Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

Quisling, thank you for all your help: I have finally limped over the line. I must try to return the favour at some time in the future, but as a relative newcomer to The Listener I lack some confidence in my own solving skills.

Well done on persevering, 0pt0, and I appreciate the kind message. I’ve been doing them for longer than I care to remember, so I’m at an advantage until senility gets the upper hand over experience. It won’t be long …

Pandiculator here. Congrats to those that persevered through the torment - it's been interesting to keep an eye on how folks have found it.

I'll cobble together a setter's blog, but in response to smellyharry's post about the construction - I think something like this would be very, very nearly impossible to construct without some kind of computer assistance, though the construction of this grid needed a lot more human guidance of the computer than just "plonk the letters in, click fill". The path(s) make things rather restricted after all(!)

I don't care how much computer assistance you had, Pandiculator. That's a magnificent construction and all totally fair.

Many thanks

Nice to see a setter putting their head above the parapet. I thought this a worthy Ascot Gold Cup contender in a strong year so far. Difficulties with the paths were down to the limitations of the source, rather than your treatment of it, in my book. I’m interested to know how you feel about help being given online to assist in solving, though this site is far less egregious than some. I hope you feel anything that encourages greater participation, while not spoiling it for others, is a good thing. Great stuff, anyway, and hugely appreciated, Pandiculator

Thanks for the kind words.

Quisling asked:
"I’m interested to know how you feel about help being given online to assist in solving, though this site is far less egregious than some."

I have zero qualms about folks helping each other out via subtle hints - I'm personally all for anything that makes the puzzle more enjoyable for the solver. It's meant to be a fun puzzle rather than an exam after all. That said, I think maximum enjoyment usually comes from overcoming hurdles oneself through a bit of perseverance; leaning on too much help would probably deny folks the penny-drop moments that give the dopamine hit, and that would be a shame.

Personally I wouldn't pop an entry in the postbox if I'd been stuck and needed outside help to become unstuck, but each to their own.

The argument against spoilers, especially endgames, are two-fold:

a) Many setters have explicitly requested that spoilers not be broadcast. We need to respect the geniuses that make this hobby work.

b) Spoilers here are analogous to movie reviews, book reviews, etc. I would never post a review of a mystery that gave the surprise ending away...would you? When you post a spoiler, that means that people are inevitably going to have their solving spoiled.