Comments on: Independent 6289 by Virgilius - Poets aplenty! http://fifteensquared.net/2006/12/12/independent-6289-by-virgilius-poets-aplenty/ Never knowingly undersolved. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:28:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: <![CDATA[petebiddlecombe]]> http://fifteensquared.net/2006/12/12/independent-6289-by-virgilius-poets-aplenty/#comment-403 Tue, 12 Dec 2006 22:42:27 +0000 http://fifteensquared.net/?p=117#comment-403 Checking is part of it: this one has 50% checking in every answer in the Times manner. The other aspect is interconnections between parts of the grid. If you can draw a line isolating a large part of the grid from the rest, which only goes through one white square (or two white squares which are "symmetry buddies"), that's usually counted as a weakness. Yesterday's Indie grid was a bit weak in this way - without the 4 12-letter answers, you've got 4 mini-puzzles. You can't find a set of linking answers like this in today's grid. Checking is part of it: this one has 50% checking in every answer in the Times manner. The other aspect is interconnections between parts of the grid. If you can draw a line isolating a large part of the grid from the rest, which only goes through one white square (or two white squares which are “symmetry buddies”), that’s usually counted as a weakness. Yesterday’s Indie grid was a bit weak in this way - without the 4 12-letter answers, you’ve got 4 mini-puzzles. You can’t find a set of linking answers like this in today’s grid.

]]> By: <![CDATA[neildubya]]> http://fifteensquared.net/2006/12/12/independent-6289-by-virgilius-poets-aplenty/#comment-402 Tue, 12 Dec 2006 19:19:17 +0000 http://fifteensquared.net/?p=117#comment-402 Grid construction is something of a blind spot for me - could you explain what you mean by "impeccable"? Is it basically to do with the amount of checking for each answer? Took me a while to spot Kipling too, probably because I don't usually think of him as a poet (can't stand "If...") Grid construction is something of a blind spot for me - could you explain what you mean by “impeccable”? Is it basically to do with the amount of checking for each answer?

Took me a while to spot Kipling too, probably because I don’t usually think of him as a poet (can’t stand “If…”)

]]> By: <![CDATA[petebiddlecombe]]> http://fifteensquared.net/2006/12/12/independent-6289-by-virgilius-poets-aplenty/#comment-401 Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:10:58 +0000 http://fifteensquared.net/?p=117#comment-401 Another gem in the Virgilius thematic series. Nice and easy, so kicked myself for not spotting Kipling at 1A immediately, which might have given a very quick time. And as well as the other words being "ordinary cryptic material", the grid was impeccable too. Another gem in the Virgilius thematic series. Nice and easy, so kicked myself for not spotting Kipling at 1A immediately, which might have given a very quick time. And as well as the other words being “ordinary cryptic material”, the grid was impeccable too.

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