Crosswords - Cryptic or Simplex?

Rocker

Those who solve crosswords, do you choose the Cryptic or Simplex puzzles?

 I prefer Simplex as I cannot ‘get’ the Cryptic clues. Which do you prefer?

Sporky

Times quick cryptic. Sometimes the Times full cryptic. 

JAYJO

I learned how to get the gist with cryptic clues by doing the saturday daily mail giant crossword. 2 sets of clues for the same answer. I would use the quick clue and then figure out how to get the same answer from the cryptic clue. I found i can get the answers to the cryptic clues (which i would have no chance of gettiing were it a quick clue) as the answer is in the clue most of the time. Really enjoy cryptic crosswords.

Jaycee

I do the crossword in the I paper and sometimes have a look at the cryptic answers the next day and still don't get them lol

HAL9000

I used to do the Times and Independent cryptic crosswords and could normally complete (or nearly complete) them. 

I probably couldn’t complete them now; I found that doing them every day got me into the groove of how the compilers’ minds worked. But since I haven’t bought a paper for years I’m pretty sure I’d have got out of the habit. It’s definitely one of those things where habit, routine, whatever, helps.

stickyfiddle

I don’t like cryptic crosswords. 

thecolourbox

I like cryptic but i'm not very good at them, I can only do the very simplest of ones.

Earlier this year i did this website's easy one every day for about 4 weeks and after I'd done it each day my brain was absolutely on fire, like really manically active and I talked too much. It clearly did something to my brain function, I go to a quiz every wednesday and the second week of me doing them I remember arriving like a whirlwind and answering loads or getting others to the answer, the team looked quite bewildered so I had to shut myself up and I stopped doing them eventually for that reason.
https://simplydailypuzzles.com/daily-cryptic/

Kittyfrisk

Hmmmm, is this a straight question ?

JerkMoans

Kittyfrisk said:

Hmmmm, is this a straight question ?

Well it’s neither an acrostic nor a pangram  

Love wrestling with the tortured minds behind the Guardian cryptic, personally.

JerkMoans

P.S. the Guardian has recently introduced a ‘Quick Cryptic’, as a great introduction for the curious. 

There is a brief explanation of how the clues work, and as a first toe in the water, I think it’s great.

Brio

Telegraph cryptic for me.

p90fool

Cryptic for me, usually Guardian, Telegraph or Times. It's something my wife and I do together again, after a few years where we'd fallen into the habit of scrolling through our respective phones instead. 

Hence our kitchen tiling....

Adey

I like the cryptics.

The Sun is prob easiest

Evening Standard is not too much harder

Metro is a bit harder

Times Quick Cryptic is about as tricky as I can (sometimes) manage.

steveledzep

Only newspaper I buy is The Times on a Saturday.  I do the prize cryptic and the Jumbo cryptic, rarely complete them but usually get close.

Jfingers

I haven't bought a newspaper in 20 years. Mrs J likes a puzzle book so I mostly get my crossword fix from them or the freebie Waitrose weekend paper.

I used to work with a bloke who drove a ride on mower for a living and could almost daily complete the Guardian cryptic in a half hour lunch break. His name was Nick.

I prefer normal crosswords as they play much more to my strengths.

SteveRobinson

Guardian Cryptic here. I do the Quick Crossword too but with a cryptic you get two hints at every answer (definition and cryptic part).

SteveRobinson

JerkMoans said:

P.S. the Guardian has recently introduced a ‘Quick Cryptic’, as a great introduction for the curious. 

There is a brief explanation of how the clues work, and as a first toe in the water, I think it’s great.

Saturdays only I think?

JerkMoans

SteveRobinson said:

JerkMoans said:

P.S. the Guardian has recently introduced a ‘Quick Cryptic’, as a great introduction for the curious. 

There is a brief explanation of how the clues work, and as a first toe in the water, I think it’s great.

Saturdays only I think?

Not sure. Once a week. But a great induction for the cryptic-curious  

Sporky

There are books of the Times Quick Cryptics - 80-100 in each, and a worked-through example at the front. 

Neil

I'm a big fan of both.

 Obviously the simplex can be a done over a quick cuppa or whatever with much more time required for the cryptics.

Jaycee

I heard a story, not sure if it is true, but a construction worker and office manager type use to ride the same train to work do the same crossword in one of the broadsheets.  

The journey took them about 40 minutes with the construction worker getting off the train first. After a while they exchanged pleasantries with the worker saying things like "tricky one today,  pretty easy this morning, 14 down was a bit tough" and the like.The office worker never let on that he found the crossword difficult and couldn't understand how someone working on a building site could breeze through the puzzle. The worker always left his paper on the train which was tempting for the office guy to have a look at but he never did, he just wound himself up over the fact that he had finished the crossword.

One day the construction worker flew through the crossword and as he was leaving said goodbye to his "crossword buddy" also saying that was his last day on site and he was moving to another job the following week. This time he went over and looked at the paper that was left on the seat and found the crossword fully completed  with random letters in all of the boxes it was a big wind up all along.