Inquisitor Review of 2021-22 by Nimrod

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Inquisitor Review of 2021-22 by Nimrod

As another year draws to a close, thanks from all of the team for a wonderfully distracting and educational collection of puzzles.

A Trivial Pursuit – IV

As is traditional, I’ve sorted the 2022 puzzles under approximate and hugely subjective headings:

  • History  Geography 7
  • Film  TV 7
  • Sport  Leisure 5
  • Music  the Arts 9
  • Science  Nature 7
  • Literature 9
  • Lifestyle 8
  • Logic 1

Excluding the “special” Christmas Eve logic puzzle Retro by Encota, a relatively even distribution, it seems, and a decent range within the categories too – for example, “Music” included pop, classical and musicals. Noticeable this year, even with Literature well represented, was less of a dependence on quotes per se; and on the 20th Century (markedly up in 2021), for themes.

Homophonic French renditions of common nursery rhymes; calculations for specifications of Spitfires; rare birds of New Zealand past and present; and the realisation in a dream of the structure of the Benzene ring … who knew? The sort of fodder that Inquisitor solvers have come routinely to expect, supporting the common comments from correspondents and commenters that one always learns something from these puzzles.

Ups and Downs

Downs first, alas. Test solving these puzzles is always a pleasure and, as I remarked last year, crosswords in general have provided a merciful escape from awful world events, especially during lockdown. But this is truer than ever when such events are much closer to home; I have written far too often in my Give Me a Clue column this year of friends lost to us from Crosswordland in 2022. RIP, then: Neil, John, Eddie, Barbara – and dear Sid.

In August, the blogging team was shaken by the news of the death of George Hill, for more than fifteen years a monthly contributor – as the “Hi” of Hihoba – to the Inquisitor section of Fifteen Squared. Latterly, he had carried the bulk of the responsibility – “Ba” had stepped down a while back, while “Ho” added marginal notes and alternative clue explanations to George’s blog. I am pleased that I got to meet George, who was in good form at the IQ1500 celebrations. Had he still been here to register his favourite puzzles of the  year, we suspect that he would have cast his vote this year for Ifor’s “Spreadsheet” puzzle, one of the last he solved.

More happily, while Londoners’ weekly crossword events continued with fortnightly Zoom meetings on non-pub Saturdays, the Listener Dinner returned to (almost) normal in spring, when the sun came out for our visit to Stirling. The delayed Azed 50 lunch eventually took place in May, guest speaker Graeme Garden beginning his speech with thanks to the organisers “for arranging [a] splendid Work Event”. And regular IQ correspondent Gerard Conway admitted to being so much at a loose end over lockdown that he had developed graded criteria for difficulty of Inquisitor highlighting/colouring-in (“How far will my tongue be sticking out while colouring in?” and “Will a standard set of Wetherspoons children’s crayons suffice … will I need the full Mr Men-capable box deluxe?”).

Finally in this section, on behalf of the crossword community as a whole, I would like to say one very big Thank You to Geoff Moss (aka Gaufrid) for his extraordinary and tireless work maintaining the Fifteen Squared website for the last thirteen years. That the site ran so smoothly during this time was due to his backstage efforts and to the way in which he fair-mindedly kept order with a firm (but never heavy) hand. A grand total of 132 comments added to the announcement of his stepping down says it all. We raise a glass to you, Geoff.

Statistically …

Thirty-three different names appeared in the Inquisitor setter slot in 2022 (in fact, including the four collaborations, also thirty-three different individuals). Four consecutive puzzles over January and February featured new setters; I’m happy to say that all have submitted new puzzles for consideration in 2023. The only other new name, Botox, is actually a collaboration of two rather more familiar setters. I’m planning to run another “Newbies Month” in summer 2023; and the popular Ladies’ Month will return in spring – provided I am able to extract a puzzle from a certain member of that group …

Voting’s Open

I invite you all to register your favourite puzzles of 2022. As usual, a handy list (and bracketed memory jogs) follows, with the team’s average difficulty ratings appended as asterisks in each bunch of five. Of course, each puzzle has a full blog on FifteenSquared. Click on the date and puzzle number for the appropriate blog.

