A team of cryptic crossword enthusiasts is working on a new magazine called ‘Unch’. It’s an actual printed paper magazine to come out once a quarter starting in October. It’ll contain 10 or so crosswords including one barred thematic puzzle. Setters who had been published in the Independent, the Guardian, Inquisitor and Enigmatic Variations are included in Issue 1, and quite a few of them will be familiar to Fifteensquared regulars as setters and/or commenters.
You can see more details and pre-order the first issue at https://unchcrosswords.com
Thanks for posting this! I’ll admit an interest as one of the people working on this (and one of the setters in issue 1, but don’t let that put you off 😁) but I really do think it’ll be right up the street of some of the crossword fans on here, and it’s only a fiver!
Like Henri, I’m both involved and in the first issue, but would echo his recommendation. It has been made by & for cryptic fans – I hope some regulars on here will give it a go, and of course that you enjoy it!
Looks interesting! I know crossword difficulty is not a precise science, but do you know where this magazine will sit? On a scale of, say, ‘Quick Cryptic’ through to ‘Friday’ (Guardian levels)?
Lucy @3 – good question! I’m familiar with 6 out of the 9 regular (15×15 blocked) puzzles and my overall rating would be ‘Guardian Monday to Thursday’ 😁 the only really advanced one is the barred thematic puzzle but we’re only planning to have one at that difficulty level per issue.
Thankyou Rob/Henri @4. I think I’ll give it a go.
I, Oyler, wish you well with this venture and although a paper copy magazine is a nice idea I have reservations. What happens if there is a typo? You’ll end up posting out corrections which is what The Magpie did before they went electronic. When I started up Crossnumbers Quarterly with Zag we decided that the electronic format was the easiest and cheapest way to go. Subscribers just print off the bits they want or print it all off as a booklet.
Is the market not saturated already? What is the USP?
Will it be available in the US or is it UK only?
@8 that is answered in the “Shop” menu
@8 – UK only to start with but international ordering will be added shortly – specifically with regard to USA we are investigating costs / shipping times before confirming. But it is the plan to ship to the USA, yes 👍
I ‘ad an ‘unch something like this would be coming along, but let me check.
@7 – Not that any crossword publication should need to justify itself with a USP, but I’d say that diversity in editorial staff and striving for diverse/progressive content is a pretty good start. By any objective measure, that aspect of the UK crossword market is far from saturated.
Good work all. Will definitely order once the overseas delivery is in place
UNCH sounds like it might be fun. For mere mortals (I e.me) who sometimes require help to finish, will the solutions be in the back of the magazine and/or will some kind soul be blogging them on 15²?
@12 – Having met most of The Magpie editors I’d say they were a pretty diverse group who strive to publish interesting puzzles each month! It’s a shame that there isn’t a free launch issue of UNCH so that potential subscribers could see what it would be like before being asked to sign up. If there was then I missed it and apologise. I’d say the crossword market is very well served already and know from experience that many people just don’t have the time. Sorry to sound negative but I think I’m being realistic.
TFC @13 – yes, there will be solutions in the back!
Alastair @14 – we’ve got over 100 pre-orders already so we’re pretty happy with that 😁 and thanks to those who ordered after this blog post! We got a nice little spike in sales so thanks again to Ken for the post.
Rob @15, I spoke to Spike in Sales last week and can confirm he’s very nice indeed.
(Couldn’t get hold of Ike in HR – he was on a walking holiday.)
@14: 10 puzzles by nationally published setters for less than the price of a pint of beer. 50p a puzzle. Surely worth a blind punt?
PostMark @17, do you know if these ten nationally published compilers are being used for every issue, or are the compilers going to vary?
It sounds like it could be good, and 100+ in pre-sales is an impressive start at this point, but pitching it in terms of Guardian difficulty (@3: what about Times or Telegraph difficulty?!) reminds me that Guardian solvers are not the sort who like to pay for their crossword content!
Michael R @19 – the setters will vary per issue; we already have a full roster for Issue 2. By the way the Guardian difficulty reference was in reply to a question that phrased it in that way 😁 nothing more to read into it.
Anyway – many thanks to those that have wished us well!
Thank you, Rob. That sounds very promising.
Pasquale @7 – it seems that the magazine will have a complier/editor gender split that is more representative of the actual population at large. It’s sad to have to highlight such a basic metric in this day and age, but this alone will make Unch significantly more unique than every single broadsheet venue in the UK.
I have just looked at my copies of Tough Crosswords and the first five years of The Magpie which were both A5 format. Some of the font sizes used in some puzzles make them extremely difficult to read now. What font are you using and what size would be useful to know?
Great to hear that the crossword world is growing ever bigger – I’ve pre-ordered my copy.
Twmbarlwm @16 – thanks for making me laugh!