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Friday, 3/30/12
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Brad Wilber sent out his monthly blog puzzle today, and it is also here!but his website is down. Email me if you need a copy (Smooth or Crunchy clues). I'll put it on tomorrow's post because Friday's crowded...
Brad Wilber sent out his monthly blog puzzle today, and it is also here!
Thursday, 3/29/12
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Since Fireball seems to be released on Wednesday morning now instead of Wednesday night, I'm permanently moving it to the Wednesday spreadsheet. (Until the schedule changes again.)
Since Fireball seems to be released on Wednesday morning now instead of Wednesday night, I'm permanently moving it to the Wednesday spreadsheet. (Until the schedule changes again.)
Wednesday, 3/28/12
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In case you missed it, the CHE has finally posted puzzles from the last couple of weeks.
In case you missed it, the CHE has finally posted puzzles from the last couple of weeks.
Tuesday, 3/27/12
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Wanted to say hello to the new(ish) names on the spreadsheet. Hello!
As you've gathered, Plot is now calling himself by his actual name, David. Jared is well-known to "Fill Me In" fans, and has promised to make his ACPT debut next year. KenC was the 4th-place rookie this year (unless I've got the wrong Ken C.). But I am as stumped by "VT" as I was a couple months ago by "Qatsi" (aka Eric L.)...
Wanted to say hello to the new(ish) names on the spreadsheet. Hello!
As you've gathered, Plot is now calling himself by his actual name, David. Jared is well-known to "Fill Me In" fans, and has promised to make his ACPT debut next year. KenC was the 4th-place rookie this year (unless I've got the wrong Ken C.). But I am as stumped by "VT" as I was a couple months ago by "Qatsi" (aka Eric L.)...
Monday, 3/26/12
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I'm off this morning to Auburn Hills/Rochester, Michigan, and a 12-week stint at the Meadow Brook Theatre.
I'm off this morning to Auburn Hills/Rochester, Michigan, and a 12-week stint at the Meadow Brook Theatre.
Saturday, 3/24/12
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Constructor Jeff Chen posted a question re: the ACPT, which I wanted to re-publish up here so others could see it and weigh in:
How much time do you generally spend checking your down answers? It seems like most speed-solvers double-check to make sure every entry is a legit word, but not if all the down answers fit the clues. The ARM/AIM and SALES/SAVES squares could have been deadly if the down word could have formed an incorrect (but legit) word.
The first point is that I solve Across and Down clues equally and interchangeably. It's counterproductive to look at a clue when you don't already have one or more letters of the answer, so speed-solvers go back and forth from Across to Down as efficiently as possible. In a tournament setting, I always check every clue. When a word gets filled in just by crossings, I'll take a split-second glance to make sure the clue fits. (Or at least I'll try - if I look in the wrong place, I usually won't waste more time scrambling to find it.)
So there's no way to know exactly how much time is spent checking clues for safety, because it all happens as part of the solving process. That time could make the difference, on an easy 15x15, between breaking 2 minutes and not. I'm not willing to risk an error on Puzzle 1 by speeding through and not checking all the crossing words (if the puzzle is even easy enough to break two minutes, which it usually isn't)... but that's a separate discussion...
Constructor Jeff Chen posted a question re: the ACPT, which I wanted to re-publish up here so others could see it and weigh in:
How much time do you generally spend checking your down answers? It seems like most speed-solvers double-check to make sure every entry is a legit word, but not if all the down answers fit the clues. The ARM/AIM and SALES/SAVES squares could have been deadly if the down word could have formed an incorrect (but legit) word.
The first point is that I solve Across and Down clues equally and interchangeably. It's counterproductive to look at a clue when you don't already have one or more letters of the answer, so speed-solvers go back and forth from Across to Down as efficiently as possible. In a tournament setting, I always check every clue. When a word gets filled in just by crossings, I'll take a split-second glance to make sure the clue fits. (Or at least I'll try - if I look in the wrong place, I usually won't waste more time scrambling to find it.)
So there's no way to know exactly how much time is spent checking clues for safety, because it all happens as part of the solving process. That time could make the difference, on an easy 15x15, between breaking 2 minutes and not. I'm not willing to risk an error on Puzzle 1 by speeding through and not checking all the crossing words (if the puzzle is even easy enough to break two minutes, which it usually isn't)... but that's a separate discussion...
Wednesday, 3/21/12
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It's 56 hours and counting since I last worked on a crossword! That's pretty close to my (modern-day) record. (Update: finally started catching up in the early afternoon, so that was roughly three full days without solving.)
The ACPT wrap-up post is below.
It's 56 hours and counting since I last worked on a crossword! That's pretty close to my (modern-day) record. (Update: finally started catching up in the early afternoon, so that was roughly three full days without solving.)
The ACPT wrap-up post is below.
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