Spiral puzzle
A spiral puzzle is a word puzzle in the form of a spiral. The puzzle is formed of a long chain of letters, which spell out a list of clued words when read in either direction.[1] The solutions to the left are entered in the boxes from 1 to 100. The responses to the right provide another set of words that must be entered from 100 to 1.[2] The final solution can consist of a number of boxes, sometimes in colored horizontal, vertical or diagonal rows.
Clues
A description such as 20-26 means that the first letter of the word must be entered in box 20 and the last letter in box 26. The requested answer in that example therefore has 7 letters. The next clue then starts in box 27 and so on to the center of the spiral.
Every square of a spiral puzzle has a single letter written into it by the solver, but the solution can be read in either direction. For example, the letters "I M P U G N I N G I S" could be given a clue for the answers "IMPUGNING" followed by "ISLE" in one direction, and "SIGNING UP" followed by "MILE" in the other.[1]
The lack of crossing words makes spiral puzzles more difficult to solve. For more difficult types of spiral puzzles, the numbering in the spiral is missing.[3]
Spiral puzzles in one direction
There are also spiral puzzles where words must be entered in only one direction.[4] The last letter of one word is also the first letter of the next word.[5] Without overlapping letters, this puzzle is no more than a quiz with the appearance of a puzzle. For more difficult types of spiral puzzles, the numbering in the spiral is missing.
Variants
- There are also Jigsaw puzzles where a spiral has to be placed with puzzle pieces.[6]
- Three-dimensional spiral puzzles can be taken apart. The individual pieces must then be reassembled. The correct way of turning and pushing slides is related to 'spiral' in these 3D puzzles.[7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shortz, Will (2017-12-16). "Will Shortz Explains How a Spiral Puzzle Comes Around". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/16/insider/will-shortz-spiral-puzzle-mania.html.
- ↑ "June 2016: The Spiral – Games World of Puzzles". https://gamesmagazine-online.com/june-2016-the-spiral/.
- ↑ "Spiral Puzzles Guide | Puzzler®". https://www.puzzler.com/puzzles-a-z/spiral.
- ↑ "Spiral Anagram Puzzle Worksheets -- Activities sand Worksheets: EnchantedLearning.com". https://www.enchantedlearning.com/english/anagram/write/spiral/.
- ↑ "Mini Spiral" (in en). That's Life!. 7 Feb 2019. https://www.pressreader.com/australia/thats-life-australia/20190207/282355450973275.
- ↑ "Volledige turquoise puzzel brede hoek - stukken samen in de vorm van een spiraal past-". https://nl.123rf.com/photo_1807826_volledige-turquoise-puzzel-brede-hoek-stukken-samen-in-de-vorm-van-een-spiraal-past-.html.
- ↑ "Spiral Cast Puzzle Solution". https://www.instructables.com/Spiral-Cast-Puzzle-Solution/.
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