Puzzles, posts, news and general word-chat.

Diabolically Arcane

Bingo. You’ve reached David Astle dot com, a carnival of words, puzzles and more words. Welcome aboard, and have fun.

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Kibitzing

24 October, 2011

Here’s a challenge. Not a Storm, but a watching brief to run across the week, or more. If you head for this digest of big-time Scrabble games, then pick a round and report back on two or three of the more head-spinning plays. That way, if we all do a handful of games each, we can cobble together a precis of the world’s best players, whacking down some of the world’s best plays.

Bizarre words. Amazing escapes. Don’t over do it. One crazy play is all we may need from any game, a few bullet points, or a succulent tidbit with your own light research attached. We won’t be able to cover every game, but just select a round in advance, dip into it, then come back with a mini-report on the forum. (And if you are time-poor, that’s fine too. Maybe this assignment is one to last some time, if we all warm to the challenge.)

To help with an up-coming column, I’ll be focusing on the five final games, between Andrew Fisher and Nigel Richards, and sharing my findings here. Please feel free, word cadets, to do likewise with a round of your choosing. Together we’ll create a hyper-verbal snapshot.

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Rewording The Brain

Focus & memory, lateral leaps & logic - every aspect of cognitive health is lit in Rewording The Brain, a book revelling in how puzzles boost your brain. Part 2 equips your brain to conquer any twisty clue, plus the wild crossword finale. Pop science meets neural gameplay, Rewording is rewarding, and out now.

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Rewording The Brain

Care to renew your noodle? Rewording The Brain explores the latest neural studies, seeing how puzzles (and twisty clues) boost your neurons. Part 2 helps you crack such clues, and prep the grey matter for the crossword showcase to finish. More here

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101 Weird Words (and 3 Fakes)

From Ambidextrous to Zugwang, this mini-dictionary teems with rare or alluring words, plus bonus riddles, puzzles and fun word-facts. Dictionary detective will also nab the collection's three fakes. Ideal for late primary schoolers, or word-nuts in general.

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Gargantuan Book of Words

Sneeze words. Fake pasta. Viking slang. Gargantuan is a jumbo jumble of puzzles & games, mazes & quizzes, tailor-made for that wordy wonderkid in your life. Or anyone in love with letters, secret codes, puns, rhymes, emoji & all things languagey. More here 

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Recent Comments

Riddledom Rave

If you missed my riddle chat with Richard Fidler, then feel free to slurp the podcast at http://ab.co/1I9t1x5

Text-speak is creeping into Scrabble. Where do you sit?
OBVS I'm fine with it
Entrenched stuff - like LOL and OMG - but no more.
Words With Friends, maybe. Scrabble, no
Let the 'real' dictionaries decide first
Just the handy stuff, like FAQ and EUW
I mean, WTF?! No way
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