Spectrum #25: Order these film milestones by year — the solution
The Spectrum puzzle from September 8, 2026: six things on one hidden scale, earliest to latest, with every figure and where the checks were best spent.
The puzzle
Order these film milestones by year, earliest at the top and latest at the bottom. The board opened in this order:
- First all-CGI feature
- First CGI character
- First talkie
- First 3-D feature
- First full-color feature
- First film footage
First 3-D feature was already in place; First all-CGI feature opened 5 places from home.
The walkthrough
The ends first. First film footage is the earliest of the six at 1888 and First all-CGI feature the latest at 1995. Anchor those and the middle four are what is left to place.
Where the scale splits. The widest gap is between First film footage (1888) and First talkie (1927) — 39 years apart. Everything above that line belongs on the earliest side and everything below it on the latest side, so sorting the six into those two groups is most of the puzzle.
The closest call. First talkie (1927) and First full-color feature (1935) are only 8 years apart — the pair that is a coin flip without the figures, and the place to spend a check: a check locks whatever is already right and leaves only the wrong tiles to swap.
The answer
| # | Earliest to Latest | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First film footage | 1888 |
| 2 | First talkie | 1927 |
| 3 | First full-color feature | 1935 |
| 4 | First 3-D feature | 1952 |
| 5 | First CGI character | 1985 |
| 6 | First all-CGI feature | 1995 |
Previous: Spectrum #24 (Mon, Sep 7) · Next: Spectrum #26 (Wed, Sep 9)
About Spectrum
Spectrum is Noggin’s daily ordering puzzle: six things, one hidden scale, three checks. Tiles in the right place lock green; the figures turn over when the board is done. How to play Spectrum, or play today’s.