Almost every morning, while downing a couple of cups of coffee, I devote an hour and a half or so to numbers-based and words-based puzzles. Sudoku and crossword puzzles, specifically and respectively. Generally, I work my way through two sudokus and one crossword, a practice I’ve been pursuing for the last 11 years. The puzzles keep my brain limber, calm my nerves and provide a healthy dose of satisfaction if I complete them correctly. They are my pals.
Needless to say, I’m anything but alone in regularly attacking puzzles that revolve around numbers and words. Although some folks have no interest in sudokus, crosswords, cryptograms, Wordle, etc., or are interested but don’t have the time, legions of people are engaged with them. With jigsaw puzzles too. And there also are countless fans of the puzzles found in certain books, television shows and movies. To wit, the plots of mysteries, thrillers and the like in which it’s up to professional detectives or private individuals to identify and track down evil doers. I’m definitely drawn to that sort of fare. In recent weeks, for example, I watched the first three seasons of Unforgotten, a British drama series in which police detectives confront what they refer to as historical murders. In other words, newly discovered homicides that took place years before. Solving these crimes requires tremendous persistence and attention to detail. The members of Unforgotten’s police unit that take on these cases are up to the task, and I’m envious of their abilities.
And a few months ago I polished off A Mind To Murder, by the celebrated crime novelist P. D. James. It’s a good story with complicated circumstances, so much so that the lead detective, Adam Dalgleish, whose reputation for exemplary work precedes him, ultimately pursues someone who is not the killer. In the end, Dalgliesh is humbled by his errors and by the uncertainties that always surround him.
I hadn’t given this any thought before, but A Mind To Murder is more lifelike than most mysteries in that respect. Meaning, even the best detective might be thrown way off course. Man, if Adam Dalgliesh can blunder, what does that imply for the rest of us in the greater scheme of things? Oh well, what can you say? Life’s a big puzzle, for sure, one that’s always in flux and requires us to stay on our toes. We’re usually good at deciphering what’s going on, and consequently make appropriate moves to keep ourselves humming along decently. But it’s not always that easy, as we know all too well. Let’s face it, there are a lot of dynamics going on out there at every given moment, not to mention within us. Their interactions can be unnerving. Or worse.
With sudoku and crossword puzzles, though, you don’t run into unanticipated occurrences, emotional flareups, or anything of the sort. That’s because their components are designed to fit together precisely, unlike the components of life. Those are among the reasons why I enjoy sudokus and crosswords as much as I do. Which is not to say, of course, that they can’t be tricky. The most difficult sudokus are tremendously tricky, but can be untangled by applying rules of logic. And though some crossword puzzle creators adore tossing curveballs at us, via the sly wording of clues, that doesn’t change the fact that only one answer exists for each of those clues.
So, I feel as though I’m in a safe zone when I sit down in the morning to sudoku and crossword puzzles. I’m comfortable in their self-contained worlds where, intrinsically, everything is stable and exactly as it should be. What’s more, the peaceful hour and a half I spend with them makes me better able to deal with the noisy real world. Damn straight I give a big thumbs-up to that!
Yeah, Another Blogger 
I’m for whatever helps us deal with the real world.
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You’re not kidding. I couldn’t agree more.
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I like Wordle and the NYT spelling bee, but I don’t get to do them all that often. A very enjoyable post, Neil. Thanks for asking us to think a little about our tendencies toward arrogance and the brain exercises that can bring us back to earth. Cheers.
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Morning, Lynette. I should take a look at Wordle. It’s become very popular over the last couple of years.
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A great story Neil. Well written. I like word puzzles and crossword puzzles also.
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Hi, and thanks for the compliment. Appreciated.
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You can count me in! I love crossword puzzles and do one every day.
Thank you for your philosophical musing, Neil.
Joanna
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Do you do them from certain newspapers?
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Yes. But I get a few different once.
Joanna
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I’m another puzzle nut.
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Nice to hear from you, Peggy. We both are members of the Puzzle Nut Club.
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Motivating. It’s strange this essay found me as this is hiding and seeking for the longest time. Tell me, how are those days, or earlier days if you remember when the puzzle offered no solution, does that alter the course of that day?
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Hey there. Well, I get a little frustrated when I can’t solve a puzzle. But that goes away pretty quickly.
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Glad you enjoyed Unforgotten – definitely a bit different from the usual police procedural dramas. There is a new series in the pipeline which I’m looking forward to.
