1 comments about The Everything Large-Print Crossword Challenge Book: Easy to Read, Tough to Solve (Everything Series).

1. Easier for older people to see and still hard enough to make them fun to do.

4 comments about The Big Book of Crossword Puzzles: 288 Puzzles for the Crossword Fanatic (Crossword).

1. If you like crosswords that are fun to do without resorting to stacks of reference materials, then this book is for you. Lots and lots of clever puzzels you can complete in an hour or so. One word of advice : take the first 70 or so puzzels and give them to someone just beginning to do crosswords as I found them too easy to enjoy. The other 200+ puzzels were great. These crosswords are not the brain twisters from the New York Times which require experience, determination, and research to complete. These puzzels are challenging without being frustrating. Give it a try.



2. Cox, Rathvon, Carlton, and Newgate have shown once more that they produce the best crossword books in the puzzle biz. When is their next book coming out?



3. A crossword puzzle is generally built by following an overall theme, whether it is modern pop culture, geography, politics, history or basic vocabulary. This collection of crossword puzzles is different, in that it is a combination of all of them, being composed of four separate collections.
   The puzzles of the first collection were taken from magazines published in the `50s and `60s, and none of the clues have been updated to reflect changes. Therefore, a clue such as "Mild expletive" must be interpreted in that context. References to political and entertainment celebrities also must be examined in a historical light.
   Puzzles in the second section were all taken from the U.S. Airways in-flight magazine "Attache", which debuted in 1997. The third section is made up of puzzles that were given to top crossword experts under tournament conditions. Much more difficult than the others, this group of puzzles will stretch your capabilities to the limits.
   The fourth and final section is also made up of puzzles that were created in the `50s and `60s. As was the case with the first set, it is best to think twice before responding, as you may be thinking fifty years after the fact. Solutions to all of the puzzles are included, so you have everything you need to pit yourself against the experts and time as you try to solve these mind straining crosswords.
   The crossword puzzle page of newspapers is generally one of the most popular pages in each issue. Properly done, they are challenging, frustrating and yet fun to do. The puzzles in this collection certainly fit that description.



4. I'm not a champion crossword puzzle solver so some of these are ridiculously hard for me. I prefer the straight ahead puzzles without gimmicky tricks. Many of these puzzles are from the '50s and '60s so they meet my criteria (especially since I grew up in that era). A number of them, however, are way too hard for me or else too cute (e.g. answers where one of the letters is incorrect, etc.). I would have rated it a "3" for me but I realize that many people want variety so I gave it a "4".

3 comments about Terribly Twisted Crosswords (Mensa).

1. Henry Hook's "Terribly Twisted Crosswords" has about 20 different varieties of crosswords, none with a single standard crossword grid. This generally serves to make the puzzles more challenging to finish, because the solver often won't know how long an answer is and/or where exactly it belongs, and most puzzles have no theme to give you a leg up. Hook's clues tend to be a little off-kilter, more indirect than the clues in a standard early- to mid-week crossword. The answers in these oddball grids also tends to be zippy--one puzzle included PIRSQUARED, the math formula, for example.
   
   "Quadrants" is one of the varieties I enjoyed the most. In these puzzles, the grid's segmented into four quadrants with a center quadrant that interlocks with the other four. All the answers are 6 letters long, but you have to strategize to figure out where they go by noting the letters they have in common and where those letters fall in the words.
   
   Another with consistent answer lengths is "Crazy Eights," all 8-letter entries. The answers circle around the clue number clockwise or counterclockwise, and as with "Quadrants," you work off of the letters in common to deduce the answer placement. "Honeycombs" take a similar form, but with 6-letter answers circling the clue numbers in the grid.
   
   "Jigsaw" puzzles are a bit like "Quadrants," only with nine...ninths (is there a word for a section that's a ninth of a square?) containing 5-letter words held together by four 15-letter entries that span the grid. Similar pattern recognition skills are needed to determine where the answers fit.
   
   The "Maze" puzzles are similar to "Marching Bands"--there are two Across clues for each row, and the letters are checked by words traveling through the grid in maze fashion ("Marching Bands" grids have concentric bands rather than one long "Maze" string of answers).
   
