Welcome to a new setter, Jack, with a well-crafted puzzle.
Guardian Genius
Guardian Genius 168 / Boatman
Well – this was a proper genius puzzle!! A mind-boggling set of instructions that not only had us wondering how and where to start, but once we were getting into the puzzle, how … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 167 – Paul
A relatively easy Genius, or so I found, with plenty of simple entry clues peppered around the grid to enable a foothold to be gained. Given that 10ac was unclued, and a key … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 166 by Picaroon
The preamble to Genius 166 by Picaroon states that: “Two across solutions taken together indicate something missing from all the other 14 across clues, either as the definition or as part of their … Read more >>
Genius 165 / Vlad
Vlad set a challenging but very enjoyable Genius puzzle this month. The preamble told us that eight solutions (four being of two words) comprise 6 across 29, which is clued … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 164 – Crucible
I’m sure the idea of replacing an answer with its ‘pair’ has been done in the Genius series before, but it gives plenty of scope to the setter. Some of the pairings here … Read more >>
Guardian Genius No 163
I thought this was not just tough, but in places, somewhat unfair.
Guardian Genius 162 / Enigmatist
The preamble states: The puzzle is a tribute to two people whose names appear in the completed grid. (There is a numerical link between them.) X and two of his products are in a … Read more >>
Genius 161 / Soup
Well, the instructions told us that “The solution indicated by the wordplay in each of the 26 clues is lacking a required letter. Each letter of the alphabet is missing from a particular … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 160 by Puck
What flight of fancy will Puck – the mischievous, fun-loving sprite from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ – take us on with Genius 160?… Well thankfully, for your correspondent at least, this was a … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 159 / Jack
Jack provides the puzzle for my biannual Genius blog We were told that ten solutions contain a slice of 2, not included in the wordplay of their clues. The first clue … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 158 – Paul
As seems to happen with monotonous regularity with the Genius, the first challenge was to get hold a usable copy of the puzzle. First the “printable version” link led to a blank grid … Read more >>
Guardian Genius No 157 by Picaroon
A revolutionary theme for this month’s Genius from Picaroon.
Guardian Genius 156 / Pasquale
The Instructions: Eleven clues are identically deficient in their cryptic component, reflecting the passing of the solution to one of them. We seem to have another gremlin in this month’s Genius. We printed … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 155, by Puck
6 months comes around quickly, and it’s my turn on the Genius slot once more. I thought this was a great puzzle. The device was fairly straightforward, but the standard of clueing, misdirection, … Read more >>