(I'm borrowing this from a comment I wrote at the Rex Parker blog.)
Some of my favorite themeless constructors have a certain flavor to their work, hallmarks that they use more often than not.
Karen Tracey likes Scrabbly letters and insane-named geographic entities—an exotic curry, perhaps.
Byron Walden likes to build a puzzle around one or two entries with a showy batch of letters in them, and frosts them all with devious clues—imported bittersweet chocolate with nuts, a smoky whiskey.
Harvey Estes tends toward fill that feels light and droll (even in his cryptics in Games), with a smattering of churchy words—a rich soufflĂ©, not something to rush through like a dish of pudding.
Constructors like Bob Klahn and Sherry Blackard seem to go more for straight-up wicked difficulty, like Scotch bonnet peppers. Patrick Berry, perhaps a slightly milder hot pepper.
What flavors do your favorite constructors' styles embody? (And no fair picking someone who bores you and likening their work to Wonder Bread.)
December 09, 2006
Mmm, taste the cruciverbal goodness!
Posted by Orange at 12:42 PM