A carte blanche requiring a high percentage of cold solving, as there were many unclued entries. Clues were very good, as always from this setter, and the puzzle came together with the theme, but... ...
A crossword of extremes for me. I love the theme and the very clever way it's been set. I don't love the thematic clues at all, though. I really appreciate the skill in setting them, and some are... ...
Numerical week, and this was pretty much on a par with the last few in terms of difficulty. It took a while before I could get started, but après cela, le déluge. Thanks, Arden!
Tough in the extreme, but very rewarding if that's how you like your puzzles. The combination of altered clues, altered entries, carte blanche grid and truly evil clues throughout made this the... ...
A very enjoyable puzzle to crack - many thanks, Quinapalus. So many original features in this one. The double/partial wordplay was an interesting idea. The only criticism I have is the huge scope... ...
A fun puzzle, which appeared daunting, but got rapidly easier once answers could be entered into the grid. The endgame was neat, and very little grid staring was required. Many thanks, Mozart! I... ...
Incredible! Easily my favourite Kea puzzle, and the best Listener so far this year. Just so rich in the theme and all the diverse gimmicks throughout. Thanks Kea!
A somewhat fiddly puzzle, involving altered clues, altered entries and a grid search, but it all works out unambiguously in the end. Many thanks, Ifor!
Another cracker from the master of the genre.
So much to enjoy - obscure answers, quality clues, and a tough jigsaw (of sorts) to finish. Thanks, Sabre!...
And Season's Greetings to you too, Lionheart. A bit of a monster, this one, with quirkiness all the way through it from soup to nuts. Not one for the purists, I'd guess, but I thoroughly enjoyed the...
A top quality multi-layered puzzle, requiring a fair amount of lateral thinking to complete, but which thankfully ends unambiguously. Many thanks, Yorick - that was one of the best of the year.
Thanks, Ploy. I liked the way the message was derived from the grid, but I felt the theme wasn’t really reflected in what turned out to be a fairly standard puzzle of its type - quite a slog, too,...
Am I the first to post for this one? A superb puzzle - thanks, Ifor! Challenging throughout, but well-paced, and with a nice moment when it all started to make sense. I'm happy with my final Answer,...
Well, I got there. Ten out of ten for the puzzling skill involved in this, Twin. Truly astonishing. But I was left a little deflated with the final step, which could so easily have been at a level to...
That was a strange journey - Thanks Agricola! I'd be frankly amazed if anyone finds the first two locations before the third, but let's see. I found them in order 3, 2, 1, connection. Some devious...
Either a) I haven't found the right thread, b) folks have found this one difficult, or c) nobody bothers reviewing numericals any more. I had a brief conversation on Twitter with a numericals-hater...
I remember when just about every other Listener Crossword used to be like this. Tough clues, tough theme and tough endgame. I thoroughly enjoyed it, thanks Banjaluka!...