I used to have a subscription to a magazine with a really challenging page of puzzles but now it’s generally just the Wordle. Your brain must be getting a really good daily workout Neil – well done you.
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Hi, Alyson. I forget how my wife and I discovered Unforgotten. But I’m glad we did.
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Very much enjoyed this piece, Neil. I was only thinking the other day of that old murder mystery trope, the unreliable narrator, and applying it to myself. Like the detective Dalglish you mention, he was deceived rather than enlightened by his predetermined ideas. But only for a while it seems. A humbling but ultimately illuminating experience for him!
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Hi, and thanks for stopping by. You know, in real life most crimes aren’t solved. Which is troubling.
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A daily crossword was part of my routine for many years but not recently. I still occasionally put pen to paper. I find reading is more to my liking nowadays.
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Hi. Reading puts our minds in good spaces. It’s quieting, just like puzzle solving.
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And aint all that the truth, Neil! Cross my heart, I thought of you last night and mused that I hadn’t read one of your posts of late, and low and behold… I am a wordie and my husband does around 3/8 crossword puzzles a day. Re police work, I too am fascinated by the various procedures which often catch the villains, especially DNA. I did some research, and apparently the donkey-work started in the 50’s (by one woman, who sadly died prematurely before she could see its success) and three men, who I believe were Cambridge bods. Two: James Watson and Francis Crick were awarded the Nobel Prize. What a huge difference it has made. Murderers from 20 years ago were soon captured and either jailed or given the death sentence in some States in the US. Some crimes were beyond belief! One man killed his whole family and nearly got away with it, until an Entomologist examined his car-radiator and discovered bugs that proved he was in the area he swore he wasn’t…(the bugs only exist in the State where the crime was committed.) Clever, eh! I can see you writing a crime story… Cheers.
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Thanks for adding your thoughts, Joy. Much appreciated. Your husband truly is a crossword puzzle addict! Do you do the Wordle puzzles? I’m tempted to find out what Wordle is all about — I guess it’s the latest rage among puzzles. Have a good day!
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I love the idea of puzzles, but I’m unskilled at such things, especially Sudoku. I do regularly enjoy the “Sunday Puzzler” with Will Shortz on Public Radio. Shortz is the New York Times Puzzle Editor. The weekly spotlight is challenging and fun.
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Have you seen the documentary called Wordplay? It’s good. Shortz is a big part of it.
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Not yet–I’ll check it out. Thanks.
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Unforgotten sounds interesting, I’ll look for it. I love puzzles too; Suduko, crosswords, Wordle, Nerdle, and even jigsaw! Maybe you’re right, they keep the real world out 🙂 Maggie
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You’re a puzzle addict! I haven’t heard of Nerdle. I’ll take a look at it. Thanks.
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Whenever I’m anxious, I solve some sudoku or crosswords. I just did three sudoku puzzles yesterday before going to bed. Snoozed feeling like my life is in order haha
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Hi. I’m glad they resulted in your getting a good night’s sleep!
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Unforgotten sounds a little like our series called Cold Case beginning in 2003 filmed in Philadelphia. It is very good if you haven’t watched. It is on everyday at 3 on Decades channel. Keep enjoying your puzzles.
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Hey, Joyce. I’ve heard of Cold Case, but never saw it. I just took a look at IMDB to get some info about the show — it was on for a lot of years.
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You make an eloquent case for puzzles of all kinds. Life is certainly a puzzle, isn’t it? And the various types of puzzles reflect this and perhaps even help us deal with the real-life puzzles.
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Working on puzzles helps us see things more clearly in life, I think.
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Yes, maybe so. A form of adult play that helps us cope with all the puzzles of life. Your post certainly has given much food for thought.
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Besides playing on paper, do you do online puzzles? I start my days with Words With Friends and Wordle. I too find it calming.
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Hello, Martie. I do sudoku online. They are on a puzzle site called Brainbashers:
https://brainbashers.com/sudoku.asp
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I’m not good with numbers.
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My outlook on crosswords Neil centers on the fact that if all else fails I can take a peek at the answer for some help if I really need it 😉
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Stop cheating!
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Haha! Me cheat? It’s just a little help every so often Neil… My daughter is a great crossword solver but I really can’t be calling her at work all the time.
