What puzzles do you do?

[Daddy Longlegs]

Just watched a clip explaining how a mathematician proved how many clues you need to gaurentee a unique Sudoku puzzle. (17) We've got a Sudoku book in every powder room, to the point that we excuse ourselves "to go work on a puzzle". I occasionally try a crossword, but often don't get the word play involved in the clues. In general, I prefer the pure logic of numeric puzzles.

What types of puzzles (if any) do you do?

[wilson]

Occasionally I will do a cross word, but the main action in our life is my wife doing sudoku whilst placed on the bog.

What I don't get is how on the cover of these expensive rip-offs is always a busty chick. They just look too stupid to be doing such intellectual hoops.

All right, ladies, fire away.

[the masked man]

I like Hanjie, or nonograms, which is a Japanese picture puzzle. You have a grid of squares, with numerical clues at the side and top to all the strips of squares that need to be shaded in each row and column. If you do it correctly, you end up with a picture. It's very addictive, but infuriating when you realise you've made a mistake and have to backtrack.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonogram

[never/ever]

I love cryptograms which may be somewhat similar to the Times' crossword puzzle. And the odd sudoku, mathemagic-problems and the Cluedo-type puzzles where you get a handful of clues which you have to work into a special diagram- bit like a detective puzzle. In Holland they're called Logigram.

[Walk In My Shadow]

crosswords in Uncut and Mojo.

[Captain Jazzmag]

I have a copy of the Guardian from the day I was born. I'm about three clues off finishing the crossword. I'm not going to tell you what those clues are.

[Corporate whore]

I have a copy of the Guardian from the day I was born. I'm about three clues off finishing the crossword. I'm not going to tell you what those clues are.

That's a really interesting idea- I might try to get my equivalent.


Myself, I love mathematical and logic puzzles: Killer Suduku, normal Suduku, anything like that.

[sloopjohnc]

I don't have very much patience for puzzles. I will try them for about 15 minutes, say "fuck it," to myself and quit.

[Captain Jazzmag]

I have a copy of the Guardian from the day I was born. I'm about three clues off finishing the crossword. I'm not going to tell you what those clues are.

That's a really interesting idea- I might try to get my equivalent.

http://wzeu.search-results.com/r?t=p&d= ... e-born.asp

There you go!

[Limpin' Jez McKenzie]

I have to say I don't really do puzzles, but not out of snobbishness or anything - I just do other stuff.

[Sambient]

Doing suduko puzzles was part of my self-imposed recovery program after my brain injury in '08.
I switch between those and cryptograms. Lately I've been at the top of my game on the cryptograms. I like seeing patterns and deciphering the code.

[a a milne]

Discovered Sporcle a while back when I was unemployed,


http://www.sporcle.com


Hours of fun (but I still restricted myself or else I would never have found a job!)

[Polishgirl]

I used to really like logic problems, but not done them for years. I don't have the patience to do cryptic crosswords. But I LOVE a jigsaw. I can get really obsessive about them. Has to be a 1000 piece job.

Difficult to do them in my own house as it's quite open plan, and this inevitably means that at least one, and possibly 3, cats could leap on a jigsaw at any moment, causing great disruption and distress.

[Dr Markus]

The biggest puzzle i do is why to get out of bed in the morning!

[John Mc]

Of the options, only cryptic crosswords, really.

I can't do number puzzles (well, I have no interest in them, so I don't try), and I get bored with most 'knowledge' crosswords (if you don't know the answer, well, you just don't know it. So where's the challenge?) Having said that, my sister brought one round earlier -it was really a 'vocabulary' crossword, if you know what I mean. The last 6 or 7 she couldn't get were bugging her. Bosh, bosh, bosh, easy, sorted. But anyone could show me up on the suduku, or whatever.

How far I get on the Guardian crossword depends on a) the compiler and b) how sharp I'm feeling that day.
I have completed it a fair few times, but some days (I'm not a regular) I might only get 4 or 5 clues, or even none, especially if I'm feeling lacklustre, or preoccupied.

I'm a fairly verbal person, and I enjoy the fact that its possible to work out the answers, given knowledge of the crossword conventions and the compiler's approach. I think too, that your unconscious can actually help with cryptic crosswords - it will sometimes work things out when you've put them on the back burner, because of the (sometimes seemingly 'lateral') logical processes involved.

I tend to lose patience a bit with logic puzzles - although I am fairly logical - and I get no pleasure from working with numbers.