We’ve all seen the decline of print newspapers happen steadily over the last decade. It makes sense too: as much as I enjoy a physical newspaper to read, I tend to use free online versions to keep abreast of current events instead. This works just fine for me, although it’s fair to say that there’s one aspect that physical newspapers offer that I’ve not been able to replicate elsewhere.
The puzzles page.
Yep, I’m a sucker for crosswords, and all the puzzles you find nestled within a newspaper’s pages. Until now though, I’ve not been able to satisfy my puzzle hunger sufficiently. I’m aware that there’s plenty of puzzle apps for my phone, even some good ones, but the constant barrage of adverts they subject you to is absolutely maddening. Luckily for me, I’ve found a little puzzle haven where I can while away some time whilst keeping my grey matter sharp.
Online game sites are often full of action games and platformers, but there are some that cater for the puzzler. Here’s a selection of just a few games that I’ve found online that don’t feature annoying ads.
Letter Scramble
This is right in my wheelhouse. I’m useless with numbers, so tend to shy away from sudoku and the like, but word puzzles are my bag! Letter Scramble is a simple game to play, though deciding whether to go for speed or long words is tricky (you get points for both). Tiles glide onto the game screen one by one, and you have to make hit the target for the number of words needed for each round within a time limit. The background music may be gentle and calming, but glancing over at the timer ticking down whilst you’ve forgotten how to spell can be tense!
I’m not ashamed to say that I spent far longer on this than I should have as a self-employed man, but all that puzzling was worth it. Just look at the online leaderboard below (I’m Robbie M). Dominating.
Find Letter Scramble here.
Garden Secrets: Hidden Objects
This is less of a newspaper-style puzzle, and more of a Where’s Wally kind of challenge. There’s several different Hidden Object games, ranging from a circus setting to a kitchen, with each offering multiple levels. Each looks deceptively easy, but you’ll soon find yourself tearing out your hair trying to find the last couple of items.
It’s tricky for hidden item games to pitch the difficulty right, but this one sits just in the sweet spot of challenging but accomplishable. The bigger your computer screen the better for this one!
The screenshot above will test you. Can you find the items? I did…eventually!
Find Garden Secrets: Hidden Objects here.
Daily Crossword
Ahh, there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned crossword is there? I’ve always been partial to the odd crossword, but often find myself scribbling over answers that I only find were wrong after filling in other clues.
With this online version however, you won’t find any such trouble. Of course, that’s because you’re not writing with actual ink, but it’s also because any incorrect letters are shown as red. Correct letters in the right spaces show up blue instead, adding a nice twist to a tried and tested format.
Find Daily Crossword here.
There you have it. Now you can finally forsake your print newspapers and puzzle away to your heart’s content online instead. This really is just a small selection that I’ve chosen. Fans of word searches and sudoku will also find their favourites online. I’d rather you had a go on Letter Scramble though, to try to topple me from the top of the table!