exactly it was done in the past in these quiz games, but after guessing the answer to a riddle/clue, please wait for up to 24 hours for the riddle/clue poster to confirm your guess as correct or not.  If confirmed, or if no respond after 24 hours, only then should you go ahead and take your turn to post the next riddle/clue.  I guess we can also move on if there were no correct guesses after 24 hours.

[updated: you may also call "open floor" if it's your turn but you don't want to come up with the next riddle/clue.  In that case anyone can come up with the next one, and the game will continue whatever's posted first]

Avoid repeating levels that have been used already.  As it's just a game, I don't want to actually keep track of exactly which levels were used previously, so let's just say don't repeat a level until at least 5 other levels have come into play.

For now we will stick with Lemmings 1 levels.  We can propose to move on to levels from other Lemmings games when it becomes too repetitive to not do so.

=========================

Here's my clue/riddle to start off:

clue: "perfect to those with outstretched arms"

as I think about it more, some clarifications on the current rules:

- I think it might be too hard to be strict about the "no synonyms of any words in level title" rule without making the clues too awkward or convoluted in some cases.  So take that as a suggestive guidance, but don't get too worked up over it if you can't come up with something reasonable without some sort of breaking of that rule.

- Since levels are to be identified by name, all four "We All Fall Down" count as the same thing, as do the two "Just a Minute" (so yeah, don't worry about having to guess the "Part 2"; it's not that hard or interesting anyway.)  [edit: I guess also "A Beast of a Level" and "...BeastII..."]

[edit: see OP for "open floor"]

I may add more here later as needed to improve the game.

Here's my clue/riddle to start off:

clue: "perfect to those with outstretched arms"

I think the answer to that is "Tailor-made for blockers", isn't it?

====================

How about this riddle. I hope this one makes sense to you:

clue: "Which area of McDonald's do chefs work?"

The Fast Food Kitchen.

Next clue:

Plvom

Hmm, seems like the most likely guess is "Rhapsody in Blue", but that's not a Lemmings 1 level as I stipulated. (We can expand it to all lemmings levels now rather than later if people think it'll be more fun, although I still wasn't expecting custom levels in the mix, if only since they can be hard to look up).

[edit: hmm, Google also found this rather obscure (and technically misspelled) reference: http://dragcave.net/view/PIvom, so I'll also guess "What an AWESOME level"? ]

(And yes, minimac's answer to my clue is correct.)

It is a Lemmings 1 level, and it's not "What an AWESOME level" 

Hmm, having exhausted all serious possibilities, I'd like to say it's either "not as complicated as it looks" or "easy when you know how".

Neither of those. Let's see if anyone else can get it, then

Oh okay, "Upsidedown World".  Nice one.

next clue:  what Mr. Wilson thinks of the boy next door

[sidenote: should we limit number of guesses per person? how many?]

MENACING!!!

next clue: Zeroes and heroes? Sounds like fruit!

Diet Lemmingaid?

I know I said I'm terrible at these games but what the hell. I'm going to guess one time each post.

Also @ccexplore: your avatar is not loading properly.

cc's avatar image comes directly from asdfasdf.ethz.ch (which hosts the Lix site and some of my random stuff), and that seems to be down right now. If it's not back up in a couple days, I'll message tarzeau. Alternative source for the image, even though it's rotating much slower:


I'll guess Origins and Lemmings, but probably möbius's guess is better.

-- Simon

Hmm, normally I would change the URL to the one you used above, but on the other hand it seems a good idea for my avatar to serve as a monitor to the health of asdfasdf.ethz.ch.

Simon is correct 

Clue: In contrast to the ban against any species of rodent, bacteria are allowed.

-- Simon

Last one out is a rotten egg!

...?

I'd guess "POOR WEE CREATURES!".  Actually I would rather hold off guessing, except with the participation level so far I think I've hold off long enough.

Also, since I forgot to mention:  it's okay to make a guess without feeling obligated to make up the next clue.  Just say "open floor" if you successfully guessed a clue but don't want to come up with the next one.

And I shall guess "No added colours or lemmings".

Proxima is right, because I had the original phrase in mind (no added colors or preservatives). I have to apologize since I forgot how the level was called in detail, and TM's guess fits best among all level names.

