Never knowingly undersolved
Qaos gave us an interesting puzzle this month using a clue device that I have never seen before. The preamble was short and to the point when it stated that … Read more >>
Pangakupu, alias Phi of the Independent, is a fairly recent addition to the Guardian stable: this is his third Genius puzzle. It was apparent that the letter counts in some clues didn’t match … Read more >>
A challenging puzzle which ultimately had me fooled.
This is Jack’s fourth Genius puzzle and the 2nd that we have had the pleasure of blogging. We are more familiar with his Indy persona as Serpent and we always enjoy his puzzles – so this should be good!
A second Genius of the year from the ubiquitous and prolific Don, after number 225 back in March…
The Guardian Genius this month is set by Picaroon The preamble was fairly lengthy but quite understandable. We were told that: All 12 across solutions contain within them a word … Read more >>
Another Genius from the easier end of the spectrum, with the special instructions affecting a relatively small number of clues, and no modification of grid entries. BREATHE and THEATRE were my first thematic … Read more >>
A conventional puzzle with an unusual clueing style for this month’s Genius.
Hello – I’m a new blogger, assigned to the Genius. I’ve solved every one of the Geniuses since their creation (and never won the prize!) I hope I’ve got this one right …
A musical challenge for this month’s Genius.
Soup has been a fairly prolific setter of Genius puzzles recently – with at least seven between 2016 and 2021, but this is his first for over a year, and my first of his to blog…
The March Genius was set by Pasquale, one of the ‘DON …..’ manifestations of the prolific setter Don Manley. Other manifestations are Duck, Quixote, Bradman, Giovanni, and Izetti. Don Manley sets for all … Read more >>
Although the instructions seemed clear, it took me a while to realise that the “thematic word” to be paired with the undefined answers was not the same every time. I think it was … Read more >>
Absolutely no ambiguity about the preamble this month, but a tricky challenge nonetheless.
This is Jack’s 4th Genius puzzle. We’ve enjoyed his previous offerings, but we know him better as Serpent for his excellent Independent crosswords and Inquisitor puzzles in the i.