Into The Cryptic

Crossword buffs will be pleased to know that the Times and Sun micro crosswords are now available for the Archimedes. While I have only seen volumes five and six of the Times and volume five ofthe Sun, I expect that the older volumes will eventually become available.

Layout and operation are identical for both, so my comments apply equally. With the disc you get a 12 page booklet with comprehensive starting and running instructions.

There's a brief discourse on cryptic crosswords which is very helpful for beginners, a list ofcommon abbreviations and another list of the convention indicators abbreviations such as anagrams, word division and synonyms.

There is also a full solution and analysis of the first puzzle. The analysis is right in the middle of the booklet, which is a bit strange. You're liable to start reading it accidentally before you realise it.

In the booklet you are instructed to press Shift-*- Break to start. In practice I found that Risc OS would happily run the boot file from the deskrop, but sadly, a smooth return is not possible as the exit routine in the program makes a mess of it.

There are 60 crosswords, which is enough to keep all but the most dedicated enthusiasts busy for quite a while. As well as selecting the one of your choice you have the option of somewhat superfluous sound - just a buzz as letters are entered on to the grid.

There is an interesting feature whereby two teams of players can solve the puzzles on the same crossword, competing against each other on a points basis. Each team takes it in turn to select a clue and solve it. Obviously, failing to solve the clue gives it free to the opposing team, so you can develop quite a complex strategy.

Prompts arefairly clear and the program is simple to use. After selecting a clue number you have the option of entering the answer directly or taking advantage of several levels of help.

You can ask for a hint in the form of the convention indicator, orthe starting letter can be shown. Later you have the option to guess, and the computer will indicate which letters are correct, wrong ones being converted to lower case.

If all else fails the computer will offer the solution. Using this feature will subtract the score value from your total.

At any point, through the help system you can cancel with C and then select another clue to work on, or quit the entire game using Q. This I found very useful. In fact, I like the way the help system is set up, as it lets you work at your own level. When you have completed a game you are given the number you solved unaided andthe overall time taken.

An annoying omission is a save facility. I would like to be able to leave an unfinished crossword on the disc and return to it later but without the save option you must work right through or start all over again. The whole idea of using a computer is negated if you have to write down the words you have found each time you stop.

Crosswords are laid out on an adequate, if uninteresting grid, more or less as they would appear in the newspaper. No use is made of the mouse, nor are the Archimedes' graphic capabilities used. Clearly a standard program is being used across a wide range of machines of different makes, which probably makes good economic sense but gives a somewhat unremarkable and pedestrian effect on the 32-bit machine. A racehorse in the shafts of a cart is the picture that comes to mind.

The crosswords themselves are good, being collections of those used in the respective papers. The style and difficulty seems very similar for the Sun and Times crosswords. Perhaps unfairly, I expected the Sun ones to be easier. In the preface they are described as being a few easy ones among the hard ones. But to me, a relative novice, they were hard or harder.

Terry Blunt