-- Simon

Next clue: It sounds like crime is effective!

Steel works

 

Next clue: Phrase commonly heard in an elevator

......Going up!

dammit this time I better be right...   

------------
next clue: a famous horror movie from the 70's.
(since this is pop culture reference it might not be fair so I'll change it if nobody gets it)

Steven: They just keep on coming?
TM: Nightmare on Lem Street

-- Simon

Simon, wow I didn't even think of that one... much easier than mine but no, close but no cigar.

......Going up!

You got it!

TM: Nightmare on Lem Street

That was from the 80s. Island of the Wicker People (referencing the film The Wicker Man), perhaps?

Proxima got it. 

I wasn't sure about that one but that film did come from Scotland too.

I've already set three, so, open floor this time.

Clue: How'd you like your tea, sir?

-- Simon

With a twist of Lemming please?

Yep, correct!

-- Simon

clue: Last week I took a vacation and went bungee-jumping

So many titles that could fit with bungee juming, but I'm gonna guess Livin on the edge.

For the bacteria one, I was thinking There's a lot of them about (and that's an understatement )

Clam got it!

Clue: It's one way to prevent baldness.

Rip your hair out Keep your hair on Mr. Lemming

I have a strong urge that this is correct, thus the next clue:
Shift a space, swap the game.

-- Simon

well that didn't take long (correct)

Shift a space, swap the game.

Hmm... I think it's either "What an AWESOME Level" or "Emmings! (No L)" Both of them refer to swapping the game, but as we're only allowed Original Lemmings levels I'll go with my first choice.

I guess "Have a nice day!":  following the clue, the title can transform to "Have an ice day" which is an ONML level as opposed to Lemmings 1, so you swap the game.

Next clue (if I'm right): not exactly who the doctor sees

Patience

Next clue: Les hates Lix, turns to bingo?

ccx was right!

-- Simon

Proxima was correct on my clue of course.  No idea on his right now, although I looked up Bingo in Wikipedia and apparently there are a number of different games under that name:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bingo [edit: but on closer look, they are all more or less variations of same, with a few obscure exceptions]

[edit: in response to mobius on IRC, I do know what Bingo is, but figured Wikipedia may give me some additional information.  For example it did remind me of that children's song where BINGO is a dog's name, although that didn't help either.]

Hmm, looks like we have the first clue unsolved for over 24 hours.  It may be time for open floor, although I will wait for a bit before I post anything, as I have to head somewhere anyway.

I'll make a last-ditch guess of "X Marks the Spot" as it is the closest thing I could come up with that's even remotely Bingo-related.

I'll leave it another 24 hours from the time of this post. If still unsolved, I'll reveal the solution and call open floor.

One final last-ditch guess, since nobody else seems to have a clue: All the 6's?

That's correct, well done

Next clue: Take your time.

Don't do anything too hasty

You got it! Nice work! 

It might be just me, but I wouldn't mind an explanation of Proxima's clue for "All the 6's".

The level's title refers to one of the traditional bingo calls. "Les hates Lix" is an anagram, with "turns" being a typical anagram indicator in crossword clues.

Twenty after 6 this evening, perhaps, but with 8 broken parts give or take

Ascending Pillar Scenario? It comes 20 levels after All the Sixes, and has 7 pillars plus at least one broken one.

-- Simon

Good guess, but not quite it.

These riddles certainly are getting harder! I'm gonna have a wild guess and say The Steel Mines of Kessel.

Konbanwa Lemming San?

-- Simon

Might as well throw in "It's Hero Time", though it seems tenous at best.

These riddles certainly are getting harder!

This wikipedia article may be a good introduction to some of the style of clues seen here, although this game is certainly not confined to just that type of clues.  (Especially since I'm not that good at those myself. )

Might as well throw in "It's Hero Time", though it seems tenous at best.

This is it, anyone have an idea why?

Given my lack of confidence and how my answer is tied in to Simon's, it's pretty clear which parts of the clue worked for me and which hasn't yet.  Also failed so far to find a cryptic-crossword type of reading.

It's not a cryptic crossword type clue, but it does require something of a lateral stretch to get to. A couple hints:

It doesn't actually work if it's 20 past 6 in the morning; it has to be evening.

What might the eight parts be referring to?

