Crossword puzzles are one of the most popular word puzzles over the world. In the United States alone, there is an average of 40 million people answering crossword puzzles every day. With the emergence and popularity of crossword puzzles, other puzzles followed suit. Among others are sudoku and kakuro.

Sudoku and kakuro are also known as the numeric counterpart of crosswords. Sudoku is a numeric puzzle which requires logic rather that mathematical processes. Common sudoku puzzles would be in a 9×9 grid and would have 3×3 subgrids which are also called regions. Each column, row and region contains number from 1 to 9. There are given numbers that would serve as hint to complete the entire puzzle.

Sudoku puzzle difficulty is based on the number of given numbers. The more given numbers the easier the sudoku is. Also, another factor for determining the difficulty is with the time limit (if provided) in solving the o puzzles. This became a popular game with its rise and international success in 2005.

The first published sudoku was released in New York during 1970s. It was first introduced in Japan in 1984 by Nikoli. After its initial release, on 1986 the puzzle gained much popularity. They increased the number of givens in the box and at the same popular periodicals and newspapers started publishing them in Japan. Right now, Nikoli still has the right over Sudoku and other puzzles in Japan using the same name.

Sudoku is somehow similar with magic square which first appeared in France during the 19th century. The difference is, this puzzle used arithmetic to solve or complete it, while sudoku uses logic. It was first released in 1892. The Le Siecle’s rival paper refined the magic numbers until it became the current format of the puzzle.

Kakuro, meanwhile, is called or referred to as the mathematical transliteration of crosswords. It can also be called pr referred to Cross Sums or Cross Addition. The Japanese name kakuro comes from the shortened karan kurosu which literally means addition cross. In Japan, Kakuro was the second most popular puzzle after Sudoku and Nikoli.

There is combination puzzle of sudoku and kakuro, this is called “cross sums sudoku”. The clues are given as cross sums in a standard 9×9 sudoku grid.

Sudoku rose rapidly, not only are sudoku puzzles being published, it can also be viewed and answered in different websites. There are different sudoku software which can install games on computers and mobile phones. Not only are sudoku and kakuro popular in Japan and United States, it is very much known in Asia, Great Britain, Europe and other countries.

To promote the game, live TV shows about Sudoku and live game shows were also launched. There are even songwriters contributing and writing songs about the puzzles.

Answering these kinds of puzzles is not just to torture ourselves or waste our time, these logical puzzles can expand the brain and increase a person’s logical skill. Logical puzzles have different forms and you can pick out the form which you think is most interesting. These puzzles are not only intended for adults, they are also significant for developing logic among children.

Crosswords, sudokus, kakuros and other combination puzzles, are not only fun and entertaining. These logical puzzles also contribute to our mind development.

One across, ten down. Crossword puzzles, you can love them but sometimes you curse them. Okay, maybe I’m just going overboard. But those little square boxes and the crisscrossing words can be quite addictive. But have you ever wondered where they came from or who started all this. From the easiest one to the most complicated, these puzzles must have an origin which we can trace back to as early as 1913.

It was journalist Arthur Wynne who is often credited as the inventor of the first crossword. This journalist from Liverpool, England was working for the World back then. His “word-cross”, which was what he called it came out in December 21, 1913. Although, it is not the same as the puzzles we know today, there are a lot of similarities and basically the idea is the same. The puzzles were later renamed as “crosswords” and slowly began to be popular. Other papers began publishing these puzzles as well. And by the 1920s, one can no longer deny the popularity of the crossword puzzle. To add to its fame, Simon and Schuster published a crossword puzzle book in 1924. The book was even sold with a pencil attached to it so people can get on it the minute they bought the book.

The puzzles popularity even went as far as the reference sections of libraries. In fact, it is known that the New York Public Library even considered banning people who were at a fix with their puzzles from the dictionaries and other materials they have from the library’s reference section. The library claimed that these crossword puzzlers, as they call them, prevent students and other readers who need the dictionaries and encyclopedias more.