   An easier but fun puzzle type is the "Intersections" puzzle. It looks like a standard 13x13 crossword grid, but the clues are given in pairs. If the number 1 appeared in the top left square, all you would know is that 1-Across and 1-Down had that pair of clues, but figuring out which goes where is your job.
   
   "Crossing Paths" were the hardest variety for me. Four zigzagging paths make a lap around, but answer lengths aren't given so you have to work forward and back from the first and last clues for each path. Each path contains about 10 answers, so good luck finding your way!
   
   Second hardest were the "Angling" variety. You're given the first and last square numbers, but not told where the answer takes a 90° turn or which end the word starts on. There's partial checking of the answers via shaded squares that contain a quote, but it takes a good long while to fill in enough to complete the quote so it can help with the rest of the answers.
   
   There are several more varieties of puzzles, each with its own twist on the crossword format.
   
   If you find that standard crosswords don't stretch your brain enough, crossword folks will often encourage you to "come to the dark side" and delve into cryptic crosswords. If you prefer American-style crossword clues over parsing cryptics' clues, though, this book may be just the ticket.



2. Fantastic crossword variations. I'm speechless at the way Henry Hook managed to fit all this together.



3. If you want a way to shake sleep inertia early in the morning, work one of Henry Hook's Terribly Twisted Crossword Puzzle while sipping a strong cup of coffee. The puzzles are varied and challenging but fair. My wife and I normally work crossword puzzles in ink and do not use any form of reference. Henry Hook has forced us to make one concession--we work his puzzles in pencil! We just hope he is busy writing more!!

1 comments about Merl Reagle's Sunday Crosswords, Vol. 5.

1. As a matter of fact, don't buy these crossword puzzle books unless you won't mind being totally spoiled -- you'll somehow never be thoroughly satisfied again! Merl Reagle and his merry band of wordsmiths have created the cleverest and somehow most colorful puzzles we've ever toyed with... They are witty and intelligent and So Much Fun -- there's always a wry comment or head-on chuckle. And they're challenging, but not so extreme or arcane as to be no fun -- these folks are fair... they don't stretch definitions beyond belief or use underhanded references meant to keep you off the track. I look forward to sitting down with these puzzles like I'd look forward to a cup of tea with a fascinating, erudite, charming, and funny friend. What a gift!

No comments about The New York Times A Cup of Tea Crosswords: 75 Light and Easy Puzzles (New York Times Crossword Puzzle).

1 comments about Another Big Book of TV Guide Crossword Puzzles: Hundreds of Crossword Puzzles From the TV Guide Archives!.

1. I give this crossoword puzzle book two thumbs up.

No comments about Webster's Challenging Large Print Crossword Puzzles.

1 comments about Large Print Crosswords #4 (Navh National Association for Visually Handicapped).

1. Bought these crossword books for my elderly Mom and she is extremely satisfied. Book difficulty ranges between medium to hard. Great buy!

1 comments about Chicago Tribune Sunday Crossword Puzzles, Volume 5 (Chicago Tribune).

1. I'm a little obsessed with crossword puzzles, and this series of Sunday tribune puzzles is excellent, I have found, for my skill level. I don't finish very many of them, but I feel like I COULD do it, if I really tried. Ha. That's probably the way it's supposed to be, I suspect. When I try to do the NYTimes Sunday puzzles, I don't feel like there's must hope for me.
   
   The Tribune puzzles feel modern, but not as hip as the Boston Globe puzzles. I like this. I wait for "them" to put out a new volume, and I pace myself, interspersing LA Times puzzles in between these.
   
   I'm a fairly smart person, with an honors degree in literature, but I'm not clever enough, I fear, for the NYTimes puzzles. I wish I were, because I love the paper. Maybe I can sneak these Tribune volumes (that are nicely spiral bound) in between the pages of the Times?

2 comments about Simon and Schuster Crossword Puzzle Book #235: The Original Crossword Puzzle Publisher (Simon & Schuster Crossword Puzzle Books).

1. This is a fly through crossword puzzle. It is both fun and easy. The print is not tine and not huge. Ideal for light fun.



2. I bought this and two others and all three came with the wrong answers in the back. I was very disappointed.