Alright, here's an easy one to balance out some of the harder ones:  You'd need a big spoon to finish this.

I know this, but as it's about 10 minutes after the post I'll give everyone else a chance by covering my answer.

Pea Soup

Explanation for my puzzle.

6:20 in the evening, in the 24 hour clock, is 18:20. If you show this on a digital clock, and "break" 8 of the sections (that is, turn them on if they are supposed to be off, and off if they are supposed to be on), this can become the word "HErO" as below:

@Insane Steve: seriously? you're killin' me.
-oh wait, I don't quite see "hero" there. Are the letters also not in order? 
it looks to me like:  E r E l ... random lines

to answer ccexplore's riddle: Pea Soup?

edit: if nobody minds Im just gonna post a riddle for the sake of being rebellious and going against the rules. 

here's another one:

Be careful with that ladder, Eugene

Hmmm, I didn't explain that all too well. On the right, dark red lines are correctly lit lines, and white lines are correctly not lit. Grey lines are lines that are supposed to be lit but aren't, and light red lines are those that are lit that shouldn't be.

EDIT: here it is with slightly better coloring.

@mobius: yeah it's Pea Soup.  I guess minimac had it first, not sure though if he was planning to post the next clue or not.

I'll give it a shot... this one will probably be pretty easy for you guys:

"A McDonalds cook takes double orders"

You're welcome to join in, but please, in future let's no-one post a new riddle while there's still a current one open. That could lead to things getting very messy if someone guesses one right but not the other....

möbius: Mind the step?

Crane: The Fast Food Kitchen?

@mobius: yeah it's Pea Soup.  I guess minimac had it first, not sure though if he was planning to post the next clue or not.

Oh, I actually was, but as I'm getting busy in real life I wasn't able to post my clue. I'll do that now.

"A strait that separates Morocco from Spain"

möbius: Mind the step?

yeah

"The Fast Food Kitchen" is correct - as I said, a bit easy.

Hmmm, as for minimac's clue, well there's no level called Gibraltar, but to stretch the theme of an expanse of water separating East from West per se, I'll hazard a guess at "Stepping Stones".


EDIT: I just noticed that "The Fast Food Kitchen" was done near the beginning, with a very similar clue... sorry.  I have a better one when my turn next comes.

Good guess actually, but "Stepping Stones" is not the right answer.

Pillars of Hercules.

Next clue: For each time we split up and rejoin, we become stronger.

I definitely need practice at this!

"The Great Lemming Caper"?

Pillars of Hercules is correct on my answer. I think Proxima has got about seven correct answers so far!

As for the current riddle, I'll guess "Rendezvous at the mountain".

Pillars of Hercules... such an obvious answer... drat!

Neither of those. You're not thinking cryptically enough 

The Prison?

-- Simon

This is a long shot... "We all fall down".

Neither of those

I have a lot of guesses so not real confident this is right:

the Crossroads?

I'll throw in "Perseverance", even though all I got from it so far is "for each" and "split"

That's the correct answer and route to get there. It's not a perfect clue, but then, I'm not a professional clue-setter "Rejoin" just means you put the cryptic parts together to make the word, and the entire clue is also a direct hint at the quality of perseverance. Well done!

Oh wow, actually got one of Proxima's.

Next clue:

NAC !!
e Prin!

Lost something?

-- Simon

Correct

Suspected there was some deeper meaning in the particular choice of level names, but nice

Next clue: 0-0

-- Simon

With the help of the allknowing Wikipedia, King of the Castle.

Next Clue: Inverted Pachinko

Suspected there was some deeper meaning in the particular choice of level names, but nice

Well, sort of.  In case it wasn't clear:

MENACING !!
The Prison!

The lost letters are ME, ING, TH and SO, which can be put together to form SOMETHING

In retrospect, it was probably too easy to guess the answer correctly even if one's not absolutely sure why.

With the help of the allknowing Wikipedia, King of the Castle.

Next Clue: Inverted Pachinko

"Going Up . . . ." perhaps?

Tailor-Made for Blockers

Going Up was the first idea, so I'll guess Down, Along, Up, in that Order.

-- Simon

All three are wrong, but Tailor-Made for Blockers would be a good guess if it wasn't inverted.