From the 1920s to the 1930s, the popularity of the crossword puzzles soared. In fact, there was so much attention given to it that the issue of it becoming a fad was not gone unnoticed by critics. Some has called it as nothing but a meaningless and mindless waste of anyone’s time. In fact, there were some publications that insisted on not including crosswords in their papers because they believe that it was nothing but a craze that soon will pass. The crazy phase did die down in the 1930s but the impact the crosswords had remained and continue to be a part of the daily lives of millions of people today.

In terms of popularity and prominence, the New York Times crossword puzzle is notorious for being one of the most difficult to solve. The Times began publishing the puzzles only from 1942. The paper was among those publications that did not feel to ride on the popularity of the puzzles more than a decade earlier.

During World War II, some military intelligence officers became paranoid with crosswords. They thought that the appearance of some words that coincides to secret military codes for the upcoming invasion of Germany was being passed on to the enemy. The puzzles in question were the ones that appeared from May to June 1944 on The Daily Telegraph. However, it was proven that the appearance of certain words in the puzzles were mere coincidence. Nevertheless, that fact that crosswords can be used to transmit coded messages was never disregarded by the military.

The puzzles have come a long way since then. But the truth remains that it still has a horde of followers today and will continue to have so even in the distant future.

Looking at crosswords everyday, have you ever stopped and wondered how one creates such an interesting puzzle? Crossword puzzle makers often have their own style in making their puzzles but they do follow some conventions or established guidelines. Nowadays, there are software and various applications that create crossword puzzles automatically. You just need to input or fill out certain fields and application will create the puzzle for you. In the old day, things were a little different.

When the first crossword came out, there were no computerized programs available. It was 1913 when Arthur Wynne created what is now considered as the first crossword puzzle. Today crossword makers can earn around $50 to a $100 on a puzzle. The payment will depend on the complexity of the puzzle.

Creating crosswords come naturally to some people while others had to learn the process. There are several ways going about it. But the first thing that you will have to do is find a theme for your puzzle. Of course, crosswords can be about general, random things but there are times when you will create puzzles that tackle a single theme. Some crosswords are focused on subjects like animals, plants, biology, chemistry, physics, politics, and even mathematics can become themes for a crossword. One of the advantages of having a theme is the fact that you will a singular thought regarding what kinds of clues and answers to make.

The second you thought of a theme, it would be best to design a puzzle grid for your crossword. There are different kinds of grids to choose from. Marketwise, it seems that the American audiences are keener on a 15 by 15 word length. However, other combinations like 17 by 17, 19 by 19, and 21 by 21 can be utilized. Anything smaller than 15 by 15 has been found to be too small and also not that appreciated by the American crossword puzzle solvers. For the puzzle makers, it is not as lucrative as the bigger ones as well.

After having designed your grid, it would be easier to design one that is symmetrical. You can get to a more difficult grid design later as you become more accustomed to the process and more confident on your puzzle making skill. You will need to fill out the words inside the grid. You will insert the terms that you found out from research about a single theme. When placing the words on the grid, be careful placing them and avoid post assignments that create two letter words from the intersecting words. These two-letter words can be quite troublesome when you are already creating clues.

You then create the clues. Clues ideally should be interesting and creative. It has been a common practice to indicate as clues the synonyms of the words. Although valid, having synonyms as clues are pretty dull and I do believe you can do better. One can place as clues incomplete phrases or sentences leaving a blank space where the answer should go in. Some clues need to be factual. There are instances where you need to go to reference materials to check if you wrote the clue correctly. Also, some editors from publications will require you to show your references so it would be best to note that down.

This is a basic run down of how to create a crossword puzzle. In time you will develop your own style and process. But never forget to enjoy yourself.

You have been at it all morning and you decided that it is enough. You slowly put down the paper you were reading on the table and placed the pencil you were using beside it. Even if you don’t say it out loud, anyone that is close enough can see the frustration from your face. You have been doing crosswords all morning and despite how hard you tried, you just failed to complete the puzzle grid.

You ask yourself in annoyance, what are the tips to beat a crossword game, if there are any and if there are none, they should come up with some?! Fortunately for you, you’re not the first one to ever been frustrated with not finishing a crossword. And even luckier, some people had the sense to organize a list of tips to solve crosswords faster.

