# Who here \*currently\* solves the cryptic crosswords in "Games" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 23, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200 "2008-10-23T13:33:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/1 "2008-10-23T13:33:48Z")
As I’ve [del]namedropped[/del] [del]bragged[/del] mentioned a few times, I test-solve the cryptic crosswords for _Games Magazine_. In a puzzle I worked on recently, there was a mention to one of the new media, specifically, PODCAST (I put it in a spoiler box, since it refers to the answer and someone may be doing the puzzle in the March issue and remember this. Anyway, the editor (Jen Orehowsky) and I got into a discussion of how to refer to this new media in a way that would be technically correct “for the kids,” but also in a way that would point to the answer in a way helpful to us middle-aged folks who might partake of this medium in some limited way but not be aware of the ins and outs of it. In the middle of the discussion, I said, “Yanno, it would be really helpful if we had some idea of the age of the solvers” – the original clue that I objected to had been okayed by the young-uns (20somethings) – Jen’s probably early 30s and was iffy on it – I’m 53 and was totally WTF about referring to this medium in that way. The magazine has gone to printer, so I’m not asking for help on the specific clue – what I want to know is, are there any current _Games_ cryptic solvers around, and how old are you? PS: Thanks to [**TommyTutone**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10349847&postcount=54) in the current Pit thread on xw puzzles for giving me the idea to start this thread. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/2 "2008-10-23T13:38:39Z")
I love the _Games_ cryptics, although I think they usually rely too much on anagrams. I’m 47 years old. RR ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/3 "2008-10-23T13:50:56Z")
I agree with you on the anagrams, but I myself can’t write a cryptic clue to save my life, so it’s hard to be too critical. I don’t know if you check constructor bylines – but I think Bob Stigger is a major talent. I’m really impressed with his work, esp. his variety cryptics. ---
**Author:** ![Just1Lurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@Just1Lurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just1Lurk)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/4 "2008-10-23T14:23:57Z")
I’m also a big fan of the cryptics. I’m 45. (And, hey tell the editors - more _Rows Gardens_!) ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/5 "2008-10-23T14:27:22Z")
I hate the cryptics. I do almost every other puzzle in the magazine, sometimes even the kids’ puzzles and word searches if I’m bored. I know I’m smart enough and “clever” enough, but they feel… I guess, too clever and smirky for me. Not specifically GAMES cryptics, but cryptics in general. And **Just1Lurk** , I agree - I LOVE Rows Garden! Joe ETA Sorry, I guess this wasn’t a helpful response to the OP. But I seldom get to talk about puzzles 🙂 35 this month. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/6 "2008-10-23T15:02:19Z")
I do. I’m 32. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/7 "2008-10-23T15:10:08Z")
I can’t do the Cryptics. I’m just not smart enough or something…I end up looking at the clues and thinking, “Duh…whuh?” I love the crosswords, though, especially the 3-star and World’s Most Ornery. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/8 "2008-10-23T15:19:59Z")
I don’t currently do the cryptics in _Games_, but this is making me consider giving them a try. How do they compare, in originality and difficulty, with those in _Harper’s_ and _The Atlantic_? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/9 "2008-10-23T15:20:39Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I can’t do the Cryptics. I’m just not smart enough or something…I end up looking at the clues and thinking, “Duh…whuh?” I love the crosswords, though, especially the 3-star and World’s Most Ornery. Not a matter of intelligence at all – it’s a game with very specific, rather odd, rules, and it takes years to learn how to do them. (Which is why the folks who write the budgets at _Games_, appalling cheapskates, are willing to pay me a reasonable amount of money to test-solve them – not many people know how.) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/10 "2008-10-23T15:27:34Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > The magazine has gone to printer, so I’m not asking for help on the specific clue – what I want to know is, are there any current _Games_ cryptic solvers around, and how old are you? 40 here, and I know what a podcast is. I solve the cryptics in _Games_ and _Games World of Puzzles_; they’re just about my favorite thing, and the themed/gimmicked ones often have me really impressed at the ingenuity of the creator. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/11 "2008-10-23T15:30:41Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I don’t currently do the cryptics in _Games_, but this is making me consider giving them a try. How do they compare, in originality and difficulty, with those in _Harper’s_ and _The Atlantic_? I’m not familiar with those others these days, but the ones in _Games_, at least, always play fair, and are almost always do-able (to me, in under an hour, though occasionally I get tuck on one or two words and have to peek at the answers) (which I can’t always say for cryptics from other sources). ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/12 "2008-10-23T15:31:57Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > 40 here, and I know what a podcast is. Yeah, I do too – but describing it as “something something _multimedia_” (sorry, don’t recall the exact wording) wouldn’t have gotten me there – since I’m 53 and think of it as a downloadable radio show – and think of multimedia as being way more elaborate than a podcast. And thanks for observing the spoiler-ism on that. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/13 "2008-10-23T15:36:13Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > And thanks for observing the spoiler-ism on that. :smack: Oops, sorry. Maybe a mod can delete or spoiler that. > [@](#): > > Yeah, I do too – but describing it as “something something multimedia” (sorry, don’t recall the exact wording) wouldn’t have gotten me there – since I’m 53 and think of it as a downloadable radio show – and think of multimedia as being way more elaborate than a podcast. “Multimedia”? Maybe not. “One of the new media”? sure. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/14 "2008-10-23T15:41:10Z")
Not a prob – anyone who solves it later will probably get that giddy “ooh, I remember when they were talking about that on the Dope” frisson. Anyway – the 20somethings were fine with multimedia – I said no, referring to it as “multimedia whatever” wouldn’t get me to podcast. That’s why we started discussing age differences. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/15 "2008-10-23T17:35:57Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > The magazine has gone to printer, so I’m not asking for help on the specific clue – what I want to know is, are there any current _Games_ cryptic solvers around, and how old are you? > > PS: Thanks to [**TommyTutone**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10349847&postcount=54) in the current Pit thread on xw puzzles for giving me the idea to start this thread. Just got my new issue yesterday! Jumped right for the cryptic crossword. Got a couple right away, still working it. 1. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/16 "2008-10-23T19:50:53Z")
I’m 57. The cryptics in the magazine were my favorite puzzles, actually, and I did them for years. I haven’t bought the magazines in a few months because I came across a site that offers free cryptics daily: [http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/puzzles/cryptic.html](http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/puzzles/cryptic.html). Their difficulty varies. I find that the ones by DA are the hardest. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/17 "2008-10-23T20:01:24Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > I’m 57. The cryptics in the magazine were my favorite puzzles, actually, and I did them for years. I haven’t bought the magazines in a few months because I came across a site that offers free cryptics daily: [http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/puzzles/cryptic.html](http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/puzzles/cryptic.html). Their difficulty varies. I find that the ones by DA are the hardest. Cool. Are those US-style (“pure” cryptics) or British-style (mixed)? I can’t do British style. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/18 "2008-10-23T20:07:03Z")
I don’t get _Games_, but I do most of the cryptics in _World of Puzzles_. I am still 38. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/19 "2008-10-23T21:17:11Z")
I get the GAMES magazine often,not every issue anymore but I do them when i get it. I am 40 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200/20 "2008-10-23T21:45:07Z")
I loved Games and cryptic crosswords when I was a teenager, but I haven’t picked up an issue in years. This is making me nostalgic; maybe I’ll subscribe. Daniel [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-currently-solves-the-cryptic-crosswords-in-games/469200.md?page=2)