50 Variety Cryptic Crosswords Roger Wolff 9780991245215 Books
Download As PDF : 50 Variety Cryptic Crosswords Roger Wolff 9780991245215 Books
The title just about says it all. This book is a compilation of 50 (American style) variety cryptic crosswords. A small handful have previously been published (in GAMES, and GAMES World of Puzzles magazines, and The Enigma, the newsletter of the National Puzzler's League). The rest are a compilation of never-seen-before puzzles sure to provide hours (and hours) of brain-racking entertainment.
50 Variety Cryptic Crosswords Roger Wolff 9780991245215 Books
I am an old hand at cryptic crosswords, having discovered Cox and Rathvon through a subscription to the Atlantic Monthly. This was back in the ‘90’s and I ran to the library to Xerox all the puzzles from back issues and maintained my subscription until they no longer carried them. Since then, I have done many from Great Britain and Canada, but I still consider Cox and Rathvon to be the gold standard.To me, these are not very hard. I solve the cryptic clues fairly quickly and then take a bit longer to figure out the trick. I only got the book yesterday and have done three so far, thoroughly enjoying the process. For any solvers who find these to be challenging, I would suggest finding easier ones but holding onto the book and returning to it when you have some more experience with this genre.
I thought the price was steep for a self-published book, but now that I have it in my hands, I think it’s well worth it. Spiral bindings are not cheap and the book is very well constructed. The paper is of such high quality that I solve the problems in light pencil and easily erase them so that when I’ve finished the book, I can bury it in my stash for a few years and do them again! Kudos to the author for such a delightful album!
Update: Have dropped a star because of erroneous and misleading clues. I understand that part of the fun is in misleading the solver, but when a clue is super tricky the puzzle writers I generally go to will mark the clue with a question mark. In addition, I just almost solved a puzzle with frankly erroneous clues. For example, by definition of the genre, one end of the clue is a synonym for the answer, the other end a type of wordplay. In the clue, “Blade quickly cuts around top of ear,” the answer is Snip(e)s, i.e. blade = snips around the first letter of ear. One can argue that snips are a cutting tool but not a single blade but, more importantly, where is the synonym? It should be there but it isn’t. A second example from the same puzzle, “Abbey refuge hiding Bronte”: the answer is Eyre, which is hidden in the wordplay end. Except that Eyre is part of the title of a novel written by Charlotte Bronte and neither her name nor her pseudonym. I will stop here, but there were a few more such cases from this last puzzle that I’ve done and I am sorely disappointed. I will continue to update as I work through the book. I love tough puzzles and don’t even mind obscure words such as milliradians, but I do expect there to be an integrity in clue writing.
Update 2: Have dropped another star. Some definitions incorrectly define a term. Very disappointed.
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Tags : 50 Variety Cryptic Crosswords [Roger Wolff] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The title just about says it all. This book is a compilation of 50 (American style) variety cryptic crosswords. A small handful have previously been published (in GAMES,Roger Wolff,50 Variety Cryptic Crosswords,Publisher,0991245210
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50 Variety Cryptic Crosswords Roger Wolff 9780991245215 Books Reviews
Just finished my 13th puzzle in this book. Each is unique with the challenge level from moderate to difficult. Roger Wolff is one of the best cryptic constructionists and you won't be disappointed. The 6th puzzle, "Paint by Letters" with two separate grids is...well...a work of art!
fyi This is a second publication for this book and some of the errors/typos mentioned in prior reviews of the first publication have been cleaned up for this edition.
Update Completed all 50. Sad to see it end. I remain as impressed with Roger's puzzle design as I did above after completing the first 13 puzzles.
Variety Cryptics (puzzles within a puzzle) have some detractors but I believe they don't require mensa-type intelligence but rather just patience and persistence. The All-Stars books that Roger also publishes showcase the top designers of these type of puzzles and I find Roger's contributions to be somewhat more accessible (or easier) than the average so, for those looking to "dip their toe in the water" of variety cryptics, this collection is an excellent place to start.
I remember a joke I heard years ago What's grey, has four legs, is filled with concrete, and howls at the moon? The answer is A Wolf. What about the concrete, you ask? I just threw that in to make it hard.
I share this for a reason. I ordered this book with great anticipation. I've worked through several cryptic crossword books, and have come to really enjoy them. So, I opened to the first puzzle, and here are the instructions "This diagramless puzzle has standard crossword (180 degree rotational) symmetry. To help you out, all Qs have been entered into the grid. If you find yourself shouting '17 Across,' you should at least be thankful that you have this 25 Down to help."
Second puzzle "Fourteen answers need to be modified before being entered into the grid. If you can't figure out how to make the modifications and are 19 Across, then perhaps you should try it."
And so the puzzles continue. Each one has one or more bags of concrete along with the cryptic clues. Thank God they aren't all diagramless (my least favorite puzzle type), but none are just what I had come to expect as a "Cryptic Crossword" per se.
I am not writing this to complain. Just wanted to warn folks that this book is a level or three above any cryptic crossword book I've previously purchased, and I wasn't expecting it.
I'm taking it as an educational opportunity, but so far I am totally overmatched and it does take some of the fun out of the solving since I have to refer to the answers in the back early and often.If I manage to slog through the entire colllection, I'll revisit the review and see if I still feel the same.
I am an old hand at cryptic crosswords, having discovered Cox and Rathvon through a subscription to the Atlantic Monthly. This was back in the ‘90’s and I ran to the library to Xerox all the puzzles from back issues and maintained my subscription until they no longer carried them. Since then, I have done many from Great Britain and Canada, but I still consider Cox and Rathvon to be the gold standard.
To me, these are not very hard. I solve the cryptic clues fairly quickly and then take a bit longer to figure out the trick. I only got the book yesterday and have done three so far, thoroughly enjoying the process. For any solvers who find these to be challenging, I would suggest finding easier ones but holding onto the book and returning to it when you have some more experience with this genre.
I thought the price was steep for a self-published book, but now that I have it in my hands, I think it’s well worth it. Spiral bindings are not cheap and the book is very well constructed. The paper is of such high quality that I solve the problems in light pencil and easily erase them so that when I’ve finished the book, I can bury it in my stash for a few years and do them again! Kudos to the author for such a delightful album!
Update Have dropped a star because of erroneous and misleading clues. I understand that part of the fun is in misleading the solver, but when a clue is super tricky the puzzle writers I generally go to will mark the clue with a question mark. In addition, I just almost solved a puzzle with frankly erroneous clues. For example, by definition of the genre, one end of the clue is a synonym for the answer, the other end a type of wordplay. In the clue, “Blade quickly cuts around top of ear,” the answer is Snip(e)s, i.e. blade = snips around the first letter of ear. One can argue that snips are a cutting tool but not a single blade but, more importantly, where is the synonym? It should be there but it isn’t. A second example from the same puzzle, “Abbey refuge hiding Bronte” the answer is Eyre, which is hidden in the wordplay end. Except that Eyre is part of the title of a novel written by Charlotte Bronte and neither her name nor her pseudonym. I will stop here, but there were a few more such cases from this last puzzle that I’ve done and I am sorely disappointed. I will continue to update as I work through the book. I love tough puzzles and don’t even mind obscure words such as milliradians, but I do expect there to be an integrity in clue writing.
Update 2 Have dropped another star. Some definitions incorrectly define a term. Very disappointed.
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