Lately I've been addicted to crosswords. I like the Monday New York Times puzzles (the easiest day), and go through them like water. I've already completed three mini books, and I'm currently working my way through the omnibus book that has 200 puzzles in it.
I've tried doing some of the harder puzzles, but find myself getting overly frustrated doing something that is supposed to just pass time. As it is, I can't always finish the easiest of the puzzles anyway. When I first started doing them, I thought some of the words were absolutely ridiculous. And they are, really, but they're crossword words. Once you get a handle on those words, you're pretty much golden for several clues in every puzzle.
Recently, I figured out that doing the down clues first were easier than the across clues. I don't know why that is, but it seems to work better for me. So, I usually start with the down clues and double-check a few things along the way in the across section to make sure that I'm not totally off. The other method that I used to try was doing one section at a time - both down and across clues - in one corner and filling in everything that I could before moving onto the next section of clues. This method actually works, but it can be a bit slower than working through all of the down clues and then all of the across clues. The payoff, however, is that it's usually a bit more accurate.
And if all else fails, I'll look up a couple of the ones that have stumped me and fill them in, then try to work from there. I figure that's better than giving up altogether, and it at least gets my mind jump started on the remaining clues.
The downside to all of these crosswords is that I've been putting off a lot of reading. I have a few books that are still in the works, and a few that are patiently waiting for me to pick up. I thought that I'd read a lot over the holidays, but the crosswords took up the bulk of my time.
I think that after I finish this omnibus book, I'll put the crosswords away for a little while and catch up on my reading again. Then when I've had a little time away from the puzzles, I'll pick them back up and try to do only a couple at a time instead of 6 or 8 at a time. We'll see...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
4 comments:
I have a couple of those omnibus books...been working on them off and on since college. Some of those answers are really obscure...I don't have a crossword dictionary any more so I will just Google if I can't figure it out another way.
I usually work randomly...I just look for clues that look interesting. Sometimes I will look for that 'linchpin' clue that, once you have it, lets you fill in an entire area. I also like to build a string of connected answers from the top row to the bottom row, the build outwards. But that's just me...
Hmmm, some new methods to try... Yeah, usually when I buy a book, it lasts me forever, but not in the last couple of months. It's like my brain became a word sponge or something :)
Have you tried Sudoku? My wife turned me onto this crossword-like number puzzle. It's very addictive, a huge time waster. I can totally relate to getting sucked in. I made my wife promise to never show me this sort of thing again. I'm kidding, but not about the addictive qaulities of sudoku. :)
No, I'm not a big numbers person, so I didn't really hit it off with Sudoku. I realize it's about the patterns, but I prefer crosswords. My boyfriend loves Sudoku, though :)
Post a Comment