Popularity
Most of the major national newspapers in the UK carry both cryptic and concise (quick) crosswords. The puzzle in The Guardian is well loved for its humour and quirkiness, and quite often includes puzzles with themes, which are extremely rare in The Times. The Independent puzzle also includes themes quite often. However, with its larger circulation, The Telegraph version is probably the most attempted. An indication of the popularity of the genre is that The Times and The Daily Telegraph charge a subscription for their online crosswords, although The Guardian, the Financial Times and The Independent place their daily crosswords online free.
Many Canadian newspapers, including the Ottawa Citizen, Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail, carry cryptic crosswords.
Cryptic crosswords do not commonly appear in U.S. publications, although they can be found in magazines such as GAMES Magazine, The Nation, Harper's, and occasionally in the Sunday New York Times. The New York Post reprints cryptic crosswords from The Times. Other sources of cryptic crosswords in the U.S. (at various difficulty levels) are puzzle books, as well as UK and Canadian newspapers distributed in the U.S. Other venues include the Enigma, the magazine of the National Puzzlers' League, and formerly, The Atlantic Monthly. The latter puzzle, after a long and distinguished run, appeared solely on The Atlantic's website for several years, and ended with the October 2009 issue. A similar puzzle by the same authors now appears monthly in The Wall Street Journal.
In Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne's The Age carry daily cryptic crosswords, including Friday's challenging DA composed by David Astle.
Read more about this topic: Cryptic Crossword
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