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Cruciverbalist and crossword maker Sowmya Ramkumar has launched a global grid contest to encourage the hobby and keep puzzle lovers entertained throughout the sunny season.
The 1Across 7th Anniversary Gridfest is a month-long carnival of cryptic crosswords organised online by the Bahrain resident to commemorate her Facebook group and blog 1Across, which boasts 350 members, as well as to help combat Covid-19 blues.
More than 140 solvers and 30 setters from the Middle East, India, the US, the UK and Australia are taking part in the contest. They are working on cracking more than 25 cryptic crosswords set by 30 compilers.
“The Gridfest is designed to offer an adrenalin rush to people from the comfort of their homes as they engage in a mentally challenging activity,” said Sowmya, a risk management consultant living in Saar, who is also a cryptic crossword setter for a major Indian daily paper.
“I hope it would encourage more people, particularly youngsters, to take up this hobby. As a mum of a 10-year-old who loves video games, I see the need to get more youngsters away from screens.
“Hobbies that can provide all-round brain activity and instil a love for language and analytical thinking would be invaluable assets in any career they choose later.
“Crosswords have become even more popular during the pandemic, possibly because tackling puzzles can distract people from depressing circumstances and uncertainty of the big unknown and unresolvable issues around us.”
Since August 16, cruciverbalists have been binging on eclectic crosswords with the chance to win exciting prizes.
“This is the third Gridfest organised by the group and is perhaps the biggest virtual cryptic crossword competition of its kind where both solvers and setters will be competing for top rankings and prizes,” she added.
According to Sowmya, who has compiled nearly 200 cryptic crosswords and published two books, the grids in the competition have a number of tantalising themes and secret puzzles buried inside.
Sowmya and the team of Gridfest co-ordinators including Bhalchandra Pasupathy, Ramki Krishnan and Satyen Nabar have vetted each puzzle.
“I am proud to say that we have been able to curate an amazing set of puzzles that brings in unique flavours of each setter’s culture and sensibilities,” said Sowmya. “There has also been a conscious attempt to balance difficulty and entertainment value so that puzzles remain engaging to the audience while remaining challenging for contestants.”
The first stage of the competition features 25 planned puzzles and will end this Friday and the second stage will be held from September 5 to 19.
“We kicked off with our first puzzle Down to Earth on August 16 and since then, we have been publishing a new grid every day,” explained Sowmya.
“The response has been fantastic and more than 90 participants have already managed to crack these grids and submit their answers, even though they have a week’s time for it.
“Results will be announced in the third week of September after the contest ends. After the event, we will compile and publish these grids in our soon-to-be released Volume 3 of Cryptic Crossroads book, which I will be self-publishing in October, to make it available to a wider audience and to showcase the work of these immensely talented crossword compilers.”
The event, sponsored by Paytm India, has also been made possible with the support of Sudheendra Hangal, chief executive officer of Amuselabs, who is providing the software platform for interactive solving and tracking statistics. One of his dedicated staff members is also helping the Group in setting up puzzles on their platform.
“The high-end software makes it possible to solve the grids interactively and seamlessly even on mobile devices. It can handle the volume without any compromise on quality,” she added.
“All submissions received are scored based on accuracy. Although it is not a speed contest, to give it an edge, all correct submissions received in the first 24 hours for each puzzle will score a time bonus.
“In addition to identifying a robust platform that can support multiple devices and the volume of solvers accessing the puzzles simultaneously, we needed to make sure that the puzzles are error-free and of good quality.”
The top three setters and solvers will win prize vouchers worth BD75, BD56 and BD38. In addition, lucky solvers picked from the all-correct entries received for each grid will also be given prizes. Total prizes on offer amount to more than BD489.
While registration has closed, readers can still join the fun by emailing 1acrossgp@gmail.com and Sowmya would be happy to help.
Registration is free and there is still time to catch up.
Visit www.1across.org for details.
