Top products from r/crossword
We found 8 product mentions on r/crossword. We ranked the 8 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
1. The Centenary of the Crossword: The Story of the World's Most Popular Puzzle
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
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Show Reddit reviews2. The New York Times Little Black (and White) Book of Crosswords
Sentiment score: -1
Number of reviews: 1
Show Reddit reviews3. The New York Times Ferocious Crosswords (New York Times Crossword Puzzles)
Sentiment score: -1
Number of reviews: 1
Griffin
Show Reddit reviews4. The New York Times Will Shortz Picks His Favorite Puzzles: 101 of the Top Crosswords from The New York Times
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Show Reddit reviews5. The New York Times Best of the Week Series: Monday Crosswords: 50 Easy Puzzles (The New York Times Crossword Puzzles)
Sentiment score: 0
Number of reviews: 1
Show Reddit reviews6. The Wrath of Klahn Crosswords: Puzzles from the World's Toughest Clue Writer
Sentiment score: -1
Number of reviews: 1
NewMint ConditionDispatch same day for order received before 12 noonGuaranteed packagingNo quibbles returns
Show Reddit reviews
https://www.amazon.com/Times-Shortz-Picks-Favorite-Puzzles/dp/0312645503
If you want a print book, this one is a selection Will Shortz made of some particular favorites of his. By its nature this includes puzzles that stretch the art in various ways. They are not all Thursday puzzles but many have gimmicks. Shortz gives each a little intro describing what appealed to him about each.
Otherwise, I'd say browse Thursdays in archives. That's where the tricksy ones fall during the week.
Also, crosswordfiend blog puts together a post annually with the puzzles that garnered the most praise. These often are constructor tours de force.
http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/best-puzzles-of-2015/
http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/2016/03/03/the-2015-orca-awards-best-gimmick-crossword/
If he's a crossword fan who's keen on the history, evolution of the xword, etc...
here's a bloody good book!
http://www.amazon.com/The-Centenary-Crossword-Worlds-Popular/dp/0233003967
Hope he has a big, blank wall for this one.
Yeah there's plenty out there. I prefer the spiral-bound books as they are easier to write in. I don't have a Monday-only book but this looks good: https://www.amazon.com/New-York-Times-Best-Week/dp/1250133246
I do like Codeword, I think every British paper has it. It's popular enough that you can buy books and calendars (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/Codeword-Day-2018-codeword-puzzles/dp/1974633853/). The others are more unique; Lexica is in the Times, and Zygolex and Gogen in the Daily Mail (which, despite being a somewhat trashy paper, has a really good puzzle section).
There are also the numeric puzzles, Futoshiki, Killer, Kakuro etc but I guess those wouldn't fit in a "crossword" subreddit.
Thank you!
I have been doing this puzzle book: https://www.amazon.com/Times-Little-Black-White-Crosswords/dp/031236105X and getting increasingly frustrated. I can't get the literary references because it is a decade old. Frequent clues with multiple answers...the worst one was "Game of chance." 5 letters...no it isn't "bingo" it is "beano"...a bingo like game from the 1920s.
Define "difficulty"? For some of us "It was launched the same day that 'Leave It to Beaver' premiered" is a gimme, but anything to do with sports or TV or movies or rappers is hopeless. It must be pretty (ahem) difficult to come up with a one-size-fits-all difficulty level. As a general rule you could start by doing NYT Fridays and Saturdays. The latter are supposed to be the hardest, but my experience is that Fridays are occasionally harder than Saturdays (15 minutes vs 12).
There are several published compilations of "hard" puzzles, eg Wrath of Klahn and NYT Ferocious Crosswords. I keep Klahn's in my carryon luggage for those long No-Kindle periods on flights. Some of those are 30-minute ones (i.e. reeeeeally hard).