Huh, surprised it wasn't Mayhem 5.  Alright, then let me try "Lend a helping hand..." then?

even though it was the very last riddle I'll guess it again anyway:

King of the castle

Nope, it's neither of these either (and I don't even see the possible connections to my clue anymore ).

I think my clue is far less obscure than some of the previous ones, but perhaps a little different in style.

Compression Method 1?

Pachinko = lots of balls start in one place on top and spread out at the bottom
CM1 = lots of Lemmings start in several places on top and are grouped at the bottom

(and I don't even see the possible connections to my clue anymore ).

Either we're all approaching the clue wrong, or I guess Wikipedia sorta failed many of us here as it didn't really provide a video showing a Pachinko machine in action, and somehow I didn't get anywhere good on YouTube either (seemed to have found  more videos of how to setup/repair vintage machines with too much talking and not enough showing, maybe because they don't want to wear out their antiques ).  One enthusiast's webpage (again, mostly on vintage machines) talked about how the ball gets shot up, going across ("along") in an arc and then fall down into the "main area" with the pins, so with that in mind I really thought Simon's answer might be it.

Then geoo talked about Fun 3 as a good example without the inversion, so I started looking for levels where the entrances are low, the exit is high, and the position between the two are close to vertical (as opposed to more diagonally upwards like Taxing 3).  Taxing 4 fits the bill for me better than Taxing 23 (plus the latter has a repeat that the clue doesn't seem to disambiguate).  True, the pins part of Pinchinko is a little hard to argue for in Taxing 4, it is a rough guess after all.

Steve's guess sounds pretty good too, let's see if it pans out better the rest of ours.

I like Steve's guess, though that's not what I was thinking of.

I see why Mayhem 4 makes sense now. Always interesting to see how people came up with the guesses.

Don't think about Fun 3 too much, that just gave me the idea.

Hint 1: Inverted here is not flipped upside down.

Hint 2:

After inverting the level (whatever that means), you get something that could serve pretty accurately as part of a pachinko machine, functionality-wise.

Hint 3:

Lemmings suck as pachinko balls because they don't randomly walk left or right when falling down.

All or Nothing?

The only other thing I can think of here is Rainbow Islands, if you made inverted what the terrain is and what the gaps in the arches are.

All or nothing is a good idea that my third hint might have mislead to, but Rainbow Island is what I was thinking of. Like Steve said, if you invert terrain and non-terrain, you'll get something that should work pretty well as a pachinko machine (the main area with the pins).

EDIT: To clarify, Rainbow Island is correct, it's Steve's turn now.

Nope, it's neither of these either (and I don't even see the possible connections to my clue anymore ).

I think my clue is far less obscure than some of the previous ones, but perhaps a little different in style.

King of the castle is kind of like an inverted pachinko machine: Lemmings come out on bottom and "fall" back and forth up to the top. But rainbow island is much better, ignoring where the entrance and exit are that is.
Your clue was not as obscure and yet it seems people had a harder time with it

This is certainly the most interesting riddle we've ever come across! I'm gonna guess "X marks the spot", because in inverted pachinko I think the bumpers (or whatever they are called) look like holes, and the background of that is actually terrain filled. I think that reflects the look of the level itself. I hope I described it well.

Ok, I'll try to be a little less abstruse with this clue than the last one:

See, the thing is that you can't actually DO that until Lemmings 2...

How do I dig up the way?

-- Simon

Hmm, I see at least two more levels that fit Steve's clue, will let others take a guess and see which one Steve had in mind.

I'm absolutely sure that the answer for Steve's riddle is "If only they could fly". Thinking about this riddle literally, lemmings can't fly in the original game, but in the sequel they can, if they use the skill "Icarus Wings".

I expect either Simon or minimac has it, but just in case, "Take a running jump" would also fit the clue.

If "Oh No! More Lemmings" levels were allowed, I would also say "Inroducing SUPERLEMMING!" [sic], given that they gain that skill for real in the sequel.

*edges impatiently* Oo, I want to give a riddle!  Must be patient!

I was supposed to be Take a Running Jump, but those all work. I need to get better at this 

Under four strokes I am whole, but broken with a sharp turn into a vent.

@Crane: looks like you might have stumped everyone.  So far I've failed to find anything with any sort of connection to a vent.

