Guardian Genius

Why is it that I find writing a preamble more difficult than solving/parsing the clues? Probably because I have a analytical mind rather than a creative one. Anyway, to business. The introduction indicated we … Read more >>

The September Genius puzzle has been set by Kite       The preamble was fairly short and told us that one (related) element is lacking from each of the first 12 italicised … Read more >>

The words “Genius puzzle” and “Vlad” are a scary combination for a blogger, but this one turned out to be “only” moderate-to-hard on the Genius scale. My way in to the theme was … Read more >>

So we have a preamble, as was to be expected, and one with no apparent ambiguities: “Fourteen solutions need to be partially amended before entry into the grid in a consistent manner by … Read more >>

Qaos provides the March Genius challenge       The preamble told us that the letters in 16 squares are not allowed for in the wordplay of the clues involved. Taken as a … Read more >>

A new setter, or at least a new pseudonym, for the Genius slot: perhaps a John le Carré fan? The rather strangely-worded instructions tell us that “Fourteen clues contain no definition of their … Read more >>

This is the second Genius puzzle by Chameleon (his first was No 202, back in April last year). The special instructions said: “In six clues their wordplay element contains surplus letters, to be … Read more >>

Well, this was a real Genius puzzle. We knew we were in for a serious challenge this month when we read (or tried to read) the preamble: Tjyuffo tpmvujpot nvtu cf fodjqifsfe cfgpsf … Read more >>

This month we have another of Paul’s whimsical puzzles with which to do battle. Having read the preamble regarding possible book titles and authors, my first step was to highlight the clue numbers … Read more >>