Crossword puzzles have been around since the early 1900s. The first known puzzle ever published was in The New York World in 1913. The first creator who is acknowledged today as the creator of the crossword puzzle is Arthur Wynne. The popularity of the word puzzle received some notoriety in the 1920s but craze eventually waned down a decade later. Nevertheless, the fad might have died down but the popularity was still there which was why by the 1940s daily newspapers and even magazines include in their publications crossword puzzles for the entertainment of their readers.

Now you might already know that as you solve more crosswords, you improve in time. You can to learn more vocabulary and understand better the clues thus you are able to process them quickly than you used to. Even so, you might find yourself occasionally stuck on a puzzle or two.

There are several techniques you can use to make your problem solving easier and a bit faster. First, you need to understand is that puzzle makers would never want to create a crossword puzzle that is practically unsolvable, or at least that’s what I think. Despite the difficulty levels of a crossword puzzle, there are always some give-away clues and easy answers hidden in the clue list and the boxes of the grid. The first thing you should do therefore is browse over the list and look for the easy ones. Start with those.

The next thing you should look for are repetitive clues and answers that most crossword puzzles have. If you have been doing crosswords long enough, you would be able to identify these words easily.

Once you have done both techniques, the next step would be to practice your power of deduction. If you have assembled a number of answers already on the puzzle grid, you can actually deduce the answer to some of the clues by referring to the letters of the words already available. After building your puzzle solving experience, soon enough you will develop a high level of deduction skill.

Also, here’s a very useful tip. When you find that a clue is telling you or pointing you towards an answer that is a singular, present-tense verb or a plural noun, there’s a big chance that the right word ends with an “s”.

And lastly, have a couple of references or at least a dictionary by your side. Crossword puzzles are learning tools. If it encourages you to read and look for the answers, then I don’t see any problems with that. Others might call this cheating but in my book it is not.

For some people who are really hooked into solving crossword puzzles, a day would not be complete without solving as many puzzles as possible. Since it has become some sort of addiction to other people, it is best to get tips on how to solve crossword puzzles the easy way to veer them away from pent-up aggression and depression.

Experts say that solving crossword puzzles can drive people crazy. If you are one of those that could not last a day without having to solve as many crossword puzzles but you are having a hard time on it, here are some tips to maintain your sanity:

1. Keep in mind that it is just a game. One of the reasons why people solve crossword puzzles is to exercise their mind and to have fun. It is just unfortunate that some people find it as an addiction and curse themselves if they don’t solve a certain number of puzzles a day. For you not to be affected or depressed so much when you don’t solve the number you are eyeing for, keep in mind that it’s juts a game. If you don’t finish it today, you have the next day or the next after that to finish it. If you have this mindset, it will be easier for you to solve more number of crossword puzzles since you are lifting the pressure on yourself.

2. Solve it one puzzle at a time. Although for some people, bombarding themselves with so many crossword puzzles to be finished at a certain time work to be better solvers, it is not always the healthy way to go about it. It is best to solve it one puzzle at a time so you don’t put too much pressure on yourself in solving an amount that you really can’t attain in a specific time frame. It is best to solve only the number of puzzles that you can. Through practice, you will be better and can solve more puzzles in no time.

3. Grab all the available opportunity to play it. Crossword puzzles in newspapers are handy as well as those that are compiled in books. For you to be a better solver, try to solve as many as you can whenever you can and wherever possible. If you are commuting on your way home, you can solve one crossword puzzle. If you are queued in a line for a movie or in a grocery store, you can also solve one. If you are using the computer, you can take some time off and play crossword puzzles online.

4. Start easy. In playing crossword puzzles, it is best to start with easy clues and move on with the more difficult ones. If you do this, it will be easier for you to answer the entire page since you did not get disappointed in answering the first ones.

5. Look for the favorite words of the author. In solving crossword puzzles written by a single author, it will be inevitable for the writer to use a common word in all of the puzzles. This word is referred to as the “favorite word” which oftentimes appear in almost all puzzles. If you were able to guess or find out the author’s favorite word, it will be easy for you to start solving any of his or her puzzles.

Solving crossword puzzles is one of the most “indulged in” activities for people who love mind games. This is because this game is reported to be good for the mind since it encourages intellectual stimulation.