@Proxima:  incidentally, it was actually you who gave the correct answer to Steve's clue, so actually you've been more than welcome to post a clue of your own all this time (if you so wanted) in spite of Crane's.

And then there were four. ?

Alright, it's pointless if Crane isn't going to be around even to reject the wrong guesses.  I think we've waited long enough at this point to invoke the 24-hour rule and go on to a new clue.  If Crane comes back we can revisit his clue later then.  And it looks like Proxima is busy as well.

So new clue from me, easy one:  why no one should frown here?

Sorry for my absence guys and for taking the liberty of posting a clue earlier.  Wrong on all guesses so far.  I'll give an extra (non-cryptic) clue if no-one can get anywhere.

@ccexplore: Smile if you love lemmings.

Hmmm, I hope I'm not killing this thread.  A clue to my riddle... it takes a bit of engineering knowledge to get the first part, so what might 'four strokes' refer to?

Don't worry about killing the thread, that's why I have the 24-hour rule as mentioned on the first post.  However, it looks like either most of everyone have been too nice to invoke it, or have too many other things going on this weekend to bother.

The forum has a pretty poor track record so far with cryptic-style clues, and yours appear to be the most complex of such clues to date.  If I have time later I will try to work on it and see if I'm able to come up with anything (like I surprisingly did last time with Proxima's).

Hmmm, I hope I'm not killing this thread.  A clue to my riddle... it takes a bit of engineering knowledge to get the first part, so what might 'four strokes' refer to?

Sounds like an engine then. In which case, the closest thing I can think of is The Crankshaft. If that's right though, you're going to have to explain to me how the rest of the clue fits

"The Crankshaft" is the correct answer.

"Under four strokes I am whole, but broken with a sharp turn into a vent."

- Well, a crankshaft is driven by a four-stroke piston engine, hence the first part of the clue.
- If broken... break the word up... you have a sharp turn - a crank (like when you crank someone's neck) - into a vent - a shaft - hence crank + shaft = crankshaft.

All right, that works I guess. Next clue:

T
E
G
O
T
E
M
I
T

Time to get up.

yes (I get the feeling these kinds of clues don't work with such a limited pool of possible answers...)

Sometimes they do.  With cryptic clues, sometimes you get them immediately, and other times it just eludes you.

Here's my next one:

Awful acne, perverse tenacity.

Hmm, probably wrong but I'll guess "They Just Keep on Coming", as it can (in a somewhat loose sense) describe both parts of the clue depending on what "they" are.

Haha, I like your logic there!  Unfortunately, it is not the correct answer.

I'll guess "Hunt the Nessy". I'm not sure about the awful acne, but by taking a look at the dictionary definition for the last two words would mean if they come together "deliberately doing something unacceptable to something that it not easy to wear down" and I think "Hunt the Nessy" meets the description perfectly.

Nice thought process, but not correct I'm afraid.

Perseverance: it's an anagram of "acne, perverse"; "awful" is the anagram indicator and "tenacity" is the definition.

Next clue: A very brief radio show?

Good job Proxima - spot on!  For your clue, I will have a guess at: "Heaven can wait (we hope!!!!)"

Perseverance: it's an anagram of "acne, perverse"; "awful" is the anagram indicator and "tenacity" is the definition.

Hmm, I must admit the first word that pops into my head when I saw "perverse" in the clue is perseverance just merely to the similarity in spelling alone (didn't notice acne though), but it was also already used a few clues before, another cryptic one by Proxima no less, so I was thinking surely it couldn't be just that?

I probably did post that one sooner than I should have done, so apologies for that.  I did think up the clue about a week ago, but was waiting for the current clue to be answered, and unfortunately that turned out to be Perseverance too - I was gutted!

Sorry about that.

Your guess is incorrect.

Hmmm, a week's gone by, and I'm kinda stuck!  "Just a minute..." can't be right, can it?

That's the one 

Oh, simpler than I thought!

An easy one: Stragglers will emit H₂S.

That puzzle's not that easy actually. It probably has something to do with fire and/or dangerous places so I'll guess "The Boiler Room".

It is intended that one uses all resources available, including things like Wikipedia and Google, to help with figuring out clues.  This one should be pretty easy if you look up H₂S for example......

ccexplore is onto something!

P.S. "The Boiler Room" is not correct.

