Derek Crozier was an idiosyncratic crossword setter who, under the pseudonym Crosaire, ran the Irish Times cryptic crossword singlehandedly for almost 70 years.
He died in April 2010 at the age of 92, having compiled over 14000 daily crosswords. The last puzzle completed before his death, number 14605, runs in today's
Irish Times.
[more inside]
posted by rollick
on Oct 21, 2011 -
6 comments
"Looking at the world through via Google Earth offers striking images of the diversity of our planet and the impact that humans have had on it. Today's entry is a puzzle. We're challenging you to figure out where in the world each of the images below is taken. (You'll find answers and links at the bottom of the entry.) North is not always up in these pictures, and, apart from a bit of contrast, they are unaltered images provided by Google and its mapping partners. So I invite you to open up Google Earth (or Google Maps),
have a look at the images below, and dive in. Good luck!"
posted by vidur
on Aug 3, 2011 -
22 comments
Since 1980,
Nikoli^ has been in the business of creating
many different variations of logic puzzles (such as the very popular Sudoku and Kakuro). Unfortunately, as they're stationed in Tokyo, their magazine is unavailable to most Americans.
Luckily, over the decades they've inspired quite a few people to make their own puzzles and variants, including:
posted by flatluigi
on Feb 17, 2010 -
12 comments
Since
Wordplay has come out, crossword puzzles have been on the rise. If you want to join in on the fun, read
this primer by Will Shortz to get started, then download
Across Lite, head to
Cruciverb, and do free puzzles in the right-hand sidebar.
Will Johnston's page contains a huge repository of Across Lite puzzles. If you get stuck, can't figure out why an entry is correct, or just want to chat about a grid's brilliant construction, try reading the crossword blogs. The best two are
Diary of a Crossword Fiend and
Rex Parker Does the New York Times Crossword Puzzle. (Caution! Spoilers abound!) And, if you want to try your hand at constructing some crosswords of your own (submission guidelines for various papers
here),
Crossword Compiler is an outstanding piece of software.
[Via this AskMetafilter question]
posted by painquale
on Jan 22, 2007 -
26 comments
AcceleRacers: Track Mod is a fun little Pipe-Dream-esque Flash game in which your object is to manipulate sections of track in order to get each of your six racecars to the finish line inside the time limit. Gets a lot harder as you go up in levels and more obstacles are added.
Yes, it is a HotWheels game.
posted by Gator
on Jul 19, 2006 -
7 comments
"King Anfortas currently owns this magic stone, schmooze him, take him surprise, how ever you will get it, but bring me this stone! As award I promise you my daughter and a place on the crown!" --
The Mystery of Castle Wildenburg, a slightly goofily-translated game that combines point-&-click with classic text adventure gameplay, and photos of the lovely German countryside.
Read the "Prehistory," mouseover everything, save often (though you lose your accumulated points on loading a saved game), and be careful not to die of thirst.
posted by Gator
on Jul 17, 2006 -
6 comments
Cityscape. (Flash game) Build a city with 18 available components. The order in which those components are employed determines how they'll interact and how far the city will develop. There's one correct order that will score the full amount of points. (
via)
posted by Melinika
on Mar 10, 2006 -
22 comments
More point-n-click Flash puzzles, this time in a series: Escape to Obion, episodes
one,
two,
three, and
four.
posted by Gator
on Feb 27, 2006 -
7 comments
Inspector Wombat, a point-and-click Flash puzzle game somewhat clumsily translated from the
German. Inspector Wombat has a seemingly-bottomless sack in which to store all the random crap he picks up, like banana peels, his lady friend's stereo system
(dude, she's standing right there. Ever try asking?), and tasty foodstuffs somebody left in the street. Your object is twofold: Find and apprehend the kooky blackmailer who's messing with the museum director, and fix the museum's paintings which have mysteriously gone all wonky
(hint: it's because of evil, unhappy bacteria).
posted by Gator
on Feb 25, 2006 -
3 comments
Tetrod is a jigsaw puzzle and a four-sided domino game mixed together. -- Java puzzle game; choose 3x4, 4x4, 5x4, or 5x5.
posted by Gator
on Feb 24, 2006 -
9 comments
Flea Circus! It's just like
Lemmings! Only tinier! And faster! And you can only make three moves: Block, ramp, and other ramp!
(java)
posted by Gator
on Feb 17, 2006 -
11 comments
Attic Escape is another little "escape the locked room" Flash game along the lines of
Crimson Room,
Viridian Room,
White Chamber,
The Doors, and
MOTAS. Also by the creator of Attic Escape are
Nightmare Escape and, er,
Cannibal Escape (which is worth clicking for the lovely, cello-heavy strings music if nothing else).
Click everywhere in Attic Escape; important items are hidden behind, above, and under everything.
posted by Gator
on Feb 4, 2006 -
16 comments
A Case of the Crabs, and its sequel,
The Goat in the Grey Fedora, are a couple of point-and-click black-and-white Flash games that parody the old Sam Spade-type noir films. You are Nick Bounty, private detective, and it's up to you to solve the mysteries of the counterfeit crabs and the miniature goat statue, respectively. Very, very jokey; guaranteed to induce eyerolling.
Look at everything, talk to everyone, and pick up everything that's not nailed down. Hints are available, but they're crammed with jokes too.
posted by Gator
on Jan 29, 2006 -
5 comments
The Flowering Nose in Slugland adventure game. As a goblin with a flower for a nose, your ultimate goal is to find the lost sprout. Defeat enemies by throwing flowers at them; power up with hearts; teleport from level to level with such esoteric trinkets as donuts and cherries. (Java.)
posted by Gator
on Jan 27, 2006 -
15 comments
"You awaken from an uneasy dream.You are in a small, bare apartment. You are alone. You have no idea how you got there. You don’t even know who you are." Fans of Franz Kafka may appreciate
Kafkamesto, a bleak and bizarre point-and-click Flash game.
posted by Gator
on Jan 20, 2006 -
27 comments
Cubeoban -- Arrange the colored blocks so that they cover the colored dots. (Flash.)
posted by Gator
on Jan 19, 2006 -
37 comments
Yet another Flash puzzle game:
Shift. Very beautiful, with low-key music.
posted by Gator
on Jan 10, 2006 -
28 comments
Quzzle. Using the basic 'dad's puzzle', a 5X4 grid with a number of blocks, Jim Lewis calculated the most difficult solvable variation (yes of course that's quibbleable). Read more
here.
posted by biffa
on Dec 8, 2004 -
21 comments
Nonograms (also known as "Griddlers" or "Paint By Numbers") were invented by Non Ishida in 1987. Originally trying to design pictures that could be created by turning the lights on or off in the windows of skyscrapers, Ishida soon realized that the same principle could used as the basis for a new genre of logic puzzle. Since then, enigmatologists around the world have wasted hours
solving them online and
completing entire books of these elegant brainteasers.
posted by Shadowkeeper
on Sep 26, 2002 -
16 comments
