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USA Today Crossword Challenge (DS) Status: Stopped playing - Got frustrated I started playing this game on Friday 2 July, 2021 // I stopped playing this game on: Wednesday 7 July, 2021
Current opinion of this game
No comment, yet.
July 7, 2021 01:59:16 PM
Hey, I did another crossword! And when I completed it turns out I had a mistake - I couldn't tell what it was (you can review the clue, only see what letters you got wrong). Which makes me really suspicious - supposedly crosswords should not work like this! Like, things won't line up (clue and word you put in) such that you can fill the whole thing out and then get it wrong...so... I also still have issues with the writing recognition (writing an "i" does not work if you do a straight vertical line - that's an "L". To get the "i" I have to do a dot and then, very quickly, a short vertical line underneath it). I spent too much time doing "undo" and rewriting. I am curious about other crossword games on the DS though - the dedicated ones, not the "here's a million different games in one"....
July 3, 2021 12:47:50 AM
I can't recall (as I write this), whether I have ever attempted to complete a "real" crossword puzzle entirely on my own. I know I've done some as part of a group (and it was fun) and I've also done the easy/kids ones (like the kind you'd see on a child's menu/placemat at a restaurant. So, I'm hoping that this game will be (somewhat?) like "Good Sudoku" in that it will get me interested in doing crosswords or at least better understand the appeal/strategies/etc.? All of this is a big maybe because - unlike sudoku which is all logic, crosswords rely on vocabulary and that's where I might be weak. I've already played one crossword here - and it was harder than I expected (no easy levels here - or at least I don't think so, it seems like it's just a collection of puzzles that aren't grouped by difficulty or anything like that). I've spent more time futzing with their interface and trying to understand how things work. I don't think it's that friendly or conducive to improving, but we'll see. Interesting features of note: (a) You can either scribble the letter (handwriting recognition is pretty bad) or type in directly from a little keyboard popup. (b) You can write in either pen or pencil. Difference should matter (you have to have everything in pen to "finish" (c) There's a mode where supposedly it will tell you if you've made a mistake. I turned it on to apparently no effect. Perhaps I should have turned on at the start? Either way I was really disappointed. (d) There's a clue system that will fill out letters of a word. What I like about it is that it's limited to the word you choose (so, it can help you get out of a spot). Doing so adds time to your clock - supposedly you're trying to complete the crossword as fast as possible, but I couldn't care less TBH. (e) There's amode to see all the clues - making it easier to find the easy ones and give you a place to start. I enjoyed just scrolling around and tapping, but we'll see. I plan on doing at least one more puzzle, but I don't think I'll try that many more...

USA Today Crossword Challenge (DS)