Never knowingly undersolved
Another Genius from the easier end of the spectrum, with the special instructions affecting a relatively small number of clues, and no modification of grid entries. BREATHE and THEATRE were my first thematic … Read more >>
A conventional puzzle with an unusual clueing style for this month’s Genius.
Hello – I’m a new blogger, assigned to the Genius. I’ve solved every one of the Geniuses since their creation (and never won the prize!) I hope I’ve got this one right …
A musical challenge for this month’s Genius.
Soup has been a fairly prolific setter of Genius puzzles recently – with at least seven between 2016 and 2021, but this is his first for over a year, and my first of his to blog…
The March Genius was set by Pasquale, one of the ‘DON …..’ manifestations of the prolific setter Don Manley. Other manifestations are Duck, Quixote, Bradman, Giovanni, and Izetti. Don Manley sets for all … Read more >>
Although the instructions seemed clear, it took me a while to realise that the “thematic word” to be paired with the undefined answers was not the same every time. I think it was … Read more >>
Absolutely no ambiguity about the preamble this month, but a tricky challenge nonetheless.
This is Jack’s 4th Genius puzzle. We’ve enjoyed his previous offerings, but we know him better as Serpent for his excellent Independent crosswords and Inquisitor puzzles in the i.
Why is it that I find writing a preamble more difficult than solving/parsing the clues? Probably because I have a analytical mind rather than a creative one. Anyway, to business. The introduction indicated we … Read more >>
For Qaos’ Genius 220, we are told that: “With 12 solutions our Inspector’s coding is the wrong way round. His mistakes in these 12 cases need to be reversed before entry in the grid.”
The September Genius puzzle has been set by Kite The preamble was fairly short and told us that one (related) element is lacking from each of the first 12 italicised … Read more >>
The words “Genius puzzle” and “Vlad” are a scary combination for a blogger, but this one turned out to be “only” moderate-to-hard on the Genius scale. My way in to the theme was … Read more >>
A puzzle where every clue was incomplete made for a difficult but ultimately satisfying solve.
Monk sets June’s Genius challenge.