Today, more and more doctors recommend solving crossword puzzles to people who are getting older so they would avoid developing Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorder caused by old age. Medical experts also recommend this activity for kids because it is believed to contribute so much to their development such as their cognitive skills.

But, wouldn’t it be interesting to know what is crossword puzzle like before and compare it to the crossword puzzle that we know of today?

TRIP DOWN THE MEMORY LANE

In 1913, Arthur Wynne, a writer for New York World’s Game Page was the one who introduced the game to the public. He was tasked to come up with a game for the Special Christmas Edition of the newspaper. He came up with so many types of games but he ended up with a variation of ‘word squares’ which he used to play with his grandfather. had taught him when he was a boy. The original wold game contained words in the square and one has to read the same word in horizontal and vertical manner.

To give it a refreshing twist, Wynne came up with the “ACROSS” words which were entirely different from the “DOWN” words. This design became more challenging because the solver has to work on not just with one word but two words with one common letter on them.

In its debut on the December 21 issue, the puzzle was called “Word-Cross”. Many people were challenged by the new game and the newspaper received so many feed backs that they had to run it for three consecutive Sundays. After a month, typesetters had a mistake in typing the title and was published as “Cross-Word” instead of “Word-Cross.” But instead of receiving bad comments on the mistake, it has received more praises because many think it was more appropriate.

However, despite of its success, the newspaper tried to drop it after a few months because the editors were having a hard time on it because these are hard to print and it prone to typographical and other errors. But, when the readers did not saw puzzles in their copies, the unexpected happened: they rallied to the newspaper building. So hostile the people’s reactions were the World had to take back their decision and made the “Cross-Word” a permanent feature on the page. In the next ten years, only the World was the one who carried and printed the crossword puzzles.

Another important development on the crossword puzzles came in 1924 when Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster decided to publish a book that served as a compilation of crossword puzzles. The copies of the book were sold like hotcakes the first day it was out in the market and by 1925, more than 300,000 crossword books were sold to the public. This gave birth to Simon & Schuster as one of the major publishers that world know of today.

But the craze over the crossword also led to some unfortunate events such that made it less popular. Crimes were committed due to addiction to crossword and a person who committed suicide used it as a note to solve his case. Despite all those, crossword puzzles were able to revive itself and continues to be among the top mental exercises that most people indulge in today.

How many times did we give up on crossword puzzles just because we cannot get the words right? There are people who keeps on answering crossword puzzles even if it would take them days, weeks and even months, just to finish them. How we wish we can finish more than one crossword puzzle.

Here are some tips we could use to solve crossword puzzles, fast.

• Never give up. That is the most crucial thing to remember. If you are having difficulties with a crossword, figure it out. Do not just throw it away and hate crosswords forever and curse people who can actually answer them.

• Do the easy crosswords first on your first try. There are newspapers whose crosswords become more difficult as the week progressed. So start with the Monday crossword (sometimes, easiest). You can buy a book. Just make sure that it is within your level.

• You can start with fill-in-the-blanks clues since they are sometimes easier to figure out. Work across and down together. Do not do them separately since they are totally related to each other. Also, it would become easier for you since there are already letters serving as additional clues.

• Boosting your vocabulary will help you solve the puzzle. People would carry pocket sized dictionary or thesaurus with them so they can easily identify the words.

• Answer those clues that you are sure about. After answering them, return again to the first clue. Since there are already words pencilled in the puzzle, there are additional letter clues that can help you remember the answer.

• Pay attention with the theme. Some crosswords would have the theme as the title. The theme can help you a lot with identifying the words. Sometimes the theme is not written as the title, it can be the longest word in the puzzle.

• Think outside the box. Crosswords make you think creatively and imaginatively. Answers are not literal.

• Ask for help. Do not be afraid in asking your friend, family or even the neighbour when answering crosswords.

What if you have encountered a clue ending with a question mark? Question mark clues are usually a pun or metaphor. In crossword, it the question is straightforward, then the answer could be a little difficult to figure out. While, trickier questions have easier answers.

Also take not of the tenses used in the clues. The tense used in the clues will require the same tense in the answer. Plural clues also have plural answers. Just remember that not all plural words end with an “S”. The answer will also reflect proper nouns. Words with capital letters are always proper nouns.

