I think that this is the first time that Screw has featured in the prize slot, so it’s the first time that I have had the pleasure of blogging one of his puzzles.
bridgesong
AZED 2,290
A plain Azed with one unusual feature: there were twice as many words of Hindustani origin as Scottish ones.
Guardian Prize 26,854 by Paul
A theme of occupations, often very amusingly defined, characterised this puzzle.
AZED 2,284
A very straightforward plain Azed this week.
Guardian Prize 26,830 by Paul
A themed puzzle for this week’s prize competition from Paul, possibly intended to draw attention to Crufts, which was on when this puzzle appeared.
Guardian Prize 26,806 by Puck
Another characteristically witty offering from Puck, with lots of story-telling surfaces.
AZED 2,278
A standard plain Azed this week, in a standard 12 x 12 grid.
Guardian Genius No 151
A new setter, Soup, and a novel device in a puzzle which proved to be much easier than last month’s offering, but which unfortunately was beset with technical problems.
Guardian Prize 26,782 by Tramp
It’s been quite a while since we’ve had a Tramp puzzle in the prize slot and this one was certainly worth the wait.
Azed 2272 “Snowflake”
This Christmas puzzle employs a device that I don’t remember Azed using before. The special instructions state: “In the completed diagram, eight words in jumbled form may be seen radiating from and including the central square, which must be deduced”.
Guardian Christmas Prize Puzzle No 26,759 by Maskarade
This year’s Christmas puzzle was a double alphabetical jigsaw with a twist: half the clues lacked a definition.
Guardian Prize 26735 by Arachne
A pleasant stroll through the web created by the Spider Woman, with many characteristically concise and witty surfaces.
Azed No 2266
A 13 by 11 grid for this week’s plain Azed puzzle. Unfortunately, for technical reasons, I can’t include a picture of the completed puzzle.
Guardian Prize 26711 by Shed
A very straightforward puzzle with no theme this week.
AZED 2,260
Azed gives us 4 12-letter words or phrases in this week’s plain puzzle.