Customer Reviews

Cryptic Crosswords (Official Mensa Puzzle Book)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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)"

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.

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.

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)

I am enjoying solving these cryptics, but am disappointed that there are no "variety" cryptics among them. Variety cryptics are more challenging and more interesting than just regular cryptics. A mixture of both would have been much better.

A love hate relationship with this collection. There is a brilliant Wizard of Oz themed puzzle in this book. Most of the puzzles are themed, though they don't tell you what the theme is. But there are many that have obscure (at least to me) Canadian terms, people and places. If you are from the great white north (where apparently these puzzles are from) you will probably enjoy this collection more. What/who are whist, war bonnet, tam oshanter, souwester, deer stalker, rondo, orpheus (all in same puzzle)? My cover did not have the word MENSA on it, though it has the same ISBN. Agree with others that the Atlantic collection far exceeds this book. If you are a die hard fan this book is still worth it since there is a shortage of even mediocre quality puzzles.

These 15 x 15 puzzles are a real challenge. The grid offers a lot of crossing points. Unfortunately, these are mostly filled by the letters e, s and d, so not a great deal of help in the solution. Ninety per cent of the clues can be figured out, though some require a bit of hair pulling and pencil chewing. Five per cent make sense after reading the answer key. But there is the remaining five per cent, that don't make any sense at all, even after reading the key. So if you are in the mood for a real mental workout, and have some latent masochism in you, these puzzles are just the ticket.

First, I have to say I'm a bit puzzled (no pun intended). I ordered this book and the copy I received from Amazon has no mention of MENSA, either on the cover or anywhere in the book. This is a follow-up to Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon's first crypic crossword book in this series, which I have and which also makes no mention of MENSA. In fact, the puzzles in both books were first compiled for publication in the Canadian newspaper National Post. If anyone thinks this book is in any way connected with MENSA, perhaps they'd clarify what the connection is. The picture of the book shown here seems to have had the acronym 'MENSA' imposed upon the cover. Very strange.

Having said that, this book, like its predecessor, is great fun. Cryptic crosswords are enjoyable to solve when composed well, and these are excellent. No, they're not of the same order of difficulty as the Times or the Telegraph puzzles in Britain, but they are challenging enough to make you think without being impenetrable. The only slight downside for American puzzle-solvers is that, although Cox and Rathvon are from Pennsylvania and compose puzzles for such journals as the Boston Globe, these puzzles were meant for a Canadian audience and contain a number of references which are specifically Canadian. If you don't know your Canadian authors, broadcasters or CFL football teams, you'll be searching the internet for some of the answers (having lived in Canada for 25 years before moving to the US, that wasn't too much of a problem for me). There is a guide at the front of the book setting out the kinds of clues you will find, which is not only useful for this book, but for other cryptic puzzles you might attempt.

Don't pay too much attention to the puzzle snobs. Just enjoy this book.