Improve your vocabulary and basic knowledge. You can watch trivial game shows and enhance your reading. Also there is a crossword dictionary. This would greatly help you. Just like any other sport, hobby or talent, proficiency improves through practice. So do not be afraid to take on crossword puzzles. Practice answering until you get familiar with it.

There would be moments when you will feel extreme frustration and anger for not getting or understanding any clues. If you have reached that point, then breathe for a while. Put down the crossword and get some fresh air. Drink coffee or tea. Eat lunch. Do something that would make you full refreshed. Sometimes just seeing something aside from the crossword puzzle, will make it easier for you to finish the entire thing.

Initially, crossword puzzles were hand-made but open the invention of a software program in 1997, crosswords puzzles can be made by an individual on the computer. The easiest way of creating a crossword puzzle, then, would be doing it in a computer.

The first thing to identify when making a crossword puzzle, it is intention. Is the crossword puzzle intended just for personal use? Or is it made for friends and family? Crossword puzzles are also given as gifts, nowadays. The reason for answering these questions, it to make sure that you will be acquiring or purchasing the appropriate software that would cater to these needs.

American crossword puzzles have a set of standards that they need to follow. There are several grid sizes for a crossword puzzle: 13×13, 15×15, 17×17, 19×19, 21×21, and 23×23. The most common crossword size would be 15×15 and is generally accepted as the standard size.

You also need to remember that crossword puzzles are symmetrical. The number of black boxes in the left corner should also be the same with the number of black boxes in the lower right corner. Also, two letter words are not allowed and three letter words should not appear frequently in the puzzle.

Another rule is that unkeyed words or words whose letters are not interlocked with an across and a down word are not allowed. So every letter square should be a part of an across and a down word. Another rule is about word duplication. There are words in an expression should not share with another word used in a puzzle.

If you intend to have the crossword published, then you have to be familiar with the number of black boxes that publishing companies allow to appear in the crossword. With Simon & Schuster, they prefer that about one- sixth of the total number of grid squares in black.

There are publishers who do not declare any specific number. But normal number of black boxes would be about one-sixth. If they see that there are too much black boxes in the puzzle, they may think twice of buying or publishing the puzzle.

There are crossword puzzle makers who draw up a list of theme words or phrases first. Then they would be sorted out according to their length. This practice makes it easier for the crossword makers to think of words and develop questions or hints about the words.

There are also different practices for some crossword makers. Once they have identified the theme and have come up with some long words, they would fill in the grid with the words and then think about the clues afterwards. While there are some who would create the clues first before completing the grid.

In the process of completing the puzzle, there would be times when you would have to encounter weird and unacceptable words. This is perfectly normal. You can use entertaining words to make your crossword witty and fun.

If you have decided to create a crossword puzzle with the help of a software, then there are free crossword puzzle makers which you can try using. There are crossword making software which could be purchased in a lower rate. There are software for making crosswords for publishers.

If you intend to have your crosswords published, then it would be best to avoid using them or publishing them on your own. Avoid using them even in your personal page since they can affect the publisher’s interest. Most publishers would like to buy puzzles where they can have all rights. And also, there are some crosswords who are experiencing trademark problems.

Try to avoid using words with trademark in your crossword puzzles.

If you’re familiar with crossword puzzles, then you know that a typical puzzle consists of white and black boxes. The white boxes would be where you will place the words that are hinted in the clues. But aside from the puzzle boxes you see in newspapers and other publications, there are other major variations of crosswords, some of which you might not have even encountered before.

Let’s go regional first. The American-style of crosswords is quite different from the British and Australian puzzles. For one, the American crosswords usually have word combinations were the letters eventually “check” each other. So if you figure out most of the across or down words, you’ll find that the answers for one direction is also basically filled out. Not like the American style, British and Australian crossword puzzles have the white boxes positioned in such a way that half or less of the letters check each other out. In a way, the latter two can be more difficult solve.

Another popular crossword in the UK is the cryptic crossword. This one can actually be more challenging. The reason is that the clues themselves are sort of little puzzles. So you actually try to solve the clues themselves before you get to the crossword.

