crackingthecryptic

Ultimate Connections

Mark takes on five days of the New York Times's Connections game - but how will he fare this time? You just never know.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/LHwXC_16DY4 

Matty Didn't Call You Back: Lake's Wrogn Sudoku

As mentioned in tonight's video, here is Simon's solve of Lake's "wrogn" puzzle, Matty Didn't Call You Back Because He Had The Wrogn Number. It's a phenomenally clever construction with mad interactions all over the grid!!

Play the puzzle at the link below:

https://sudokupad.app/94z5rrjga3

Rules:

Trouble Making Connections

Mark takes on the New York Times's Connections game - BUT .. the first game here was recorded AFTER he had played the game for that day ...

Here's where you can watch the video: https://youtu.be/FS8APZxh9NY

Lots of Problems with Connections

Mark had some problems with the New York Times's Connections this week - technical as well as transatlantic; interruptional as well as incidental.

See how he fared here. https://youtu.be/i3zd-_n67Bo

November Patreon Reward - Duality II

Hello Patreons!

Thank you so much for supporting the channel. As the monthly reward for November, we are delighted to bring you Duality II by Skunkworks, a pack of over 15 puzzles, that riffs on the dual-use idea they explored in Duality - which we were delighted to re-release last month. You may have to scroll to the bottom of this post to find the pdf.

We offer many thanks to Skun...

Caroline's Halloween Adventure - Solution Videos pt 1

So many thanks to The PBN Institute for their wonderful Japanese Sums puzzles that made up October’s monthly reward, Caroline’s Halloween Adventure.

Thanks to them also for constructing video solution paths for all the puzzles, which you can watch at the links below. This post features the first seven puzzles:

1: Princess Elsa by SMmarcus100 - 2024-10-30 10:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post

A Whole Week of Connections

Mark takes on a whole week's worth of the NYT's Connections game, grappling with the groupings and of course the transatlantic cultural differences ...

See how he does here: https://youtu.be/z7a7NKS2voA  

Supersized Connections

This is Mark playing Connections for a full SIX days.

Enjoy.

Here's the veideo: https://youtu.be/T_T9Uiu14q0 

A Streak of Connections

Here's where you can see if Mark can create his new highest streak of solving Connections from the New York Times successfully:

https://youtu.be/egFs1rBhMlo

Duality - last year's Skunkworks pack

Hi Everyone,

This is last October's Duality pack, created by Skunkworks under the supervision of Riffclown, which we published as a Patreon reward - but which we bring to you now again as a teaser for next month' Patreon reward: Duality II. You will have to be a paying Patreon to see that pack on November 1st however ...

Connections at Speed

Mark takes on the New York Times's Connections game from 8th - 11th October 2024, and finds it one of the more amenable sets ...

Watch the video here:

https://youtu.be/Fq9knzRCCWI

Confusion & Connections

Mark takes on four more days of Connections in the New York Times, from 4th to 7th October. Struggles ensue.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/C-ywqwDCzes 

The Cryptic Beast that Won't Die

This is Mark taking on the monthly cruel cryptic with insane vocabulary challenges, the Times Club Special. This one is from September and is by Roger Phillips, the senior Listener Crossword editor at The Times.

 As usual, Mark wonders if he will be able to complete the puzzle without having once to consult the dictionary ... and then finds out!

2024-10-05 09:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post

Connections Springing some Traps

Here's Mark essaying another four days of Connections from the New York Times, which seems now more than ever to be trying to lure us into false connections ...

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/0WGEcfElXCI  

October Patreon reward - Caroline's Halloween Adventure

Hello Patreons!

Thank you so much for supporting the channel! As October's reward, we are bringing you Caroline's Halloween Adventure, a collection of Japanese Sums-style sudoku puzzles Each puzzle, when correctly solved, creates a picture.

