Every family has its own set of Christmas traditions and it's no different for NAH and me. One of our favourites is the Radio Times (RT) bumper Prize Crossword of 60 or so cryptic clues, which marks the start of our festivities.
Puzzles such as this and the RT Trackword are a shared activity we both enjoy. It's a shame they seem to have dropped the Trackword Christmas special; perhaps they've run out of suitable Christmassy phrases for us to puzzle over. Those of you unfamiliar with the Trackword may like to try your hand with this online version I've found whilst writing this post. There's also an App if you're interested.
Over the past few years the crossword's become doubly delicious as a few of us get together on Twitter to exchange news on our progress. The first few days are sacrosanct: everyone is on their own to solve as many clues as possible, then little tidbits of help are offered in exchange for help elsewhere. It's only an extra hint mind, never the actual answer.
We've nearly completed this year's crossword, so thoughts are turning to other puzzles to tide us over the festive season. We're both enjoying Wordbrain and I see the director of GCHQ has designed a fiendish looking puzzle which I'm saving for the collective Chapman brains to crack when we visit the rest of the family next week.
Do you enjoy a good puzzle? Tell me about your favourites in the Comments below...
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