A tougher than usual Genius for January, employing a device that I don’t recall seeing before.
Guardian Genius
Guardian Genius 186 / Soup
The Instructions: Five solutions, not further defined, each suggest a literal substitution. All the clues are normal, but other solutions must have one of these five substitutions applied to them before entry in … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 185 – Picaroon
Well, this was fun, though I would have preferred it to have lasted a little longer. The first clue that I solved during my first quick pass through them was 24ac, which was … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 184 by Paul
Paul often lets his quirkiness run free when he is let loose in the (almost-)anything-goes Wild-Wild West frontier of the Genius… …and he doesn’t disappoint here! The preamble states that: “2 11 by 21 … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 183 – Qaos
Qaos has set the Guardian Genius puzzle for September The preamble this month was fairly short and told us that each clue contains a superfluous word. In order, the first letters … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 182 – Puck
This didn’t take me as long as some Geniuses, but it was nevertheless a puzzling experience. It soon became obvious that “the clues to the other solutions have an unwanted 22, either in … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 181
A new setter for this month’s Genius (Ifay), and a puzzle with a new twist.
Guardian Genius 180 / Boatman
Preamble: Each clue or solution involves a word in common. To reach the defined solution to be entered in the grid, in some cases it must be added to the wordplay; in others … Read more >>
Genius 179 / Crucible
I found this one to be very much towards the easier end of the Genius spectrum (probably welcome to some after last month’s Enigmatist), perhaps because I started with the down clues and … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 178 by Enigmatist
First thought – oh dear, it’s Enigmatist this month…oh, well, at least I have 4-5 weeks to solve and blog it… A strange looking grid, with two large areas of black squares – … Read more >>
Genius 177 / Picaroon
Picaroon has set the March Guardian Genius puzzle The preamble was short and clear – "Several clues are consistently incomplete" I deduced the theme fairly quickly when I solved 14 … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 176 – Paul
“Six of the 11 clues marked * contain only wordplay, their solutions being 21. The solutions to the other five clues marked * should be entered in the grid 21 (Roman or otherwise), … Read more >>
Genius No 175 Fake News by Arachne
A characteristically devious and topical puzzle for this month’s Genius competition.
Guardian Genius no. 174 / Soup – December 2017
The Instructions: In each clue the wordplay indicates an extra letter, not required for its solution. These extras letters in clue order spell out an instruction as to how a number of solutions … Read more >>
Genius 173 / Enigmatist
I found this very easy (for an Enigmatist!). Having read the instructions, it seemed logical to start with the down clues, which I did, and 1, 2, 3, 7, 11,17 and 28 went … Read more >>