Games Magazine's World of Cryptic Crosswords [Spiral-bound]

Mike Shenk (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 1992

A mind-bending new treasury of fifty fabulous, fun-filled crossword puzzles from Games magazine!

Cryptic crossword clues have two parts. One is the definition of the answer, and the other is a description of it through wordplay. The trick is discovering which part is which, and cracking the anagrams, hidden words, and other language play within the clues.

Games Magazine's World of Cryptic Crosswords includes a detailed, step-by-step explanation of how to solve cryptics, plus six warm-up puzzles, each illustrating the basic cryptic clue types.

Also included are ten variety cryptic puzzles at the end of the book, for those intrepid solvers who have advanced to Master Solver status.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

A mind-bending new treasury of fifty fabulous, fun-filled crossword puzzles from Games magazine!

Cryptic crossword clues have two parts. One is the definition of the answer, and the other is a description of it through wordplay. The trick is discovering which part is which, and cracking the anagrams, hidden words, and other language play within the clues.

Games Magazine's World of Cryptic Crosswords includes a detailed, step-by-step explanation of how to solve cryptics, plus six warm-up puzzles, each illustrating the basic cryptic clue types.

Also included are ten variety cryptic puzzles at the end of the book, for those intrepid solvers who have advanced to Master Solver status.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 80 pages
• Publisher: B and P Publishing Company; 1st edition (March 10, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812919998
• ISBN-13: 978-0812919998
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,427,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun Cryptics, April 4, 2002

By 

blibberinghumdinger (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Games Magazine's World of Cryptic Crosswords (Spiral-bound)

Overall this is a very good collection. Almost all are straightforward, though, with only ten "variety" cryptics in the back.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Cryptic Collection, Ever!, January 27, 2010

By 

Duffy Johnson (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Games Magazine's World of Cryptic Crosswords (Spiral-bound)

I bought this when it was published and it remains, for me, the gold standard of cryptic collections. The book's variety finale, 'Diamond Mine', is the most satisfying cryptic I've ever come across. Don't pass this one up!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Logical "U.S." puzzles. Well constructed. Medium Difficulty., September 10, 2007

By 

Brian S. Walker - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Games Magazine's World of Cryptic Crosswords (Spiral-bound)

Very few obscure foreign words! Clues are nicely constructed, answers are words you should probably know. Puzzles do not feel like they were run through a thesaurus and anagram computer program like so many do. These are from years of Games Magazine (I think), so they were constructed in an artisan manner rather than in a rushed "gotta meet deadline" fashion. Rules are outlined in the book and followed to strictly. No single definitions or unrelated words are in the clues. Can be difficult to decipher the definition from the clue, and some clue words can have multiple meanings, a sign of good puzzle creation. Wish another edition would come out, this is my favorite cryptic crossword book of the dozen or so purchased (bought twice over 10 years, and erasing now to do again). There are different puzzle authors so you get a variety of clue trickery. Completion time 1-3 hours per puzzle. Highly recommended.