Code breakers and code crackers are other names for a kind of crossword called cipher. Cipher crosswords are very different from cryptic puzzles. You see in cryptic puzzles, the clues are puzzles themselves but in cipher crosswords, the clues for the white boxes are replaced with number 1 to 26 which serves as a cipher for the letters of the alphabet. Numbers correspond to one letter and when filled out, the boxes should contain valid words. If you look at it, the cipher crossword puzzles seem to be closer to being codes than being puzzles.

Other crosswords include the diagramless and the fill-in crosswords. The former consists of finding out the answers to the clues and at the same time the location where they will place the answers on the puzzle grid. In this kind of puzzle, the clue numbers and black squares are not indicated. So this means, you have to see how your answers can be grouped together to produce additional answers from the clues provided. Meanwhile the latter one, the fill-in crosswords, consists of a list of words and a puzzle grid. The objective is to find how you can fit all the listed words on the grid in such a way that all the resulting words from each intersection are valid.

The cross numbers is another variation but as the name imply, the clues and answers are related to numerical values. The clues can be a mathematical formula where the answer to it is the one you will place in the boxes of the puzzle grid. Some questions or clues may refer to a year of an event or an important date. Whatever the clues are, numbers are usually the answers and depending on the difficulty, the intersections of the numbers can be valid entries as well.

There maybe other variations out there, but what were mentioned are the major kinds. Other crosswords might be just derivatives of those puzzles above. You can check all them out or just focus on the traditional one instead. But to add to the challenge, most people will try out different kinds of crosswords just to test their skills. Just remember to have fun.

Crossword puzzles have been used with children to improve their language and thinking skills. There are a lot of benefits among children like improved spelling, vocabulary, grammar skills, and even comprehension. It can even develop a lot or personalities like self-respect, overcoming challenges and developing patience among children. But how does it work for adults?

As people grow older, not only is it the physical body that we need to maintain and keep healthy. We also have to maintain and make sure our mind and spirit are healthy. Running and exercise is important for the body. Thinking and mental exercise is important for the brain. Keeping the mind active and alert can ward off dementia. Dementia is described as a decline on the brain’s function because of disease or just aging.

Mental exercises, like crossword puzzle, can be challenging. Questions are different from each other, daily there are different crosswords to answer. The mind functions and reacts differently for each question, making it function efficiently while answering the puzzle.

In the United States, a study which took 21 years showed that seniors who answers crossword puzzle four days a week has lower risk of dementia compared to those who are answering crosswords once a week. Seniors can develop their:

• Memory
• Attention
• Language
• Problem solving
• Remembering people’s names
• Remembering simple tasks and things, like time and channel for favourite shows

Forgetfulness and depression comes along with old age. There would be times you would be extremely sad since elderly cannot perform tasks that they used to perform. Also, numbers are showing that most people lose their memories. About 75 percent of senior citizens have memory-related problems.

You can also do crossword puzzles while drinking a cup of coffee or tea. By the way, coffee research showed that they can help revive the memory of the elderly who are 65 years and above. Coffee is best drank mornings and evenings.

Depression can also be addressed by having friends and family members over to do crossword puzzles. There are crossword clubs which you can join. Not only do crossword puzzles help the elders to expand their vocabulary, it would also help them be mentally alert. Both young and old can enjoy crossword puzzles.

Because of these reasons, there are brain exercise programs promoting the revitalization of our mental processes. There are brain training which are said to help seniors and adults who have memory problems. These brain trainings would claim they are a great help in fighting off Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. These brain training exercises are sold commercially. Actually their market is getting big fast. In 2005, their market was only worth $2 million dollars. Currently, it is hitting the &225 million mark.

Dr. Peter J. Snyder of Lifespan Affiliated Hospitals in Providence, Rhode Island, said in that answering crossword puzzles is probably just as effective or more effective than these commercial and formal brain training. You do not have to spend a lot of money by getting people to assist you in brain training. You can do it on your own.

Professionals like Dr. Snyder cited that participating in social and intellectual processes and activities, like playing with grandchildren, going out in senior get-togethers or luncheons, and doing crossword puzzles can help improve memory and brain function. The best thing is that these things that you can do are free.