| The Listener magazine in the UK used to carry (perhaps still does)
some quite good crosswords which played lost of games like this. There
was at least one book published by Penguin containing a whole lot. I recall
two which seem similar to what you're getting at.
In one, you had to recognize that although a clue might have a nine
letter answer for instance, there was only space for five characters perhaps,
in the frame. So if the answer was LIBRARIAN, you had to put @RIAN in the
frame, where by @ I denote the astrological symbol for LIBRA (the real symbol
I don't think I can get at on my keyboard). Then this might intersect with
another answer EQUI@TE, perhaps. And so on.
In another crossword, you had to recognize that although the clues
were answered by text, in fact you had to convert them to numerical form.
Eg: pi had to be converted to 314195 or something.
My favourite involved realizing that the answer to every clue had
an alternative spelling, and it was necessary to put in the *form* from the
one suggested. Or another which involved encoding all the down answers
in an unknown cipher, which would enable you to decipher the (one word)
clues for the across answers, which were then entered directly. The only way
to break into the cipher was to realize that 1 down and 2 down both began
with the same three letters, so the answers to three across clues had to
begin with a double letter (eg: LLAMA, EEL, AARDVOGEL).
The best thing about these crosswords is that you were not generally
told what was special about the crossword, or only given a very elliptical
hint. (Eg: title of the crossword "General Exodus" denoted that there were
about sixteen unclued answers, the across ones being the names of battles, and
the down ones being the names of a general who died in each of these battles
intersecting the relevant battle, eg CASSIUS intersecting PHILIPPI at I.)
Happy schooldays,
Andrew.
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| G'day,
The Sunday Express (?) carried a crossword which had usually only 4
black squares and 4 numbers shown within the puzzle grid. The rules
stated the puzzle pattern was symmetrical top to bottom and side to
side. The clues gave no indication of answer length. By logical
reasoning, and judicious use of an eraser, the puzzle was solved by
appropriate shading of the black squares, the clue numbers and ,
naturally, the answers.
The Times crossword of course is the master. I believe that I have a
fairly wide vocabulary, yet have only succeded in solving it four
times, without recourse to a dictionary or thesaurus.
derek
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| A question for you crossword puzzle enthusiasts out there: What is considered
acceptable in the solution of a crossword? I know some who feel that one must
solve the puzzle completely unaided, as if stuck in a barren room with the
puzzle and a pencil. On the other end of the spectrum, some feel that any aid
specifically requested is acceptable, for example a dictionary, encyclopedia,
and a friend who answers questions. Still others use a team approach. What is
usual? Are there official "rules" anywhere? How about in competitions?
Brian
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