Cryptic crosswords are a fun variation on the basic crossword puzzle concept. The most important difference between a traditional crossword and a cryptic one is in the clues: in a cryptic, every single clue is a lateral thinking puzzle unto itself.

In essence, a cryptic clue leads to its answer as long as you read it in the right way. What the clue appears to say when read normally (the surface reading) is a distraction and usually has nothing to do with the clue answer. The challenge is to find the way of reading the clue that leads to the solution.

A typical clue gives you two ways of getting to the answer, either of which can come first. One part of the clue is a definition, which must exactly match the part of speech and tense of the answer. The other part (the subsidiary indication, or wordplay) gives you an alternative route to the answer. One of the tasks of the solver is to find the boundary between definition and wordplay and insert a mental pause there when reading the clue cryptically.

Either the definition or the wordplay can come first, and they never overlap. As a further hint, the clue is followed by a number in parentheses that indicates the number of letters in the answer.

There are a number of different but reasonably standard techniques employed in the wordplay, including anagrams, charades (breaking down larger words into smaller components), containers (inserting one word within another), reversals (spelling words backwards), homophones (different words that sounds alike), deletions (removing letters from the beginning, middle, or end of a word), double definitions (two different interpretations of the clue give the same answer), and more.

This can sound terribly daunting, but it’s a lot easier than you might think. For example, take the following clue:

Returned beer fit for a king (5)

The phrase fit for a king is the definition and returned beer is the wordplay. Beer is LAGER, returned implies a reversal which gives REGAL, and the definition of REGAL is fit for a king.

Here’s another example:

Power plant lacks a spiritual leader (6)

A power plant is a REACTOR, and a REACTOR that lacks “a” is a RECTOR.

How the heck were you supposed to know all of that? Trial and error, experience, and lucky guesses … that’s what makes cryptic crosswords fun! Here’s a few guides to help you solve cryptic clues:

• National Puzzlers League
• Wikipedia
• The Guardian (newspaper)

Ready to try your hand at an entire puzzle? Although not as common in America, newspapers throughout the British Commonwealth regularly run them. Here are a few online sources for good puzzles that serve them to you absolutely free:

• The Guardian
• The Independent
• The Herald

As a final note here, try solving this one:

Obscure shout before headless lens (7)

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“A cleverly crafted puzzle is a work of intellectual art when the simplicity of its solution is beautifully hidden by the complexity of its design. Such art requires imagination and creativity on the part of the creator and requires the solver to walk the fine line between inspiration and insanity.”

Brian Smith, Author/Creator of the Cerebral Codex

Part novel, part puzzle, part quest … it is difficult to find a single description that adequately describes the Cerebral Codex.

The Novel

The story begins with the protagonists Bret and Jon fighting for their very survival swimming through a rough sea in a raging storm. Sighting an island in the distance, they manage to avoid drowning and swim to the safety of the shore. After recovering on the island, they discover hidden deep within an old stone library the Cerebral Codex, which told a unique and intriguing tale.

In this mysterious environment, the two friends find themselves in a strange place with only the Cerebral Codex to help guide them. They find that the Codex is riddled with mind bending and mysterious mental challenges, which when solved lead them on an adventure like no other.

The Puzzle

As the characters in the novel encounter puzzles, you are given similar challenges to solve. Work to solve the puzzles and uncover hidden information in the codex and begin your own adventure.  This is a multi-stage challenge which has several levels each consisting of a mental challenge (puzzle) followed by a physical challenge.  Can you unlock the mysteries encoded deep within the Cerebral Codex?

The Quest

There are two ways to claim credit for solving the Cerebral Codex. As a cache finder or as a distance solver.

If you choose to find the cache in person, you’ve got quite a trek ahead of you. The Cerebral Codex geocache is set in the heart of the Wharton State Forest in New Jersey, USA. With over 100,000 acres, Wharton is the largest New Jersey State Forest and provides a great backdrop for this challenge.  While the cache itself is located in Wharton State Forest, this adventure will take you well beyond it’s boundaries in search of the puzzle pieces that you need to access the final cache container, the logbook, and the Codex Bonus Cache Travel Bug.

If you decide to tackle this as a distance solver, you’ve got a different sort of trek ahead of you. Download the novel, and read the entire thing. Solve the first ten puzzles to unlock the twenty Meshulash pieces. Use the Meshulash pieces to solve the final puzzle.  When you solve the final puzzle, you’ll be given the tracking code for the Codex Distance Solver Travel Bug.

The Cerebral Codex  was not designed to be tackled in a weekend – it will take thought, time and (if you attempt to find the cache) several trips.

Getting Started

If you are ready to tackle the challenge of the Cerebral Codex, click on one of the following links:

Geocache Hunters: Visit the cache page for GCVJXQ
Distance Solvers: Download the novel and begin solving from home

What is the next number in this series?

1, 11, 21, 1211, 111221, 312211, … ?

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