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Really Fun Word Play

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 22, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I love words and playing New York Times Crosswords. It's really fun! It nearly always recognizes what I write in the box, which works well since the puzzles are timed. The puzzles range from easy to difficult so there is something for everyone. My 10 year old can even complete some of the easier puzzles. Anyone who enjoys crosswords puzzles will really enjoy this DS game.

Of the highest or finest quality (9 letters)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

If you enjoy crossword puzzles, this one is a must-have for the DS. The NYT puzzles are, of course, nicely varied in both content and difficulty, but it's the execution that really makes this game shine, from the strong handwriting recognition to the different gameplay modes. Whether you have 5 minutes or 5 hours to play, the ability to save your puzzle at any point and the tracking (and grading) of your results make it an incredibly addicting package. Highly recommended!

Perfect for NYT crosswords junkies

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game comes with three years' worth, plus bonus crosswords (which are the best). As wonderful as it was to be able to do crosswords on such a portable device, and to erase at will, after playing a number of them I realized that I was physically uncomfortable, and preferred pen and paper after all. Not the fault of the game, just the overall electronic experience.
Pros: The interface is well done, uses DS screens and stylus to advantage.
Handwriting recognition generally excellent, you can zoom in/out, save your games, get hints (impossible with paper copies)
Cons: you can only save a limited number of games, which is limiting for someone like me who likes to work on several puzzles at once. Recognition tends to confuse the letters 'I' and 'L' and can seem slow if you're on the timer and waiting to enter the next letter.

Fun puzzles easy and difficult

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The New York Times Crosswords for the Nintendo DS is a great game for those who like to do crossword puzzles. The difficulty goes from fairly easy to fairly difficuly (at least for those who are only casual crossword puzzle doers). You can choose your difficulty with Monday puzzles being the easiest and Sunday puzzles being the most difficult. The puzzles get progressively harder each day of the week. It's a great game for picking up and playing for just a few minutes and it's also good for longer sessions to complete puzzles. There's a built in hint so if you really get stuck you can ask for a hint and it gives you a letter. Puzzles can be timed or not timed. If your puzzles are timed, you can get a letter grade after you completed the puzzle which is based on the time used to complete the puzzle and the number of hints used. This game is geared more for the older crowd and not really for kids. I've found that it's fun to play the easier puzzles with my daughter sitting next to me and she can help fill in some of the words she may know. Overall, a fun crossword puzzle game with lots of puzzles to complete.

It's hard, but that's the fun of it.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I love crossword puzzles, and if they're too easy that's just not fun. These puzzles are challenging, and then they automatically tell you if you went wrong so you can fix it. Works for me!

Shrinking the Times

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is probably the best attempt at I have seen at a crossword using the touchscreen and stylus. The input system is simple, writing the letters in the box is easy. However, this game is not for novices who have never done NY Times styled crosswords or know that the puzzles get harder as the week progresses. It does offer hints, just press the X button continuously and the answer is there!

I like it. I love it. I want some more of it.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 20, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Vocabulary is not my forte, but I love games, so I wasn't sure if I would like this game or not. I ended up really enjoying it - it has different levels, so it was good for the vocabulary-challenged, like myself. Helps me to learn new words, too.

I also have fun playing with my son, who has his own DS - we can play two players with two different DS's.

i wish there were lists of clues...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I love doing crosswords so of course for my new DS Lite I got The New York Times Crosswords, the end all be all in the puzzle world. I can normally do a monday puzzle in fifteen minutes but it took nearly an hour with this game. And it didn't seem any harder except that there is no list of clues to scan as in the printed format of puzzles. You get one clue at a time in the upper screen. I also found it very frustrating when a puzzle clue referred to other answers in the puzzle it being nearly impossible to view the entire puzzle with the numbers showing. I would seriously consider how you do puzzles before you buy this game. Do you scan the clues until one jumps out or do you methodically go through in numerical order? I think this game could have used a little bit more input by people who do daily crosswords then they might have had a list of clues. Also I would have preferred a vertical orientation of the ds lite it seem it would be easier to hold and write. Get a subscription to the times or any other daily paper that carries their puzzles or do The Onion's online. This just isn't the easiest way to enjoy a good puzzle. Do not buy this game if you think fifteen minutes to do a monday is a long time...you know who you are. I still love you Will Shortz.

Great for quick bursts of crosswording

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I actually got a good deal from Amazon when I bought this game last year. They had a buy 1 get 1 and it came out to $7.48 each. I would've definitely bought this for its full price. It's been in my DS for months now. There are TONS of puzzles and what's nice is it has varying levels of difficulty. You also get to save your game and pick up where you left off, so there's no need to finish a puzzle right then and there.

The stylus control is decent, but sometimes the DS will mistake my "R" for an "M" or my "i" for an "L" so you will have to watch the letters at times as you write them. There is an option to turn off the music, which can get annoying. Asking for a hint will cost you a "grade" or two (you have the option to turn off the timer and grading), but you will eventually get a hang of the clues. Best of all, there is no newspaper to recycle and erasing is easy. There's no significant lag in the game, but if the DS doesn't understand your written letter, it will not write anything. The game tells you to alternate between writing in capitals and lowercase so that it "learns and recognizes" your handwriting. There are 4 name slots so if you share a DS, then everyone can have their own "account."

I have yet to test out the multi-player. I like how you can either do a "quick puzzle" or "challenge" (where you can select the day and difficulty of the puzzle). Mondays are easiest so start there. There is also an option for left-handed and right-handed.

great game...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: April 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

but it's sometimes frustrating when it doesn't recognize your letters. using the keyboard function seems to work a little better. also, wish there was a way to download more puzzles from the internet.

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