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LINKS
This is a deliberately selective
listing of what we consider to be the best sudoku and crossword
websites/software. |
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CROSSWORD
LINKS
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Big Dave's Telegraph Crossword Blog has very quickly established itself as
perhaps the biggest cryptic crossword blog in the UK, now earning around
3,000 hits per day since its launch in January 2009. The Telegraph crossword
is, for many, a starting point for the journey into cryptics, and Dave's
unique approach - offering suggestions to and explanations for answers, with
answers highlightable if you're still stuck - makes it an astonishingly good
way of learning how cryptic clues work. |
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John Halpern - a great friend and a great cryptic setter - is on
a mission to give cryptic crosswords (the one thing we Brits definitely do
better than anyone else in the world) the sort of high profile they deserve.
Anax is delighted to be joining Cryptica in this quest and we strongly
recommend a visit to its brand new website that is destined to succeed in
putting FUN into what is often - wrongly - imagined to be a staid and arcane
world. |
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This outstanding site by Neil
Shepherd features his own cryptic crosswords (as Alberich) and those of
several guest setters. Most of the puzzles here are of a standard similar to
the cryptic crosswords in The Guardian - very high quality. |
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The Magpie is a magazine for aficionados of thematic barred
crossword puzzles, and as of September 2007 it's available on the web. And
it is stunning! Let us be clear - these are Listener-type puzzles at the
very top end of the genre, so casual crossworders may be bamboozled. But the
site is worth visiting anyway, if only to marvel at the ingenuity of its
contributors or the magnificent presentation of the puzzles - check out the
sample collection in pdf format; the quality is just superb. For lovers of
really challenging and truly original crosswords, we rate this as the best
we've seen anywhere. Brilliant! |
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Excellent software for creating
professional crosswords. Many formats are supported including coded
crosswords, barred (Ximenean) crosswords, US-style, French, Italian,
clues-in-squares (ArrowWord), Wordsearches and more. It even generates sudoku puzzles.
Download a trial version. |
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UKPuzzle doesn't offer cryptic crosswords for sale but we know a
very nice man who does. Cryptics.co.uk supplies standard and themed cryptics
aimed at particular organisations - i.e. whatever you do can be built into a
crossword. The same personalisation is available for greetings cards, a
great way to give your loved ones something to think about. |
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Regarded by many as the best
crossword resource on the internet, this site offers a huge listing of
crossword sites, software, articles, anagram generators and more. |
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Anyone who's been involved in
The Times Crossword Championship will be familiar with the name of Pete
Biddlecombe,
inveterate competitor and winner of the 2000 and 2007 National Final. This site also
features a few of his own puzzles and those of other luminaries of the
cryptic crossword world. |
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Created by Pete Biddlecombe (above), the Times for The Times blog evaluates
and comments upon the daily Times crossword, the Saturday Jumbo, Sunday
Times and Mephisto puzzles. The site's numerous regular contributors help to
make this a superbly informative insight into cryptic clue techniques. |
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George vs The Listener is a hugely entertaining blog from a solver of the
Listener Puzzle in The Times. The unique inclusion of his "solving sketches"
is an insight into just how fiendishly challenging these puzzles are, and
George's informal accounts of successes (and failures) are a great read -
even if you don't happen to be a crossword devotee. |
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The Fifteensquared blog covers the daily cryptic puzzles in The Independent,
Guardian and Financial Times and - like Times for The Times - is a great way
to learn about the techniques used by the UK's top cryptic crossword
setters. |