Daily Diary discussion

I resolved this new year to do crosswords. I spend enough time at swim meets etc that it would be worth doing during those long waits. Anyone here enjoy them? Advice for a crossword newbie? I bought a book with 10 minute ones and a daily ny times calendar of crosswords. Any suggestions? Does it get easier with attempts/practice?

I do the daily puzzle in the newspaper, and also have two DS games for crosswords (not the NYT ones...those monsters scare me, grin). They definitely get easier the more you work them, as well as improve spelling and vocabulary. You can also find daily puzzles at various sites online.

The daily calendar ones are great and all but pretty small.

I love crossword puzzles but don't usually do them unless I'm traveling. I really like word games period. Nothing better then a stormy night, a little wine & cheese and a fierce game of scrabble!

Crossword puzzle's are okay. But you what is really fun? Sudoku.

I love challenge sudoku, I play it on facebook every day. I also love crossword puzzles and I stink at them, at least when I do the NY Times puzzles. They are wicked hard.

what I don't like is jumbos I don't see the point to them

Scrabble is my all time favorite game but I never have people who will play with me.

Meg wrote: "I love challenge sudoku, I play it on facebook every day."

Hey, find me on facebook. I'm pretty easy to find.

I'd never played sudoku until I started fiddling with the mind games app. Then I realized I was good at it...

I need your facebook name to find you. You can give it to me here or PM.

Same as it is here-- Robert Beveridge.

I also prefer Sudoku.

I've tried Sudoku, but I am terrible with numbers. I've loved letters since I was a kid, but have always hated numbers...except when it concerns money.

I like sudoku. It really makes me think. Or do you remember the game where we have to sum all diagonally, horizontally and vertically and the total must be 15? I like it too.

I love sudoku. My husband use to say I needed to go to a seven step program. Hi, My name is Kym I am a Sudoku-addict. LOL! Now I only do it when I am in bed when I can't sleep. I do one or two puzzles then I am out. I love it.

lol. I sometimes do it on my bed before sleep and then i feel sleepy not long after I do one or two puzzle

Ed wrote: "I resolved this new year to do crosswords. I spend enough time at swim meets etc that it would be worth doing during those long waits. Anyone here enjoy them? Advice for a crossword newbie? I boug..."

WOW, Ed, you might want to save the NY Times puzzle when you get good at it or want to challenge yourself! I love crossword puzzles and, in the past, religiously worked on the daily local newspaper crossword at night. When I began to have less free time, I cut them out and brought them along to doctor's appointments or on vacation.

Word Jumble is my favorite game. If I don't "see" the unscrambled word right away, I usually spend only a few stabs at figuring it out - but when I go back to the puzzle, the word often jumps right out at me. Doesn't pay to strain the brain, one might say ...

That goes for crosswords - I tend to skip around filling in the words I know and keep going back to the more difficult as the letters fill in!

Although I prefer puzzling offline (on paper), I've bookmarked the daily USA Today puzzle page which has the crossword, Soduko, and 3 other word games (EXCEPT Word Jumble) for free. I Googled the Jumble and found one I like.

Have fun!

Question? Do you do your puzzles in pen or pencil??

pencil. lol.. it is because I always erase it when I make wrong answers

pencil. lol.. it is because I always erase it when I make wrong answers

I end up usually using a pen.

why?

Icha wrote: "why?"

Not sure Icha if you were asking Ed or all responders, but I use pen - it's a challenge for me to do a crossword with no cross outs!

I always have a couple pens in my pocket. I just don't carry around a pencil.

I obsess on crosswords, and am pretty good. I like the big Sunday ones with the crazy puns and themes for the long answers. There is a very zen feeling to puzzles. I can stare at the same questions over and over and yet at some point, the answer will float to the top. I love to do the big one's over the course of the week (I'm not so good I can do them fast).

Yes, they do get easier, but different puzzle masters have quirks you can get used to, so when you switch publications, you have to get used to the new mindset.

Oh, and definitely pencil. Half the fun is in the discovery, so you need to be able to erase. Many times I've totally solved puzzles by putting in a wild guess in pencil. Sometimes, it turns out to be right. Sometimes, close enough to right to help get a few of the across (or down) clues around it. But being able to erase gives you the freedom to test your theories.

both usually a pencil.

makes sense. :)

Ed wrote: "makes sense. :)"

However, I've heard it said that "real" crossword enthusiasts only use pen ... ;o)

Those would be crossword snobs - who needs em.

Andrea wrote: "Those would be crossword snobs - who needs em."

I probably should let this go, Andrea, but I guess I'll have to classify myself as a "crossword snob"! But as I type this I have to laugh because I'm as far from a "snob" as one can get.

In a previous note on this question of "pen vs. pencil", which I originally posted, I mentioned that for me it's a challenge to do a puzzle without any crossouts ... each to their own!

I just use a pen because I always carry one...never have a pencil.

Ed wrote: "I just use a pen because I always carry one...never have a pencil."

... and so Ed, since you got this conversation off and running, I'm wondering how you are doing finding crosswords to suit your taste? What have you found that you like thus far??

what's the attraction to crossword/sudoku puzzles especially when You could be reading a book/listening to books on cd instead?

Jim wrote: "what's the attraction to crossword/sudoku puzzles especially when You could be reading a book/listening to books on cd instead?"

Actually both are very highly recommended for keeping one's mind sharp!

Crossword puzzling often puts me into a sort of trance-state where all outside worries, voices, noises, distractions disappear. It is wonderful for long commuter trips, times you are waiting in a doctor's office or an emergency room. Plus, it is such fun to rummage around in your brain for loose bits and pieces of information you didn't even remember you had. When I read, I am paying full attention. We used to discuss this on the New York Times Crossword Forum (which the newspaper shut down recently). Sometimes when crossword puzzling you use "the force" to come up with a word or phrase and other times you let your mind sort of "swim" and a word comes to you out of the mist!

Sylvia wrote: "Crossword puzzling often puts me into a sort of trance-state where all outside worries, voices, noises, distractions disappear. It is wonderful for long commuter trips, times you are waiting in a ..."

Sylvia, your explanation of "why one does crossword puzzles" is wonderful!

I love sudoku puzzles.