Hrm... shall we move on to another riddle? I think a fortnight is long enough!

Last one out is a rotten egg? H2S sounds smelly enough?

-- Simon

Correct answer.  H₂S, hydrogen sulphide, is the smell of rotten eggs, and the last one out is going to be a straggler!

I don't have a new clue at the moment - besides, someone else should have a go.

Ah, you're calling open floor eh? OK, I have thought of a clue:

"A catch phrase commonly said by Baldrick"

I completely lack the necessary English pop culture knowledge, but Wikipedia -> Baldrick -> Ctrl+F "catchphrase" = I have a cunning plan. :]

-- Simon

My head surely was thinking "Really, how did you get the right answer so quickly?! " but yes, that was the right answer.

Next clue:

table.huge
{
    width:              100%;
}
table.huge td.main
{
    background-color:   #403422;
    padding:            20px;
    vertical-align:     top;
}
table.huge td.main h4
{
    line-height:        140%;
}

-- Simon

This is a bit unclear. At least I recognise that the 403422 colour code is a brown colour. It probably resembles a sauce, so I'll guess Lemming drops.

Nope. First hint: The words and numbers are irrelevant, do not interpret the given values.

-- Simon

Cascade?

Yes

-- Simon

Yes, I recognized the Cascading Style Sheet code.

I skip my turn. Anybody, just take my place.

Okay, it's been a while since I posted one.  So this clue covers two levels at once:

Thanks for <doing this thing> for me while I'm off, I'll make sure you get a <that thing> from me exactly one rating later.

(Each <> represents a level.)

I believe the clue should represent "Take good care of my lemmings" (Fun 19) and "Postcard from Lemmingland" (Tricky 19), respectively. :p

Yep, you got it.

We now return to a landscape that we've already passed through a long time ago, however, we've been strapped of nearly all our tools save for a few explosives that will definitely decimate us, and a set of bricks. Hm... the name of this place sounds oddly familiar as well. Must've heard it before...

I believe this is one of those breakout levels, which is to "Call in the bomb squad"

Perhaps, but not what I was thinking of  (+ it would contradict parts of the clue)

I believe I should provide a hint regarding the "Must've heard it before..." <--- not from the Lemmings universe...

Steel mines of Kessel?

-- Simon

That's right! "We now return to a landscape that we've already passed through a long time ago" referring to that the level's already existed a few ratings ago, and that only bombers and builders are available this time (and blockers of course). And "Kessel" is a spice mining planet in Star Wars (I believe that's what it's referring to)...

Though I just noticed that the skill set actually matches the one from "Call in the Bomb Squad" 

Clue: Has a repeat in Holiday lems with a requirement of 100 %.

-- Simon

I'm sure it's "This should be a doddle!"

Right!

-- Simon

Could also be Rendezvous at the Mountain.

Would indeed work, clue was ambitious ambiguous.

-- Simon

Interesting, to find more than one correct answer on that riddle.

Here's the next:

When I mix it up, I tell some "nicely mismanaging truths".

Lemming Sanctuary in Sight

Correct! "Nicely mismanaging truths" is an anagram of "Lemming sanctuary in sight".

We've done quite a lot of Original Lemmings riddles here by the way. That's not to say we shouldn't carry on with it though.

Next Clue:

It was in newspapers for 15 years

The Crossroads ?

Nope.

The Far Side

The Far Side

Yep, that's it!  For those not from the US who may not have gotten the reference, The Far Side was a popular newspaper comic strip during the 80s and 90s.

next clue:

Plan          On          Learning          Every          Subject

Poles apart

If correct, someone else may continue.

-- Simon

I highly believe you are correct on that one, so I'll throw in a quick one 

Ship sinking on open sea, no land in sight far and wide, no lifeboats on board. Any help? Is on its way. The downside? It will take quite a while.

Yes, correct.  I guess the extra spacing was maybe too much of a giveaway.

Every Lemming for Himself!!!

Not what I was looking for ;p

I have thought of two possible answers, they might both be wrong.

It could be either "Hunt the Nessy" or "Save Me", but I'll guess "Save Me".

Hm, still not what I had in mind. Oh well, seems like the clue was a little ambiguous. The correct answer would have been "Only floaters can survive this" (float as in floating on water)

And thus, free round