LINKS

LINKS This is a deliberately selective listing of what we consider to be the best sudoku and crossword websites/software.
CROSSWORD LINKS
	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.
	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!
	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.
	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.
	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.
	NEW! 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.
	Until recently the Times for The Times blog carried a poll to vote for the week's best cryptic clue. This has now been transferred to The Times COD forum which offers a daily poll. Registration is completely free and the forum is simple to use - simply click the thread with the day's puzzle number and you'll see five clues with their solutions. Place your vote, and see if your opinion is shared by others. This is the only website on the Internet where this daily poll is run, and Times setters are known to drop by frequently to get a feel of the feedback for their puzzles. The forum also hosts weekly clue-writing contests.
	Derek Harrison's Crossword Centre is an extensive site which focuses largely on thematic barred puzzles. One of its most popular features is the message board where the great and the good of the crossword community gather to discuss ... well, pretty much anything! There are regular contributions by some of the UK's most influential setters, and the index of puzzles includes outstanding examples from contemporary exponents alongside golden moments from the past.
	Puzzlers' Cave is an opportunity for compilers to create and submit their own puzzles using the free software download. Visitors can solve, rate and comment upon submitted work. Great site although, sadly, some comments demonstrate that there are some shockingly uneducated crossword solvers out there! But it's good fun and there are hundreds of crosswords to have a go at.
	NEW! 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.
	NEW! 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.

SUDOKU LINKS
	Our hand-made sudoku puzzles are created using Sudoku Architect. This remarkable piece of software serves two needs. It is a solver, capable of working through the hardest of sudoku puzzles, but it really comes into its own as a designing tool. Sophisticated puzzle analysis and evaluation and a refreshingly simple GUI combine to make puzzle creation truly satisfying. In our opinion no other sudoku software comes close. And - amazingly - it's FREE!
	We regard this as the best downloadable sudoku puzzle generator (it can also be used as a solver). Small footprint, very clear GUI and an endless supply of puzzles at five levels of difficulty, and FREE.
	A very impressive online generator which also boasts a gallery of 700+ pre-prepared sudoku puzzles. You can also design your own grid and have the applet use it to create a sudoku. Opting for 26 seeds or fewer can result in a bit of a wait, and the hardest puzzles permit guesswork.
	We were looking for software which would allow us to design Killer sudoku puzzles. We haven't found it yet, but we did find this very good classic/killer generator which also produces 16x16 puzzles. Definitely worth a look, and you can download a trial version (time limited). There is also a separate Hashi Tiger package. Hashi is the challenging game where numbered "islands" must be linked by bridges according to preset rules.
	Sudoku-influenced Kakuro puzzles (also called Cross Sums) work a little like those ArrowWord crosswords - the ones with clues printed inside the squares. The challenge is to place digits which add up to the "clue" total, but with no repeating digits. Kakuro Epic offers a beautiful interface and unlimited puzzles in a variety of grid sizes and difficulty levels. Well worth the modest purchase price, and you can download a 10-use trial.


Home of the UK's finest hand-made Sudoku and Crossword puzzles