crackingthecryptic

The Extremes of Connections

Mark takes on four more days of Connections, by the New York Times, from 27th - 30th April.

Some days Connections seems easy ... other days not.

You can watch the exciting video here: https://youtu.be/2_3n8V7Q700

Excellent Connections!

Mark has a go at another four days of the New York Times's Connections puzzle, talking us through his thoughts as he tries to extend his streal of over 20 correct goes ...

See the video here: https://youtu.be/_9XoHDQYf7A

Mark versus the American Crossword Puzzle

See how Mark does aganst the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament final puzzle ("A Clues" - the hardest). He's (meant to be) given 20 minutes to solve the puzzle - but it isn't easy.

Stick around to the end of the video to find out who won the competition, and how long they took on this final puzzle!

Here's where you can watch Mark do his best: https://youtu.be/1xTrTPJYY2Q

Bear in mind that Mark's speciali...

Align ... at Last

Just two more days of the Boston Globe's Align game. We wish the game and its creator Brendan Emmett Quigley very well, and thank him for drawing our attention to it.

Here's the video of these two attempts: https://youtu.be/zCmveguv3kk

Connections in a Rush

Mark tackles five more days of the New York Times Connections game, as he tries to build a streak back towards his record. April 1st seems a distant memory ...

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/RYKXhXLPN40

Align Again

Mark tries Align for five more days. This is the new clueless crossword reorganisation game from the Boston Globe, by Brendan Emmett Quigley.

Let us know if you want more of these, or you aren't bothered ...

You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/zUwnttE25GM

Simon Attempts Today's Monster Crossword: 18 April 2025

Today's Times crossword was vicious and wonderful - the work of one of Simon and Mark's old friends, John Henderson. Hopefully you've seen Mark's masterclass video earlier but, in case you're interested in Simon's attempt, you can watch it at the link below!

The puzzle is available to play on The Times crossword club website (which is behind their paywall): https://www.thetim...

Connections: Sometimes Luck, Sometimes Judgement

Mark takes on another 5 days of the New York Times's Connections game, trying to connect four groups of four each day without four erroneous guesses.

See how he does from April 13th - 17th here: https://youtu.be/CrZ5PwKnvys

Align - an Introduction

Hello Patreons! Today, Mark is trying out a new game, called Align.

We really want to hear from you about whether you would like to see more of Mark trying to get better at this letter-swapping game, where he tries to create a clueless crossword grid from the given board. Leave some comments on the video!

Here's where you can see the video: https://youtu.be/l9ZLnPj8eDA

Here's where you can try the game fo...

Connections - not going off without a hitch

Mark has had a go at five more days of Connections, from the New York Times - but there's a hitch or two along the way.

You can see the video here: https://youtu.be/g3MIN2CdHgE

Time to Tackle that Crazy Cryptic

Once again Mark is taking on the Times Monthly Club Special, without using a dictionary, for as far as he can manage!

See how he does, pitted against Roger Phillips, the senior Listener Crossword Editor, versus March's Monthly Club Special.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/LF5uRkNc1tg

Connections Only Work Sometimes

Mark struggles away, trying to get the New York Times Connections game solved for another four days. After the disaster on April 1st, will he have another Waterloo approaching?

See the video here: https://youtu.be/QHY_dZnl8-w 

April Fool Connections!

Mark takes on the New York Times Connections boards, for four days from 31st March to 3rd April, trying to extend his streak.

See how he does here - April 1st provides quite a surprising puzzle! - https://youtu.be/0_RDYK8NDVk 

April Patreon Reward: April Foolery

Hello Patreons!

Today is April the First, and consequently there's a lot of fake news about! (Or is that just a tradition in British newspapers?). Anyhoo we bring you a special sudoku hunt where you can't trust everything you see.

What you CAN trust, though, is the very special prize created by Emily Williams, long-time friend of the channel and craftswoman. You can see the sudoku cushion cover she has made on the front of the pack, in the PDF attached to this post, and you can wi...

Connections on Tour!

Mark takes on 6 more days of the New York Times’s Connections game, but this time from Tokyo, Japan, trying to keep his streak alive!

Here’s where you can watch the video: https://youtu.be/eWZUMFsM20c 

A Full Week of Connections

Mark has been struggling with Connections, but the streak has been building. Here's the game from the 18th to the 24th of March!

