Participatory Content Through Word Puzzles
Even the simplest of word puzzles are great mind stimulators and can help to enhance the keenness of one’s intellect. Some make the mistake of thinking that word puzzles are only created for older people but nothing could be further from the truth. They are great favorites among people of any age and can be the perfect pastime when waiting in line at the doctor’s office, waiting for a train, at the airport, or in any other situation where time might drag. Crossword solving is still the most popular type of word puzzle but there are many others such as cryptograms, word searches, anagrams and so on.
“Crossword puzzles, anagrams and other word puzzles can build problem-solving skills that are useful both academically and in everyday life”, says Will Shortz, Crossword Editor for The New York Times. The aim of a crossword is to place the correct words in empty black and white squares by solving clues that lead to the answers. Many variants exist but the two most common forms are the ‘straight’ crossword and the ‘cryptic’ crossword. With straight crosswords, the clues are normally very simple definitions for the answers, and are often synonyms. Cryptic crosswords, on the other hand, are typically more difficult than straight crosswords, and can take quite a bit of time to become accustomed to. The clues in cryptic crosswords are also puzzles in themselves, and are often not logical statements.
Godoku is a word puzzle that is derived from the ancient and very popular numbers game ‘Sudoku’. If you have come across sudoku before then you’ll know that it is very similar and will catch on quickly. It’s an alphabetical variation of the original puzzle and is the same except that, instead of nine numbers, godoku uses nine letters. Word puzzles truly have never ever been as popular as they are now. There are literally hundreds of puzzles, games and various other types of ‘mind-benders’ around that involve people in unscrambling words or phrases where the letters have been jumbled and where the teaser is to put back together the original, or create a new one.
‘Stickelers’, the puzzle column syndicated widely across the United States and appearing regularly in some of the largest newspapers in the country, is authored by that brilliant word puzzle creator, Terry Stickels. He has also written (or occasionally co-authored) more than thirty books, the most well known of which is the best-seller ‘The Big Brain Puzzle Book’, which has even been approved by the Alzheimer’s Association. Best known among his puzzles are his ‘frame games’; clever rebus word puzzles (brain teasers that use pictures or symbols in place of words, such as a heart symbol to represent ‘love’) contained within small picture frames. His wide range of word puzzles of all sorts are appreciated by young and old alike.
Anyone who has spent much time on the Internet has encountered websites that require you to solve a distorted word puzzle to “prove that you’re a human” when filling out a form. These are called ‘captcha’ puzzles (short for Completely Automated Public Turing tests to tell Computers and Humans Apart) and display a graphic of a scrambled word or words that can be read by a person but not by a web bot (an Internet robot). It occurred to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University that, because people were decoding distorted text every time they solved a captcha puzzle, they could also be used to help digitize books, such as ancient or classic texts. So, believe it or not, we have the scourge of spammers to thank for enlisting people across the globe to unknowingly help in digitizing important historical works nearly every time they solve a simple word puzzle to register at a website or buy something online!
Word puzzles first became widely established in the popular media such as newspapers, magazines and of course, through the publication of puzzle books. Lately they have established a presence on radio and television but the most significant change is their current ubiquity online. Word puzzles are now available to millions of people on the Internet and have undertaken a considerable revival in popularity. This is nothing short of amazing really when you consider their humble start in New York in the early 1900s. Crosswords are still the most popular of the various types available and probably will always remain so. As well as their entertainment value, which is deemed considerable, studies show that they have very useful potential educational benefits too, such as with spelling, augmenting the vocabulary and helping slow learners and the dyslectic.
Young people can benefit enormously from the various different kinds of word puzzles that are so prolific now, especially those who are having problems picking up word skills. In fact, according to a recent article in ‘USA today’, they can grow their mental flexibility and build their vocabularies through the repeated use of various different word puzzles. At the same time, most children, once they get accustomed to how they work, really relish them and are constantly searching for new and exciting variations. On the whole then, both for young and old alike, word puzzles are extremely beneficial.
Mike Alexander is a ‘content’ expert, having created and edited a print publication with nation-wide distribution. He has several online interests, among which is ClipCopy Content Solutions, where you will find a number of articles covering topics similar to above. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
