The May Prize puzzle is Singing by popular setter, Chalicea. It is available now on the Crossword Centre and also, with a pdf copy, at the link below. Singing by Chalicea statistics: Posted by Derek Harrison — 8:48 AM - 1 day ago ..read more

I have the contents of the CD ROM stored on my computer, but when I had to install the program recently, I found it simpler to buy a supplementary CD drive that connects via a USB port. It cost me 600 baht in Thailand, which is about 15 pounds. They are a bit more on Amazon - 20-35 pounds. statistics: Posted by Andy Stewart — 10:58 AM - Today ..read more

Glad you're making progress, and glad too to go on the back burner. statistics: Posted by Vagans2 — 6:51 PM - 1 day ago ..read more

Thank you to everyone who so kindly gave their assistance and support on this.  The first test solves found an ambiguity,  which required a complete grid restructure and re-cluing, but were also very positive on the theme and concept , and gave me the strength to start again, pretty much from scratch over a difficult 3 weeks with a re-worked grid.   I owe a special thank you to Hawk who mentored  me over several further weeks with guidance on surface readings, clue lengths , clue mixture, available print lines and more.   After a few iterations it has turned ..read more

This is to let you know that the next Listener Gathering will be on Saturday 27th April, from about midday onwards, at the Sir John Oldcastle in Farringdon.  This Wetherspoons pub is at the junction of Farringdon Road and Greville Street, and a short walk from Farringdon Station, west along Cowcross Street.  Apart from overground services, the station is on the Metropolitan, Circle, Elizabeth, and Hammersmith & City lines.  Currently, no disruptions to rail services have been announced which would affect us.  Pub details are here. If you enjoy thematic cryptics, then t ..read more

You're very welcome - I'm glad I was able to slot the final piece into the jigsaw. Yes, I am indeed 'Doctor Clue', and I must admit that, being in full Ximenean mode these days, a few of the clues in the puzzle did have me raising a figurative eyebrow! statistics: Posted by DRC — 8:19 PM - 1 day ago ..read more

Superb, thank you very much DRC, that works perfectly.   May I ask, are you “Doctor Clue”? I think I recognise your avatar from the Clue Clinic. Anyway, my friends and I are very grateful. statistics: Posted by Jonathan Owen — 6:23 PM - 1 day ago ..read more

Having just solved the Genius 13 puzzle, I think the preamble should read along the general lines of: "Six symmetrically placed thematic words must be encoded before entry into the grid. To do this, the answer to 1 across should be written on one line and the unused letters of the alphabet written below in sequence. Each letter should be encoded by selecting the letter above or below it."  statistics: Posted by DRC — 5:04 PM - 1 day ago ..read more

Hello, this is something of a long shot, but does anyone know of any archivists who might have old copies of Guardian Genius puzzles. For the early puzzles the grids and clues can be found on the Guardian site, but they lack any rubric or special instructions which may have accompanied the original puzzle. Annotated solutions start at No. 89 on the Guardian site and blogs on fifteensquared start from No. 44, but for puzzles before that it seems all we have are the grid and clues. This makes for an interesting but sometimes impenetrable challenge. I’m particularly interested in Genius No. 13 f ..read more

The April Prize Puzzle is Hymn by Vismut. It is available now on the Crossword Centre and also, with a pdf copy, at the link below. Hymn by Vismut statistics: Posted by Derek Harrison — 8:26 AM - Mar 31 ..read more