Dell Crosswords Crosswords

[Kniwt]

Apologies for being way late on this one, but the August issue of \"Dell Crosswords Crosswords\" has a large 21x21 4-star (\"challenger\") puzzle called \"Mark of Excellence.\"  The theme entries are all names of Mark Goodson game shows.

The puzzle was created by noted cruciverbalist Henry Hook.

[zachhoran]

Hook is also known for being a GS fan, too, as are several other crossword constructors(Stanley Newman appeared on the Challengers, Trip Payne did the first series of WWTBAM, Andrea Michaels did NYSI89)

[Robair]

[quote name=\'Kniwt\' date=\'Aug 12 2003, 08:52 PM\'] Apologies for being way late on this one, but the August issue of "Dell Crosswords Crosswords" has a large 21x21 4-star ("challenger") puzzle called "Mark of Excellence."  The theme entries are all names of Mark Goodson game shows.

The puzzle was created by noted cruciverbalist Henry Hook. [/quote]
 Henry Hook loves game shows, and every year at the Stamford Crossword tournament in March he stages a game which has elements of a lot of different games, such as Concentration, Scrabble and Password. Back when I was doing the tournament the Saturday night presentation kept us loose and ready for the next day's final puzzle.

And a side note -- Crosswords Crossswords is by far the best puzle mag out there for just straight ahead crosswords. Games and its variants aren't far behind, considering many of the Games people also work for Dell.

[zachhoran]

Dell Champion Crossword and Dell Champion Variety Puzzles are missed, though

[MyronMMeyer]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Aug 13 2003, 07:09 AM\'] Dell Champion Crossword and Dell Champion Variety Puzzles are missed, though [/quote]
 Dell Crosswords Crosswords is \"technically\" the last of the Champion line.  I seem to recall a post on the Cruciverb mailing list that they are working almost entirely from a large backlog of puzzles and aren't in the market for more, which is too bad. There aren't a whole lot of places to get \"new-wave\" style puzzles. It's too bad Games World of Crosswords folded last year.  The magazine they filled out the subscriptions with is nowhere near as good.

I picked up some early issues of Dell Champion Crosswords on eBay late last year.  Good purchase.  (And if anyone has the 3rd issue of Games Pencilwise Extra, let me know at myronmmeyer@yahoo.com , m'kay?)

And Henry Hook is the bomb.  There was a really good profile in the New Yorker last year in which he featured.  I'm pretty sure it's available online.

-Myron has been doing a LOT of crossword puzzles lately.

[Timsterino]

[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' date=\'Aug 13 2003, 10:20 AM\'] And Henry Hook is the bomb.  There was a really good profile in the New Yorker last year in which he featured.  I'm pretty sure it's available online.

 [/quote]
 I found it. Here it is:
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?020304fa_FACT

I agree re: Henry Hook.

Tim :-)

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' date=\'Aug 13 2003, 09:20 AM\'] [quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Aug 13 2003, 07:09 AM\'] Dell Champion Crossword and Dell Champion Variety Puzzles are missed, though [/quote]
Dell Crosswords Crosswords is "technically" the last of the Champion line.  I seem to recall a post on the Cruciverb mailing list that they are working almost entirely from a large backlog of puzzles and aren't in the market for more, which is too bad. There aren't a whole lot of places to get "new-wave" style puzzles. It's too bad Games World of Crosswords folded last year.  The magazine they filled out the subscriptions with is nowhere near as good.

I picked up some early issues of Dell Champion Crosswords on eBay late last year.  Good purchase.  (And if anyone has the 3rd issue of Games Pencilwise Extra, let me know at myronmmeyer@yahoo.com , m'kay?)

And Henry Hook is the bomb.  There was a really good profile in the New Yorker last year in which he featured.  I'm pretty sure it's available online.

-Myron has been doing a LOT of crossword puzzles lately. [/quote]
 Games World of Puzzles is still intact I guess, I didn't know GWoCrosswords folded, sorry to hear that.

Games and Official publications recently joined together to create \"Puzzle Solvers Crossword and Variety puzzles\", a new magazine coming out I think four times a year, and those magazines consist of largely previously printed puzzles.

[Robert Hutchinson]

World of Crosswords also reused a lot of old material, which had the effect of making me a tad paranoid while working the puzzles: \"Am I going to get two-thirds into this only to realize that I already finished it in 1997?\"

The Dell product I miss the most (at least, I haven't seen a copy in years) is Math Puzzles and Logic Problems. And I didn't even care that much for logic problems--that thing had 20 Cross Sums in every issue. Twenty. Two-oh. Games' version puts the sums in a crossword clue list, which guarantees a headache.

ObGameShow: The Games magazines occasionally have a page full of what would be commonly known around here as Jeopardy!'s In Other Words.

[davemackey]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Aug 13 2003, 09:40 AM\'] Games World of Puzzles is still intact I guess
 [/quote]
 Not only intact, but my wife and I have a subscription, and with it the inevitable fights over who gets to do the puzzles.

[Speedy G]

[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' date=\'Aug 14 2003, 01:27 AM\']The Dell product I miss the most (at least, I haven't seen a copy in years) is Math Puzzles and Logic Problems. And I didn't even care that much for logic problems--that thing had 20 Cross Sums in every issue. Twenty. Two-oh. Games' version puts the sums in a crossword clue list, which guarantees a headache. [/quote]
I have seen Dell's Math Puzzles and Logic Problems on newsstands as recently as 3 months ago, so they're still being made.

One thing I've never figured out about Games magazine... how often do they put out an issue?  I pick up the occasional one, but I see them so rarely that I don't know how frequently they are released.

[zachhoran]

Games went from Bimonthly in its early years(debuted in Fall 1977), to Monthly by the early 80s, bimonthly again a few years later. When it returned in 1991 after a one year hiatus due to the parent company declaring bankruptcy, it was back to bimonthly, then soon went monthly, and now prints nine time a year I believe. The World of Puzzles and the now-defunct WOrld of Crosswords are/were bimonthly publications.

[Robert Hutchinson]

Straight from the mastheads of recent issues: \"GAMES is published monthly except January and June\" and \"GAMES WORLD OF PUZZLES is published bimonthly\". I believe GAMES went from 9 to 10 issues a year back around 2001. I'd be more certain of these things if I'd just get more subscriptions already.

YetMoreObGameShows: There was a syndie Weakest Link contestant named Susan who lived either in or near Pennsylvania (GAMES' current HQ is in Fort Washington, PA) and gave a job title of something like \"puzzle magazine editor\". My guess at the time was that it was Susan West, senior editor of the aforementioned two publications. Anyone remember her and/or know? Randy, you remember meeting any other Wests?

(She was voted off second or third, IIRC.)

[Kniwt]

Resurrecting a truly ancient thread to note that the February 2011 issue of "Dell Puzzler's Sunday Crossword Puzzles," the successor to "Crosswords Crosswords," has a five-star challenger puzzle by Henry Hook called "Sounds Like a Game Show."

Nine themed entries, such as 13 letters for "Watchmaker's fees?"
TICK TOCK DOUGH