Tips On Solving A-Z Puzzles
The best thing to do in order to solve an A-Z puzzle is to scan the grid, and look for the easy pickings: there will always be some placements, and at times a significant number, where there is only one option for a valid word to be formed, and so those letters can be placed in by you the solver. Remember that each letter can only appear once, so where you have a word with multiple blanks and there is a word that fits that perhaps has an E in TWO of the blanks, note that word cannot be placed here as it would break the key rule.
As you start picking off the low hanging fruit, the player tool will automatically cross off the letters that you have used, to save you keeping track of it in your head. Knowing which letters you have placed and haven't placed is the key to solving A-Z puzzles, as there will be several words that have multiple options initially. By narrowing down the options you whittle down what can be placed in each of those, until you may be left with only one option.
Scan all runs of the grid if you are still unsure and try not to guess, in most A-Z puzzles there will be a run somewhere with only one option.
As you come towards the end of the solve, you are often left with just the less frequent letters, so if the word doesn't pop out to you and you have, say, four letters left, it is viable to go through each option in your head and see if any of them are words: if there is just one word, then that's what your answer.
And how about the last word in? If it has just one letter, then congratulations, place the final letter left and you've solved the puzzle! But quite often, you'll find the final word is the one you had least information about to start with, and so it might have two or three letters that are blank. In this instance you are left with essentially an anagram, and so should solve it like any other anagram in order to find what the final word is and complete the A-Z puzzle successfully.
Date written: 02 Apr 2015
Comment on this post
You must be logged in to comment - please Register or Login
Why No Wordsearch At Wordy Puzzle
We have a huge range of word puzzles here at Wordy Puzzle, representing all the major puzzle types. All of them, that is, apart from the wordsearch puzzle. Just in case you've not come across it before, a wordsearch is a simple word puzzle that features...
Added: 21 Jun 2015
Cryptic Crossword Anagram Indicators
When solving a cryptic crossword one thing you can be sure of is that there will be some anagram clues, or partial anagram clues, in the solving mix.
Some cryptic crosswords have over 50% of the clues containing anagrams in some form, whilst even the...
Added: 16 Apr 2015
How Much Can You Sell Crosswords For?
One of the most common questions that people have when they start writing crosswords, is what the going rate is.
However there is no clear answer, as it varies on so many different factors. These include:
- The grid size: generally the larger the...
Added: 24 May 2015
Introduction To Arrow Words
Arrowwords are a common crossword variant, and are also very popular with a set of dedicated solvers who much prefer them to standard crosswords.
The difference between standard crosswords and arrowwords is more than cosmetic. The cosmetic difference...
Added: 23 Mar 2015
Solving Aids And Solving Crossword Clues
When it comes to solving crosswords, where do you stand on the debate with regard to using solving aids?
Some people think that there is something "wrong" with using solving aids - in the very particular sense that it is a form of cheating, whilst for...
Added: 30 Apr 2015
Back to Puzzle Blog