Crosswords

I’ve recently become addicted to crossword puzzles.  I’ve been worried about keeping my mind sharp, and I started to do the daily newspaper crossword puzzle to try to improve things like my word-retrieval skills.  Surprisingly, I’ve not only loosened up my old grey cells, I’ve found a wonderful way to relax.  I now try to complete the puzzle in every daily paper if I have the time, and I’ll do two, or even three puzzles in a row if I’m uptight.  It’s been wonderful, purposeful therapy!

Our local newspaper gives me the daily crosswords from both the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, so I’ve got a wealth of riches in the driveway each morning.  My favourite puzzles, however, are the Friday Wall Street Journal puzzle, and the weekend puzzles from “the Observer” and Tribune Media.  They’re really large, and contain lots of puns and detailed themes.  If I’m in a pinch and desperately need a puzzle to work on, The New York Times offers their puzzles online, and they offer access to their entire database of puzzles for just $6.95 per month.  The interface is really easy to use and intuitive, so I’d happily recommend it to anyone needing almost limitless selection.  You can complete the puzzles in your browser, save them, compete against the clock or other players, or even print the puzzles out if you want to be all “Little House on the Prairie” about it.

Once I discovered how much I love these puzzles, I started to explore ways to have puzzles available while I was “on the go”.  I purchased a battery-operated, handheld crossword game by a company called Excalibur, and it was just awful (luckily I got a super deal for it on eBay).  The screen isn’t backlit, it’s difficult to read, you can only see one clue at a time… it’s pretty much worthless.  It’s so worthless that I’ll send it to anyone who asks for it, because otherwise it may end up in the trash.  I don’t even want to subject a buyer at Goodwill to it.  The very best portable player I’ve found is the Nintendo DS and the game ”New York Times Crosswords”.  I didn’t have high hopes for it, but it’s easy to use, the clues are easily accessible, and it’s easy to see large portions of the grid to keep things in perspective.  This is definitely something I could carry about with me and use often.  It will be ages before I run out of new puzzles, and even longer before I can complete them all.  The puzzles are organized by Monday through Friday (easiest to most difficult), or you can choose a random game.

after all these experiments with different products, I still have to conclude that my favourite way to work on a crossword puzzle is to sit down with an old-fashioned pen and paper.  I like to be able to browse all the clues, to fold up the game and stuff it in my pocket, and to not worry that the batteries will die.  I know I’ll want to take something with me when I travel, and although Flippy has offered to lend me her Nintendo DS, I think I’ll either buy a small book of puzzles, or just bring along a few newspaper tear-outs.  I love gadgest of all sorts, but when it come to crossword puzzles, the only gadget I want to employ is a nice pen.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 12/03 at 12:11 AM

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  1. Mmmmmmmm. I’m the same way. I love my DS (as you know) but give me a pen and paper crossword any day! (Same with suduko.)

    Posted by Diana  on  12/04  at  06:59 AM
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