2 comments about The New York Times Sunday Crossword Puzzles Volume 29: 50 Sunday puzzles from the pages of The New York Times (New York Times Sunday Crossword Puzzles).

1. While some of the authors create quite difficult puzzles, most of these are enjoyable and challenging. Solving them is a great way to start the day or to end the day.



2. I love this spiral-bound book. I was a little apprehensive that someone may have started some puzzles, but no. Book was brand new at 5 yrs. old. Frankly, I'd rather have my puzzles in a book, than to have newsprint all over me. Ok, so shipping ups the ante quite a bit, but on this, I'm willing to splurge occasionally.

1 comments about Stanley Newman's Movie Mania Crosswords: The '90s (Other).

1. I bought this for my husband who is a bit of a movie buff. The clues were a little more complex than necessary and not many of them related to any movie at all.

3 comments about Jumbo Sudoku.

1. This is a great sudoku book im a sudoku addict. I own three and this is my favorite. My only complaint is that puzzles are random in difficulty(not in order)



2. I ordered 2 copies of this, based on how much I love Mepham's "Total Sudoku" -- but I wish I hadn't. It has 2 puzzles per page instead of one large puzzle per page as shown on the cover. Mepham's "Total Sudoku" has one puzzle per page -- which is wonderful. There is no reason to want an awkward 8 X 10 page except to get a really big grid. If I'm going to have half-page-size puzzles, give me a half-page-size book that is easier to hold. And this does not have any 16 by 16 puzzles, which are my favorites. And the answer grids are TINY.



3. Michael Mepham provides this workbook full of Sudoku puzzles. They range from easy to, in his words, fiendish. Each puzzle has a solution printed in the back. While there are two puzzles per page, they are nevertheless bigger than those in newspapers, and certainly bigger than those in most if not all electronic Sudoku kits. There are some unconventional Sudoku puzzles, including those which form an X-shape of five nested Sudoku sub-puzzles.
   
   Some tips are given in the beginning of the book for the solving of Sudoku puzzles. These include the use of clues provided by numbers that are remote from each other on the puzzle. For very difficult situations, Mepham recommends that the puzzle-solver narrow a spot to two possibilities, then take a guess at one of the two numbers and see if it creates a self-consistent solution.

2 comments about The Washington Post Sunday Crossword Puzzles, Volume 14 (Washington Post).

1. I guess you would have to say I'm a New York Times crossword puzzle fanatic. But because this book was edited by Fred Piscop, known to me from his occasional puzzles at the Times, I decided to give this collection a try. Well, I was amply rewarded. These are moderately difficult Sunday puzzles (and you know what I mean if you do the Times Sunday puzzles) which are just enough different from those in the Times that they represented a pleasant challenge for me. Piscop's sense of humor, as seen in the definitions, is unique (and different from that of the NYT's Will Shortz) and I literally found myself laughing out loud at times.
   
   Scott Morrison



2. I Have worked nearly all of the Sunday NYTimes crosswords. Was really looking forward to the same or higher level of difficulty and originality. Unfortunately, this didn't have it. You would think that puzzles published in DC by such a well respected paper would offer a more challenging bit of entertainment.

No comments about The New York Times Daily Crossword Puzzles Volume 64: 50 Daily-Size Puzzles from the Pages of The New York Times.

1 comments about The New York Times Crosswords for Your Bedside: 75 Soothing, Easy Puzzles (New York Times Crossword Puzzles).

1. I brought this book six months ago, I have done one-half puzzle in it. The New York Times Bedside is harder than other Crossword Puzzles I have done.

5 comments about Mensa Cryptic Crosswords 2 (Mensa).

1. There are 65 standard cryptics in this book. They all appeared in Canada's National Post. The entries are, by and large, fairly common words. The clues seem to be a little dumbed-down for a broad newspaper audience. This a pretty good collection of standard charades, obvious anagrams, and easy definitions. Few puzzles will take longer than 20 minutes to solve. You'll rarely have to check the answers, and then only for some obscure Canadian place name or celebrity. The "Mensa" title is a bit of a come-on. Emily & Henry's "Atlantic Monthly Cryptic Crosswords" is much more interesting. This one is, frankly:
   
   "As it is, having to to graft selvage is naive. (10)"



2. I wish I had read the reader review before I bought this book. The puzzles do, indeed, seem to have been "dumbed down." After the Atlantic Monthly compilation, which I adore, this is a great disappointment.



3. They definitely come harder than this - don't be scared off by the Mensa logo - but they are challenging and mostly logical. It's hard for many puzzle constructors to follow the loose rules of cryptic crosswords, but Cox and Rathvon do a good job - they're more predictable than British constructors and I think more consistent than average. As in their first book, they write these puzzles with half an eye toward America, even though they are first published in Canada. Thus the "dialect," so to speak, isn't difficult, and I've never come across anything unfamiliar even though I've only been to Canada for a grand total of two weeks.



4. As the name suggests, this is Mensa-quality challenge. You will do better with all distractions turned off and a couple of sharp pencils. The clues are completely fair, and there is a sense of accomplishment - even if you can't finish every square. I recommend this puzzle book to everyone who is not intimidated by wordplay.Mensa Cryptic Crosswords 2 (Mensa)



5. I discovered cryptic or "British" crosswords a few years ago. I've tried some of the collections published in England, but found the clues and references too specific to British culture and slang. I bought the first MENSA edition of cryptics several years ago, did the puzzles in pencil, have erased them and re-done them three times now. I'm pleased they've published a second edition. The cryptics published in the States (these from MENSA and one from the New Yorker magazine) are fun and challenging. If you are a crossword buff and consider yourself pretty good, I highly suggest trying these.

1 comments about The New York Times Tension-Taming Crosswords: 200 Relaxing Puzzles.

1. Doable but challenging crossword puzzles. Each one can be worked within a 15 minute period. Just hard enough to make you think. Quality of paper and size of puzzle are nice. Worth the money.

1 comments about Italian Word Puzzles (Foreign Language Word Puzzles).

1. It helps acquire vocabulary, which is always useful. The book could have more games, using the same words 3 or 4 times, in order to help us memorize them.

1 comments about The New York Times Will Shortz's Greatest Hits: 150 Crossword Puzzles Personally Picked by the Puzzlemaster.

1. The book was in perfect condition and purchased as a gift for my mother.