A crossword is a form of entertainment based on words. This hobby can be found in newspapers or magazines, in some computer games or in publications specialized in this game. The successful crossword player must have a dose of patience, a large vocabulary, some skill, and some practice.
The mechanics of the game and some strategies to solve a crossword puzzle
A crossword is made up of two sections. On the one hand, a series of definitions of words presented, some vertically and others horizontally, and, on the other, a structure of cells in which numbers appear where the letters corresponding to the definitions are placed. Throughout the game, the player fills in the empty boxes, which intersect horizontally and vertically, hence the name of the crossword.
Each player has their own strategy and tricks to correctly fill in a crossword. Normally, you start by filling in the boxes for which the definition is known with certainty. Other players follow a logical order (first the horizontal words and then the vertical ones) or decide to fill them in on the fly and without a prior strategy. There are players who cannot resist the temptation and look for the solution to the crossword in the publication itself. There are crosswords for all levels and in Spanish the cursed checkerboard crossword is considered to be one of the most difficult to solve.
The possible goals of crossword puzzles
The main motivation of this hobby is to test the skill and ingenuity of the player, so it is a personal challenge. However, they are also useful for learning a foreign language, for improving vocabulary and general culture, for training the mind or as a form of avoidance.
Other entertainments with words
Language not only serves to communicate but we can also play with it. One of the most unique ways is through an acrostic, a type of poem in which the first letters of each verse form a word or a message if read vertically. The scrabble board game bears a strong resemblance to the crossword puzzle, as it is based on the same idea and the words are combined horizontally and vertically.
Do not forget other forms of entertainment with words, such as palindromes (short phrases that can be read indistinctly from left to right or vice versa), the sator square (five words that when combined form a palindrome) or the popular alphabet soup (words camouflaged in a messy set of letters).
Photos: iStock - sturti / Andreas-Saldavs
