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 similar, and some quite different.

The most common crossword variant is the codeword: here you fill in a valid crossword grid, but by working with numbers that represent each letter of the alphabet and having to work out which letter is represented by each number. This is a very different challenge to a standard crossword as there are no word-based clues, however it is very much still a word puzzle, combined with logic, as it really tests your vocabulary and ability to spot patterns in words and make deductions to get your way to the single solution.

Another variant is the A - Z puzzle: here you have 26 blanks in the grid and have to place the letters A - Z once in the grid so as to complete the grid.

You might also come across the skeleton crossword: with this puzzle you have to create the grid as you go along as well as answer all the crossword clues, so this is one of the harder crossword challenges out there. These three puzzle types all appear here at Wordy Puzzle, so if you'd like to play them you can do so here.

Another variant is the barred crossword. Here instead of white and black cells, you have thick bars at the end of some cells. This tells you where an across or down clue ends, and then the next square belongs to the next answer. So there are no black squares in the grid so it tends to look quite cluttered. These barred crosswords are usually associated with harder puzzles that appeal to a much smaller audience than the mainstream crossword, but is generally loved by the people that do like them.

Other types of crossword include the anagram crossword. Here all the answers are anagrams of the clues. That might sound easy, but many clues will have more than one possible answer, and therefore you need to solve the grid bit by bit to work out the one answer for each and solve the puzzle as a result.

The vowelless crossword is another fun challenge: the clues all appear without vowels and you have to work out the words and put them in the grid: again there will typically be more than one option for a lot of the answers so you will need to think of the various possible words and cross reference to get to the one answer.

The split decision crossword is a puzzle that has two letters in each square of the grid. The solver has to cross out one letter from each square in order to create a valid crossword solution grid. As above, there will typically be more than one word that can be made for may of the clues in isolation, so you'll need to cross reference to solve these puzzles successfully.

What other crossword variants have you come across and enjoyed? Which would you like to see more of, or perhaps you've come up with some variants of your own? If there's any type you'd like to see added here at Wordy Puzzle please just let us know via the comments section below.
Date written: 31 May 2015

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