END OF 2021 PUZZLES
18/12/21:1730 Selection Box [Ella Fitzgerald] Skylark**
24/12/21:1731 Retro [Minesweeper/Sudoku] Encota**
2022 PUZZLES
01/01/22:1732 Appropriate [Presidents] Lato**
08/01/22:1733 Mirror Image IV [Cow Skull Red
White and Blue]		 Serpent**
15/01/22:1734 Fifty Per Cent Extra Free [6/9] Nathan Panning**
22/01/22:1735 Gold [The Good, the Bad and the Ugly] Karla**
29/01/22:1736 The Magic Number [shot heard around the world] Check***
05/02/22:1737 Operation [Anthropoid] Cranberry**
12/02/22:1738 Cover Story [“… Yellow Polka-dot Bikin”] Ifor**
19/02/22:1739 All Present and Correct [Quiz Shows] Eclogue*
26/02/22:1740 Wry [Spike Milligan] Botox**
05/03/22:1741 Schindler’s List [“Alma”] Phi**
12/03/22:1742 Standardisation [Irish Flag] Kruger**
19/03/22:1743 Combined Help [The Marriage of Figaro] eXternal**
26/03/22:1744 Go Figure [MC Escher 50] Nimrod**
02/04/22:1745 Day Trip [An Hour’s Drive] Chalicea**
09/04/22:1746 Calculations [Spitfires] Vismut**
16/04/22:1747 Unpopular Shift [Calendar change] Nutmeg**
23/04/22:1748 Francophile [Julian Barnes] Skylark**
30/04/22:1749 N [39 Doctrines] Ifor**
07/05/22:1750 Game Changer [Strip Jack Naked] Pointer**
14/05/22:1751 Picnic [Little Miss Muffet] Kruger**
21/05/22:1752 Mind That Spot! [Cave Canem] Ace of Hearts**
28/05/22:1753 Birdsong [The Ballad of Reading Gaol] eXtent**
04/06/22:1754 Motto [Niels Bohr] Phi**
11/06/22:1755 End of Line [Richard III] Dysart**
18/06/22:1756 Spreadsheet [Butterfly on a wheel] Ifor***
25/06/22:1757 What Does It Mean? “Wee Crimson Tippet …”] Hedge-sparrow**
02/07/22:1758 Comings and Goings II [Independence Day] Eclogue**
09/07/22:1759 Murder Mystery [Yucatan comet] Jaques**
16/07/22:1760 Shared Identity [Spartacus] Opsimath*
23/07/22:1761 Single Parent [One Hundred Years of Solitude] Chalicea**
30/07/22:1762 Square Dance [“Buffalo Gals”] Serpent**
06/08/22:1763 Speechless [Aggers & Johnners] Nudd**
13/08/22:1764 Henry [Indiana Jones] Karla**
20/08/22:1765 4x5x6 [Wordle] Artix**
27/08/22:1766 Mixed Doubles [X and Y] Kruger**
03/09/22:1767 Key Issues [Dvorak keyboard] Phi**
10/09/22:1768 MD [Mood swings] Penumbra**
17/09/22:1769 VI Fun [NZ fauna] Wiglaf*
24/09/22:1770 Lemon Delight [Fruity wedding] Triton***
01/10/22:1771 Lost Youth [The Graduate] eXternal**
08/10/22:1772 Front Line [David Low] Ifor**
15/10/22:1773 Rames [Mother Goose] Radler***
22/10/22:1774 Aroma [Hills of Rome] Vismut**
29/10/22:1775 The Haunted Crypt [Laying ghosts] Vagans*
05/11/22:1776 Primitive Structures [Stromatolites] Chalicea*
12/11/22:1777 A Local Calling […to the Bar] Skylark**
19/11/22:1778 Crisis Management [Carbon capture] Kruger**
26/11/22:1779 Dreamworks [Benzene ring] Ifor***
03/12/22:1780 Entity [Tooth Fairy] Phi**
10/12/22:1781 Valediction [Thanks for all the fish] eXtent**
17/12/22:1782 Seasonally Appropriate [The Grinch] Plench*

 

The rules:

1 You have six points to distribute to a minimum of three puzzles from 2022, including the end-of-2021 puzzles Selection Box by Skylark (1730) and Retro by Encota (1731), but excluding Retrospective by Ploy (1783) and Profile by Eclogue (1784).

2 You may allocate no more than three points to your top puzzle. If you are unable to decide between two or more puzzles, you may use half points (but no other fractions, please!).

3 Please register your vote in any of the following ways: publicly on the thread below; privately by emailing me at nimrod1@jetdoc.co.uk or via Direct Message on Twitter to @enigmatistelgar.

4 Compilers may not vote for their own puzzles or puzzles which they have jointly compiled.

5 Example, using my own vote:

2½ pts: 1750 Game Changer by Pointer
2 pts: 1770 Lemon Delight by Triton
1 pt: 1751 Picnic by Kruger
½ pt: 1774 Aroma by Vismut

Please use the above format when voting.

6 Deadline for votes: midnight on January 14th , so a fortnight to think – you may need it. This year I managed, eventually, to whittle them down to ten, but after that it got extremely tricky. Commiserations to those that didn’t make my top four, in numerical order: 1736 The Magic Number (Check); 1740 Wry (Botox); 1757 What Does It Mean? (Hedge-sparrow); 1768 MD (Penumbra); 1771 Lost Youth (eXternal); and 1773 Rames (Radler).

