On searching the internet for difficult crossword puzzles I find that the New York Times is often mentioned. But is there a rating system? If so how does it work?
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asked Jun 2, 2014 at 18:41
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1$\begingroup$ Pretty much any rating system will have some sort of subjectivity into it. $\endgroup$– user88Jun 2, 2014 at 18:55
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3$\begingroup$ Days of the week: Monday easiest to Sundays hardest. That's how NY Times crosswords are regarded. $\endgroup$– mgkrebbsJun 3, 2014 at 0:12
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4 Answers
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As mgkrebbs stated, the most widely known system for ranking the difficulty of crossword puzzles is by the day of the week. The New York Times is famous for doing this, with many other crosswords following in its footsteps. Monday is the easiest and Saturday is the hardest, with Sunday puzzles being larger and having the difficulty of about a Thursday puzzle. The biggest jump in difficulty is from Tuesday and Wednesday as the words get longer and longer and the clues get trickier. Hope this helps.
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$\begingroup$ Is this ranking system used outside of a publishing date? $\endgroup$– user20Jun 7, 2014 at 1:03
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$\begingroup$ I would've said that the big jump in difficulty is from the Friday to the Saturday puzzle, but my own solving skills generally peter off in the Thursday-Friday range... $\endgroup$ Jun 19, 2014 at 23:12
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There is a big contrast with Sudoku rating. For Sudoku, there is a list of techniques for solving and an agreed ranking of the difficulty of the techniques. The further down the list you go, the harder the puzzle. Between lines of puzzles, the number of stars may vary but the order of difficulty generally remains the same. For crosswords, there is nothing of the sort. Any difficulty rating is in the eyes of the constructor/editor. Yes, generally as you go through the week they get harder, but what one person finds difficult somebody else may find easy.
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A simple metric I use for judging quality, could also be used for difficulty — but only somewhat. The lower the density of black cells, the longer the words are and the harder was for the puzzle to be constructed, so there's bound to be harder entries in it.
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There is a great deal of subjectivity involved. There is also a degree of compatibility between the constructor and the solver that enters into the equation.