Here's where you can see the video of seven attempts: https://youtu.be/IctwUjlQxLM 

Scrabble Sudoku

As mentioned in tonight's video, this Scrabble-themed puzzle has been recommended to us. It's by LMDemasi and imagines a fictitious game between Marty Sears and ThePedallingPianist! The rules are long (but extremely faithful to real Scrabble) and there is a little bit of book-keeping necessary to keep track of the letter values but this IS a wonderful sudoku and very worthwhile if you give it a chance. (And well played Stuart!!)

Play the puzzle at the link below:

2025-03-18 20:30:02 +0000 UTC View Post

Some Speedier Connections?

The last Connections video was a bit of a struggle, with over 40 minutes spent on four Connections games. Today we have five days' worth but only a 23-minute video.

You can watch Mark's thought processes here: https://youtu.be/NMuYich5QNA 

New Compiler - Same Vicious Tendencies!

Today Mark welcomes another Mark, Mark Kelmanson (sometimes known as Monk) as the compiler of the Times Monthly Club Special. This puzzle is from February 2025, and, as usual, Mark tries to tackle it as far as possible without using a dictionary. See how Mark Kelmanson welkcomes Mark to his puzzles ... it's brutal!

You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/cAdTL7FTIkQ 

Long Time No Connection

The NYT's Connections puzzle is a new challenge each day. It is often very hard to determine whether the puzzle you are doing is theoretically easier or harder than the average. Mark struggles with four days' worth, from 9th to 12th March 2025.

Here's where you can watch the fun: https://youtu.be/qAj9UQiyiPU 

That rare Connections Feat

Mark takes on five more days of the New York Times Connections game - check in and see what he got up to here:

https://youtu.be/HHHisxd6AoU

Connections: Often Troublesome

The last COnnections video was a bit of a disaster, with two fails to add to the one carried forward from the previous video! Now Mark takes on the Connections game from the New York Times for five more (successive) days, from February 27th to March 3rd.

You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/H9e_5w3z6YQ

March Patreon Reward - Nurikabe Puzzle Pack

Hello Patreons, and thank you for supporting us!

We are delighted to bring you another sudoku hunt constructed by Blobz, who earlier brought us The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit.

This one is based on Nurikabe, the Japanese pencil puzzle involving islands surrounded by water - Blobz was inspired after watching us stream the Nurikabe World game.

We are so grateful to Blobz himself, and his testers (Panthera, Timotab, Randall, and Scott_garner), for doing the work to create ...

Are You My Mamma? Solution videos, pt 3

Hello Patreons!

Here is the final set of the solution videos for our February Monthly reward "Are You My Mamma?" - this post covers puzzles 9 to 11, plus also the first two introductory puzzles. Thanks so much to Panthera, Jaleb and Alithanna for making these videos!

For those who struggled to anagram the letters revealed by the individual puzzles ... you didn't have to! The instruction at the end of puzzle 11 told you to REVERSE the letter order, which gave AIDE MEMOIRE as the s...

The Wrong Type of Connections Streak

Is there a right type of Connections streak, but also a wrong type? Mark takes on the New YorK times's game for five days in a row, but things don't entriely go to plan.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/jAgAoFnbZ5g

Are You My Mamma? Solution Videos, pt 2

Hello Patreons!

Here is the second tranche of the solution videos for our February Monthly reward "Are You My Mamma?" - this post covers puzzles 5 to 8. Thanks so much to Panthera, Alithanna and The Asylm for making these videos! Still more to come soon

Puzzles covered in this post:

Are You My Mamma 5 – Why so long in the face? - https://youtu.be/NL68HOHE_cg

Are You My Mamma 6 – Move Every One Wh...

Disconnect Your Connection

Here's where to see Mark taking on five more boards from the New York Times's Connections game, starting on February 17th, and continuing until the 21st.

See the video here: https://youtu.be/jdz12dF3YjI 

A Connection Confection

Mark takes on five days of the NYT's Connections game.

It's been going smoothly lately - what sort of problems will there be over this period?

Find out here: https://youtu.be/HfDm7IPdMWk 

Smoother Connections

Mark takes on the New York Times Connections board for 5 days from 7th - 11th February. He finds it smoother going than usual, in some ways, but there's always a trap a-waiting ...

See the video here: https://youtu.be/vUj-m-HuXXI

The Words are just Unknowable ...

Mark takes on another desperately difficult cryptic, by Roger Phillips - it's the Times Club Monthly Special for January 2025.

Mark is the only lunatic around who tries to finish this puzzle without using a dictionary.

Here's where you can watch the video: https://youtu.be/BQTzBkdWb8o