Acknowledgments …

My thanks as always, to my ever-reliable, thorough and supportive solving team – who, thanks to the pandemic, have now gone three years unrewarded for their efforts with their free New Year lunch! In wishing Ken MacKenzie (“kenmac”) all luck having taken over from Gaufrid, I’m grateful to him and the rest of the Fifteen Squared Inquisitor blogging team – including Jon Summers, admirably filling the void left by George – for their sterling work. As ever, Mike and Stuart have laboured behind the scenes to ensure that the weekly puzzle lands properly on the page each weekend.

To all of them, to the compilers – and to you, the solvers, I wish a peaceful, prosperous and healthy New Year.

John

 

20 comments on “Inquisitor Review of 2021-22 by Nimrod”

  1. Another great year of puzzles, thanks to all setters.
    My top two were so original! They made me happy.
    2 points each to Game Changer by Pointer and 4x5x6 by Artix.
    1 point each to Lost Youth by External, and Go Figure by Nimrod.

  2. First year I can remember when I’ve managed to have a go at every single crossword…and I’m much the happier for it! Lots of great moments. I’ll give my points to 2 great gimmicks and 2 fun themes.

    2 points to Game changer and 4x5x6
    1 point to Square dance and Single parent.

    Keep them coming!

  3. I missed out on 11 of the 52 puzzles in this period, partly because I took a longish summer break but also because an eye operation in mid-November made it difficult (temporarily) for me to read anything, except at distance. The last puzzle I attempted (and solved) was no. 1777 by Skylark.

    However, this was a very good year for Inquisitor puzzles, and it was more difficult than in previous years to whittle down my ‘shortlist’ to a final list of a manageable size. I ended up reviewing my own contributions to this site and decided to pick what I thought were the top six, regrettably leaving out more than that number of what I thought were superb puzzles.

    I award 1 point to each of the following:
    1733 Serpent, Mirror Image IV
    1750 Pointer, Game Changer
    1765 Artix, 4x5x6
    1770 Triton, Lemon Delight
    1771 eXternal, Lost Youth
    1773 Radler, Rames

    In addition, I would like to make a special mention of two puzzles that were memorable partly for being controversial (!):
    1731 Encota, Metro
    1734 Nathan Panning, Fifty Percent Extra Free

    because I think they deserve praise, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

    Congratulations to all setters and to Nimrod and his editorial team on an excellent year.

  4. An excellent year. I have struggled to reduce my “shortlist” of 20. Here goes:

    1 point each:

    1756 Spreadsheet by Ifor
    1766 Mixed Doubles by Kruger
    1779 Dreamworks by Ifor

    1/2 point each:

    1749 N by Ifor
    1750 Game Changer by Pointer
    1753 Birdsong by eXtent
    1754 Motto by Phi
    1759 Murder Mystery by Jaques
    1762 Square Dance by Serpent

    I have been forced to leave out many excellent puzzles!

  6. First, the two puzzles that made me laugh out loud. Then the two that had the prettiest pictures.

    2 pts: 1773 Rames by Radler
    2 pts: 1738 Cover Story by Ifor
    1 pt: 1744 Go Figure by Nimrod
    1 pt: 1774 Aroma Vismut

  7. A good year – thanks to all of the compilers, Mr. Editor and the helpful backroom staff and the bloggers. Some tough choices, but:

    2 pts: 1765 4x5x6 by Artix

    1 pt: 1738 Cover Story by Ifor
    1 pt: 1751 Picnic by Kruger
    1 pt: 1756 Spreadsheet by Ifor
    1 pt: 1771 Lost Youth by eXternal

  8. Thank you to all involved in producing such enjoyable and challenging puzzles.

    2pts: 1738 Cover Story by Ifor (the most enjoyable PDM I had all year)
    2pts: 1770 Lemon Delight by Triton
    1pt: 1764 Henry by Karla
    1pt: 1737 Operation by Cranberry

    Best wishes for 2023

  9. An excellent year for Inquisitors, so thanks to Nimrod and the great team of setters, and bloggers. My choices probably have more to do with pleasure delivery (concept, theme) than stricter ideas about quality of clueing / grid construction… it takes all sorts.

    1736: The Magic Number by Check
    1741: Schindler’s List by Phi
    1749: N by Ifor
    1763: Speechless by Nudd
    1765: 4X5X6 by Artox
    1771: Lost Youth by eXternal

  10. Another great year of Inquisitors, many thanks to all involved 🙂

    2pts: 1750 Game Changer by Pointer
    1pt: 1736 The Magic Number by Check
    1pt: 1764 Henry by Karla
    1pt: 1765 4x5x6 by Artix
    ½ pt: 1774 Aroma by Vismut
    ½ pt: 1781 Valediction by eXtent

  11. Very tough to do justice to many great puzzles, with only 6 points to allocate. Anyway, here goes:
    2 pts: 1771 Lost Youth by eXternal
    1½ pts: 1743 Combined Help by eXternal
    1 pt: 1750 Game Changer by Pointer
    ½ pt: 1781 Valediction by eXtent
    ½ pt: 1733 Mirror Image IV by Serpent
    ½ pt: 1738 Cover Story by Ifor

    (Is Harribobs hibernating?)

