Customer Reviews

Games Magazine's World of Cryptic Crosswords

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

 

 

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

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!

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.

If you are looking for cryptic crosswords that are very difficult this is the book for you.
Just make sure you really want them to be this difficult. Of course to some they may be easy. But I find I will be working on these puzzles a long time which is just what I wanted so I am happy with the book.

I LOVE cryptic crossword puzzles, and this is the best book of them all! They don't come out too frequently here (as they do in the UK where they originated), and I am so glad I xeroxed the pages so I can do the puzzles in this book again and again! I have bought other cryptic books but this is by far the best! There are puzzles here by different enigmatists, and none are too difficult or too easy yet I find them challenging. Cryptics seem to be quite difficult when you are new to them, but don't give up--and you too will be hooked for life!