Contributing editor
Theo Marsh
Cryptics & wordplay
Theo came to puzzles through British-style cryptics and never fully came back. He writes about wordplay mechanics — anagrams, containers, homophones, the hidden word — and about the etiquette that separates a fair clue from a cruel one.
He is unreasonably fond of the &lit clue and will explain why at any length you allow.
On the record
- Sets cryptics for two independent puzzle zines
- Maintains a 4,000-entry personal clue archive
- Writes the PuzzleMakers wordplay column
Writes about
Rebus Squares Are Back and Solvers Have Opinions
A look at the divisive trick that packs several letters into one box, and how to clue it so the solver feels clever instead of cheated.
Fill Quality Versus Theme Ambition
When the theme forces ugly fill, something has to give. Where editors draw the line, and how to tell which side of it you are on.
Sudoku Variants That Are Worth Your Time
Killer, thermo, arrow and sandwich: which twists add real deduction and which just add rules to memorise.
Cryptic Crosswords for the Rest of Us
Anagrams, containers, hidden words and homophones: a gentle path into the British-style clue, with worked examples.
Kakuro Killer and the Arithmetic Puzzles That Are Not Sudoku
A whole family of puzzles runs on sums rather than symbols. The combinations worth memorising, and why they open grids faster than any scanning technique.
One good puzzle a week. No filler.
New articles, constructor notes and a fresh mini crossword every Sunday. Free, and easy to leave.