Introduction To Arrow Words
The difference between standard crosswords and arrowwords is more than cosmetic. The cosmetic difference is, of course, that the clues appear in the grid squares. Arrows tell you in which direction to write the answers. Arrows usually point horizontally or vertically out of the boxes, although sometimes (not at Wordy Puzzle) you might see arrows that point diagonally too, or even require you to write the word in reverse order. In all Wordy Puzzle arrowwords, you always write the answer in starting with the first letter of the word in the square the head of the arrow is in. In other words, arrows always point to the first letter in the answer run.
So, that's the cosmetic difference, along with the minor difference that clues tend to be a little shorter than standard crosswords in order to fit in the boxes.
The more significant difference is that - from the UK perspective - the grids are a lot more tightly crossed. This means that each white square is a lot more likely to appear in both a down and an across run than in a standard crossword puzzle. So, as you make progress with solving arrowwords, then you start to get lots of information about other answers in the grid. Indeed, and unlike a standard crossword, in the majority of arrowword grids you can solve quite a few words just by getting all the letters of the word from other clues, or perhaps just leaving one letter.
Therefore even more than with standard crosswords it really pays to read through the whole grid at the start and solve the easy clues that you are certain only have one answer.
And that's really all there is to know about arrow word puzzles - we hope you enjoy solving them here at Wordy Puzzle if you are new to the puzzle type, and if you're a seasoned veteran, then we hope you enjoy the added benefit that comes from using our online solving tool.
Date written: 23 Mar 2015
Comment on this post
You must be logged in to comment - please Register or Login
The Benefits Of Solving Word Puzzles
There are many benefits to solving word puzzles. First and foremost, doing so is a very inexpensive hobby, puzzles are fun and satisfying to solve, and word puzzles provide a very effective form of 'brain training'.
As opposed to solving logic puzzles...
Added: 26 Apr 2015
Novelty Crossword Types
There are many different types of crossword. The most common standard types are the cryptic crossword, the quick crossword and the general knowledge crossword.
However, if you look around, you'll find lots of crossword variant puzzles, some very...
Added: 31 May 2015
Novelty Crosswords: Anagram Puzzles
An anagram crossword is a novelty type of crossword puzzle, in that it is a crossword variant that is both rare and is fundamentally different to a normal crossword puzzle.
As you may have guessed, in an anagram crossword the clues are replaced with...
Added: 28 Mar 2015
Tips On Writing Crossword Clues
Writing crossword clues is a difficult art form, and there is no doubt that lots of practice is essential to getting it right. It is also worth noting right from the start that the style and balance of clues you write will depend very much on the type of...
Added: 04 Apr 2015
Welcome To Wordy Puzzle
Welcome to our brand new site, Wordy Puzzle. As the name suggests, this site will be all about word puzzles. If you love words and puzzles, then we hope you'll also love Wordy Puzzle.
We're launching the site with a large range of different word...
Added: 13 Mar 2015
Back to Puzzle Blog
Puzzle Types:
