Simon & Schusters Super Crostics # 4 (Super Crostics Book)

Loved it. Exactly what I wanted

Thomas Middleton wrote glorious crostics for the NYT. These puzzles are challenging and rewarding and not for the faint of heart. I was disheartened to learn that these compilations are out of print and only two volumes are still in supply. Used copies of the other volumes with (presumably) unsolved puzzles are offered at silly prices. Old puzzles aren't available online with a NYT puzzle subscription. So in essence they're close to being just a memory. Too bad because Middleton didn't use many pop culture or ephemeral words. His puzzles just require broad knowledge of language, history, and the arts. If you find puzzles by Morris, Dickman, et. al. difficult, you should step away now : )

I love doing acrostics (or anacrostics or double crostics, as they're also called). I like the format of this book. Grid and clues are all on the same page. In some other books of this sort, the clues are on one page, and the grid on the opposite page. That makes them very difficult to fill in if you're not sitting at a table. I have another in this series of books.

The numbers were so small it was difficult to differentiate between a 6 and 8.The even number pages were placed in a very awkward position and I ended up doing only the odd numbered pages. I suppose I could tear out the even numbered pages and put them on top of the odd number pages. I also found the puzzles were very difficult.

I am having a great time doing these acrostics. Middleton is (was?) very clever and also quite erudite. There have been a few words that I swear I have never seen or heard used before, but I usually manage to figure them out anyway. The only puzzles I have not been able to do are the ones in which the clues are cryptic. I still have not quite figured out how to do those ones.