The title of this puzzle references both the Sierpinski triangle (or Sierpinski gasket), a famous fractal, and the game TriBond, in which players find the word linking the three given words. In this puzzle, there is an additional restriction that the missing word must form a compound word phrase with the each of the given words, occasionally with an additional helper word.
Just as with the Sierpinski triangle, where the subdivision done to the large triangle is repeated with each smaller triangle to form a fractal, the bonds found between the groups of three words can be combined further to make new bonds. This can be repeated one more time to get a final answer:
After three levels of fractal and thirteen rounds of TriBond, the answer is revealed as SYSTEM.
For anybody curious, the full list of phrases is:
- Chambermaid
- Maid Marian
- Old Maid
- Cinnamon Roll
- Dice Roll (or Roll the Dice)
- Drum Roll
- Eagle Scout
- Girl Scout
- Talent Scout
- Editor-in-Chief
- Chief Joseph
- Police Chief (or Chief of Police)
- Bowling League
- Ivy League
- Major League
- Ice Cream Social
- Social Studies
- Social Worker
- Control Panel
- Instrument Panel
- Panel Van
- Horsepower
- Power Outlet
- Power Plant
- Wind Chill
- North Wind
- Wind Sock
- Maid of Honor
- Honor Roll
- Scout’s Honor
- Chief Justice
- Justice League
- Social Justice
- Solar Panel
- Solar Power
- Solar Wind
- Honor System
- Justice System
- Solar System