  12. Thanks to John, all the setters, test solvers, bloggers and commenters. The IQ continues to be the best and most interesting crossword to solve in our opinion.

    It’s always difficult to decide on which puzzles to choose. Sometimes the construction is excellent, others are themed around really interesting facts, some have a novel way of clueing or grid fill and a few score highly on everything!

    Joyce’s choice:

    1pt : 1771 Lost Youth by eXtermal
    1pt : 1774 Aroma by Vismut
    1pt : 1779 Dreamworks by Ifor
    1pt : 1781 Valediction by eXtent
    1/2 pt : 1765 4x5x6 by Artix
    1/2 pt : 1763 Speechless by Nudd
    1/2 pt: 1758 Comings and Goings II by Eclogue
    1/2 pt : Unpopular Shift by Nutmeg

  14. Huge thanks, as ever, to all the folks involved in editing, setting, testing and blogging this remarkable series. Another stellar year bringing much enjoyment.

    This year’s points go to the following four puzzes, 1.5 points each :

    1743 Combined Help by eXternal
    1765 4x5x6 by Artix
    1774 Aroma by Vismut
    1781 Valediction by eXtent

    The following were all also top-notch but just missed my cut :

    1732 Appropriate by Lato
    1734 Fifty Per Cent Extra Free by Nathan Panning
    1737 Operation by Cranberry
    1740 Wry by Botox
    1762 Square Dance by Serpent
    1771 Lost Youth by eXternal

    Not sure what I’d do without my weekend IQ fix

  15. @11 HolyGhost – your comment about Harribobs very much seconded! A new puzzle from that setter would be very welcome indeed. And the same goes for Jambazi, for that matter.

  16. Lots of wonderful puzzles this year, and I think I only missed 3 this time (I efficiently combined my first post-lockdown trip abroad with having Covid). Many thanks to all involved in this great series. It’s hard to reconstruct the subjective experience of solving in retrospect, but I’ve done my best:

    1½ pts: Lost Youth by eXternal (The Graduate)
    1 pt: Rames by Radler (Mother Goose)
    1 pt: Henry by Karla (Indiana Jones)
    1 pt: Game changer by Pointer (Strip Jack Naked)
    1 pt: Wry by Botox (Spike Miligan)
    ½pt: Go Figure by Nimrod (Escher)

    There were many I wish I could have found space for, including 50% extra free by Nathan Panning (6/9), 4x5x6 by Artix (Wordle) and Lemon Delight by Triton (Fruity Wedding). (The Nathan Panning one was particularly agonising – I thought it was brilliant and weird, but also slightly flawed. Nobody really seemed sure about the solution until it was published. But would it have been so brilliant/weird without the flaw?)

    By the way, I’m always surprised and intrigued by the difficulty ratings. To take one example, I found Seasonally Appropriate by Plench (the Grinch one – great title) really pretty tough – but it’s an easy one-star!

  18. Thanks as ever to all the setters and the Editor for another year of terrific Inquisitor puzzles. I would have given all of them points if I could, but here are my votes. One point for each of the following:

    1733 Mirror Image IV by Serpent
    1740 Wry by Botox
    1753 Birdsong by eXtent
    1762 Square Dance by Serpent
    1765 4x5x6 by Artix
    1779 Dreamworks by Ifor

  19. Bert of Bertandjoyce here.
    First I must reiterate Joyce’s thanks to the IQ bloggers, setters and commenters.
    Another great year of IQs and another impossible task to choose favourites, but with the deadline looming, here goes:
    1.5 pts to 1774 Aroma by Vismut
    1.5 pts to 1779 Dreamworks by Ifor
    1 Pt to 1751 Picnic by Kruger
    1 Pt to 1771 Lost Youth by eXternal
    0.5 Pt to 1765 4x5x6 by Artix
    0.5 Pt to 1766 Mixed Doubles by Kruger

  20. I usually find that one puzzle stands out from the rest and give it a higher score but my six favourites this year are hard to split, so it’s one point to each of the following:

    1736 The Magic Number by Check (outstanding debut)
    1738 Cover Story by Ifor
    1743 Combined Help by eXternal
    1749 N by Ifor
    1762 Square Dance by Serpent
    1765 4x5x6 by Artix

    It’s been a great year. Many thanks to the editor and everyone involved.

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