To enter the competition, please send the string of 12 digits specified on this form: 2024-10-01 15:16:15 +0000 UTC View Post

Some Smooth Connections

Mark plays the New York Times's Connections game, for four days from 26th to 29th September 2024. See how he does with this group in this video:

https://youtu.be/zfMZ3NfW_zQ

The Times Crossword Masterclass: Simon's edition

Simon's golf competition today ended up being cancelled so, in case anyone is interested, he's made his usual Friday crossword video to complement Mark's main channel offering today. (ie Simon is also doing the same Times puzzle that Mark has covered but probably more slowly!!)

Let us know about Ludvig's Guardian puzzle :)

2024-09-27 12:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post

Hollywood Lunchbox - solution videos, part 2 and Roll of Honour

This month's Patreon reward was Hollywood Lunchbox, a collection of sandwich-style sudokus.

In this post, we link to a two more videos completing the explanations of how to solve the entire pack. The explanations of the movies/TV shows and the stars in the puzzles are at the end of the last video (part 4).

Video 3 is based on the third and fourth in the pack, The Moist Maker and Pas...

Three and a Half Connections

Mark did play Connections from the New York Times each day from 22nd - 25th of September, but on the 22nd a recording glitch means all we get to see is him talking about what happened. Let's hope you trust his honesty - and the NYT's new streak counter!

You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/mV97xZIeVQA 

Watch the Cryptic ex-Champion Practise

Mark is going in for the Times Crossword Championship next month - so now he's racing through six Times Crosswords, as practice. This is not a video with full explanations of the cryptic clues and structures, but just a speed effort.

As a bonus, he adds on three General Knowledge Crosswords at the end.

You can drop in on Mark's practice session here: 2024-09-25 08:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post

The Unachievable Connections

Mark tries to tackle the New York Times's Connections puzzle, from the 18th to the 21st of September, but sometimes it just seems beyond the wit of man ... or at least beyond the wit of Mark ...

You can see the video here: https://youtu.be/x8_KxQE3MQM

Stumbling into Connections

Mark takes on the New York Times's Connections game, for four days from the 14th-17th of September, and finds it quite tough going ... you can watch the video here:

https://youtu.be/2Ap84w4HSug

Four Tough Days of Connections

Mark struggles with the New York Times's Connections game, for the last four days.

Can he keep his brief streak alive? Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/ygofLSygBdw 

A full week of Connections

Mark takes on the New York Times's Connections game every day, and this is a full week's worth of the game. How will Mark fare against the New York Times, and transatlantic cultural difference, as he tries to join the groups together?

See the video here: https://youtu.be/Ua6HtI3b5CY 

A New Grand Inquisitor for the Cruel Cryptic

This is Mark's attempt at the Times's cruel monthly cryptic for club members, the Club Monthly Special, but this month's is the first by a new Grand Inquisitor, James Brydon. How will Mark and James fare in battle together?

You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/vdlkehrO_HI 

Joining the Dots ...

Mark has played the New York Times's Connections game for four more days - for YOUR entertainment. See how he does here!   https://youtu.be/ixpcHs1VuQw  

September Patreon Reward - Hollywood Lunchbox

Hello Patreons!

Thank you so much for supporting the channel! As September's reward, we are bringing you Hollywood Lunchbox, a collection of sandwich-style puzzles of different types. With each puzzle comes a sandwich from the world of movies or TV, and we invite you to identify those if you choose.

There are two unusual types of markings in the grids: one type is coloured cells - ...

Four More Days of Connections

Mark takes on the NYT's Connections game for another four days - how will he cope, especially with transatlantic cultural differences?

See the video here: https://youtu.be/ZKAz5cTWuNI 

August's reward: Solution Videos and Roll of Honour

Scojojojobo have very kindly made videos about every puzzle from the pack.

Watch them talk us through how to solve their puzzles from The CtC Clone Pack, August's monthly reward.

Thermojojojometer  https://youtu.be/obleu-xQaD8  

Twojojojofold  2024-08-26 15:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post

Some Disconnected Connections

Mark takes on what looks like three days of connections, but hang on! It seems August 22nd is missing. This may look suspicious (what, he doesn't put it up if he fails?), but in reality it was just an oversight during a day of travel. And in fact, it wasn't even realised until the video was assembled. If anyone knows how to revisit an old day of Connections, leave a note in the comments ... I'd...