Guardian Genius

Not a good start for this one. Firstly it appeared a day late and then the initial pdf upload had the clue for 35ac missing. With 40% solved during my first quick pass … Read more >>

There is usually a reason why we get a month or so to solve a Genius, but I managed to get onto Puck’s wavelength and completed this in ‘double’-quick time, as I waited … Read more >>

March’s Genius challenge is provided by Soup. I note that Soup has been the December Genius compiler in 2016, 2017 and 2018 but I’ve never solved any of his puzzles myself, so I … Read more >>

After taking a battering from Vlad in the January Genius, I was hoping for something a little gentler this time, but it was not to be. There are no special instructions for this … Read more >>

The Instructions: Five solutions, not further defined, each suggest a literal substitution. All the clues are normal, but other solutions must have one of these five substitutions applied to them before entry in … Read more >>

Well, this was fun, though I would have preferred it to have lasted a little longer. The first clue that I solved during my first quick pass through them was 24ac, which was … Read more >>

Paul often lets his quirkiness run free when he is let loose in the (almost-)anything-goes Wild-Wild West frontier of the Genius… …and he doesn’t disappoint here! The preamble states that: “2 11 by 21 … Read more >>

Qaos has set the Guardian Genius puzzle for September       The  preamble this month was fairly short and told us that each clue contains a superfluous word.  In order, the first letters … Read more >>

This didn’t take me as long as some Geniuses, but it was nevertheless a puzzling experience. It soon became obvious that “the clues to the other solutions have an unwanted 22, either in … Read more >>

Preamble: Each clue or solution involves a word in common. To reach the defined solution to be entered in the grid, in some cases it must be added to the wordplay; in others … Read more >>

I found this one to be very much towards the easier end of the Genius spectrum (probably welcome to some after last month’s Enigmatist), perhaps because I started with the down clues and … Read more >>

First thought – oh dear, it’s Enigmatist this month…oh, well, at least I have 4-5 weeks to solve and blog it… A strange looking grid, with two large areas of black squares – … Read more >>

Picaroon has set the March Guardian Genius puzzle       The preamble was short and clear – "Several clues are consistently incomplete" I deduced the theme fairly quickly when I solved 14 … Read more >>