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Perhaps you’re wondering why anyone would
drop twenty-or-so bucks for a type of game that is widely available for free in any number
of incarnations on the ‘net. Well, for starters, most crossword puzzles, in print as
well as online, lack the rigors of what many crossword connoisseurs consider the most
satisfying in the genre, the New York Times puzzle. WizardWorks’ game offers players
over a thousand of these challenging brainteasers on one disk, including samples of the
daily puzzles as well as the granddaddy of crosswords: the Sunday puzzle. The puzzles are
listed chronologically, from the mid-80’s to 1994, and the first twenty or so are
large, at times difficult, Sunday crosswords. Once players successfully complete a puzzle,
a checkmark appears next to its date on the list, and players can choose another. While
puzzles are organized chronologically, players can highlight and play any date they wish,
in any order. Unfortunately, players must always choose their puzzles. An automatic and/or
random puzzle generator would be a welcome feature to this game.
When players correctly input an entire word,
on the other hand, the game congratulates players with the sound of a lid resolutely
spinning onto a jar. This feature occurs in both modes, and is the only mechanism that
indicates to players solving in (the also ironically titled) Silent mode that they are
successfully completing the puzzle. If players don’t hear the lid upon filling in a
series of across or down panes, then it behooves them to take another stab at the word in
question. If even one pane includes an incorrect letter, then players will never get the
satisfaction of having successfully completed a given puzzle. So what if it won’t go
on your personal record? It’s about self-respect.
In closing, some purists might ask if a
crossword puzzle pc game is really necessary. A crossword puzzle nut myself, I contend
that asking questions about fun pastimes, especially those that require one to use wit,
ingenuity and vocabulary is really better left to party-poopers and boobs. So while
WizardWorks The New York Times Crossword Puzzles
game won’t change how you think about crossword puzzles, it makes scads of them
accessible in an engaging, humorous format that will provide hours and hours of
entertainment. |
Okay, hands up--how many of you have whiled away hours at work playing those
free, online versions of your favorite puzzles and games? Solitaire, blackjack, and
crossword puzzles are enduring cubicle favorites, and now with WizardWorks’ 
Even though this game requires players to be pretty deliberate as far as game
selection goes, it’s not without its bells and whistles. For example, like so many of
the online crosswords, this game allows players to solve in “normal” and
“expert” modes. However, in what is likely an attempt to emphasize this
game’s multimedia features, players solve the WizardWorks puzzles in
“Smart” or “Silent” mode. While both modes are timed, the (ironically
titled) “Smart” mode shows players their mistakes by x-ing out and emitting the
sound of shattering glass for every pane in which players enter an incorrect letter.
Purposely typing incorrect characters in Smart mode, by the way, is a great way to blow
off steam when puzzles get too tough. There’s something satisfying about all of those
smashing noises.
So what finally distinguishes this game from the revered print puzzle, not to
mention the hundreds of hundreds of online versions available to devotees of the form?
Strategically, nothing. But WizardWorks offers players another dimension of crossword
puzzle solving by giving them