ChatterBank1 min ago
Listener No 4236 Oh No! Not Another Playfair, By Mordred
65 Answers
I usually hate playfairs, so what a joy to have this one with a difference. Thank you so much Mordred (for a nice easy solve, too, that will be perfect to welcome newcomers). Great fun!
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In plain English I'm exactly as described by Mordred in the preamble, so thankful not to be spending today, and likely tomorrow, trying to resolve a playfair code.
Likewise I shall not be decoding the above. As to difficulty I found the solving somewhat easier only because there were no misprints, extra words and so on. What a refreshing change to have normal clues. Many thanks Mordred.
Likewise I shall not be decoding the above. As to difficulty I found the solving somewhat easier only because there were no misprints, extra words and so on. What a refreshing change to have normal clues. Many thanks Mordred.
Some people don't like numerical puzzles, but nevertheless they're scheduled to appear four times a year, as regular as clockwork. Others don't like Playfairs, yet the most recent seems to have been No. 4147, 'OZ and WR by Theod', dated July 22, 2011. Surely the next is way overdue.
My fingers are crossed that 4236 is a taster for something more substantial soon to come.
My fingers are crossed that 4236 is a taster for something more substantial soon to come.
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Some very good clues here, and I appreciate the compositional problems to which others have referred. However, at the end I still felt a bit flat. Since we were given instructions on how to encode using the square, I expected the code phrase to give some sort of instruction about encoding other elements in the grid. When that didn't happen I wondered, as others have, whether I was missing something, but it seems not. Or does it?
Incidentally, for those who have been posting encoded text, the problem of encoding a pair of repeated letters is usually solved by interposing an X between the two before encoding. For an entertaining description of Playfair and many other codes, I recommend "The Code Book" by Simon Singh.
Incidentally, for those who have been posting encoded text, the problem of encoding a pair of repeated letters is usually solved by interposing an X between the two before encoding. For an entertaining description of Playfair and many other codes, I recommend "The Code Book" by Simon Singh.
Can't be bothered to decipher any of the encrypted comments here, but those defending this puzzle because it was difficult to set surely miss the point. Something which is a challenge to compile is not by default a good puzzle - that's determined by the enjoyment of the solve. Sadly this was a damp squib, the more so because it seemed to promise so much more than it delivered. Sorry Mordred - congratulations on a decent compiling feat (apart from the 2/5's which would have automatically excluded you from one particular publication), but this was definitely not one for me.
jim360, Clueless Joe is referring to the 'unching'. The Ximenean rules (the crossword compiling rules set down by one of the original masters) lay down how many unchecked lights we are allowed and one of the most important is not to exceed one unchecked cell in a 3, 4, or 5-letter word. 2 are allowed in a 6 or 7-letter word etc. Mordred has 2 in 9, 15, 24 and 30 down. It's a question of fairness to the solver. He probably got away with them because the clues for those were fairly transparent.