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Like you, I pair my puzzles with morning coffee. (Shameless plug: you might enjoy my quirky little book, “Wordle Poems, a Poem a Day for Wordle Nerds,” available on Amazon.) I also play WORLDle, a geography challenge where you guess the country just by its silhouette. (The Pacific islands are impossible.) But my favorite game is the NYT crossword puzzle. I have the app on my phone. On another note, have you seen “Annika,” another Nicola Walker crime series? I think you’d like it.
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Hi there. I know of Annika but haven’t seen it. NW was in a very good mini-series called River, where her character has a very different personality than the one she plays in Unforgotten.
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Good post, Neil. The world can be a puzzling place. Some problems, however complicated, exist within mathematical certainties and have solutions that satisfy us. Then there’s the psychological mysteries where you can never be certain of anything, which can be intriguing and involving, but sometimes the ambiguities and lack of certainties can be pretty frustrating. I think P. D. James was one of the very best mystery writers — Dalgliesh always seems to just slowly absorb the personal dynamics of the setting and then comes to some sort of understanding of the people involved. James dealt with people in her own life with psychological problems, maybe that’s why the books seem so believable.
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Howdy, Robert. Thanks very much for your comments. I’ve read one other book by James, and liked it a lot. On a side note — it took me a lot of time to get my thoughts in order for this essay. I’m not sure they’re straightened out yet. I’m somewhat puzzled!
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Great minds think alike. I’m also a crossword puzzle addict. I go into the NYT archives to print old Friday and Saturday puzzles because they’re my favorites and do one every day at lunch. I also keep a book of NYT puzzles by my easy chair to do at night. Suduko is beyond me. Do you do the “Word Game” in The Inquirer where you have to find a certain amount of words within one word? It’s infuriating because I swear they make up words but sometimes don’t include normal words. But yet I do it every day…
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Afternoon, Debra. The only puzzle I do in The Philadelphia Inquirer is the crossword. If I started adding more puzzles to my crossword/sudoku routine, I’d never get off the living room sofa!
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I love sudoku and murder mysteries too, but not the very gory, harrowing ones. Unfortunately, really well written “cosy mysteries” are hard to find!
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Howdy. Thanks for adding your input. My wife and I watched season one recently of Trapped, a murder mystery set in Iceland. We’re watching season two now. It’s good. Not very gory.
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I would love to get into puzzles like this more often. I don’t mind working jigsaw puzzles but mind puzzles are more problematic for me as I don’t think that way usually. But maybe I just need the practice.
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Hi, Misti. There are primers online for various types of puzzles. Thay can be helpful. I had to look at them to understand what sudoku was all about, and to learn the techniques needed in order to solve sudoku puzzles.
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Thanks for the book recommendations, Neil. I love a good mystery that allows me to try to solve, along with the investigator. I have a daily puzzle routine, too: crossword, diagonal sudoku, Wordle, and Quordle. I like to think they exercise my brain and sweep out the cobwebs. I may be deluding myself.
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Greetings, Donna. I have no doubt that those puzzles are exercising your brain a whole lot. You’re not deluding yourself!
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You just turned on a lightbulb in my head, Neil. I do the Wordle and NYT Spelling Bee daily. (Often I do multiple Wordles on the unlimited site.) Until just now I never realized that puzzles provide a sense of order and completion to my day. I knew I felt a compulsion to do the puzzles, but hadn’t given much thought to why. Very interesting take, thanks!
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Hi, Kim. Working on puzzles is healthful!
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Thanks for helping me understand why my wife is such a crossword & sudoku ritualist. Her explanations, as such, have usually seemed a little understated as she puzzles out a set of numbers or suggestions. I’m beginning to think I get it now. Perhaps it’s not so far from my own obsessions with reading & writing.
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I think that reading and writing put us in the same general headspace as does working on puzzles. They all are activities that require concentration. And they are partly meditative too.
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As both a Wordle fan and a foodie, I also enjoy Phoodle.
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I think I know who Bucks Barbara is. Thanks for the info. I’ll take a look at Phoodle, which I never heard of before.
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I used to be a fan of both crosswords and Sudoku, but have somehow got out of the way of it. I do like my daily Wordle over breakfast though.
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Wordle is a phenomenon. It became popular quickly, and all over the world.
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There’s something addictive about it!
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That’s a novel way of looking at puzzle appeal. I’ve never thought of it but it’s very true. I do all the versions of wordle – dordle, quordle, octordle. It takes less time than number puzzles and solutions from one game can seed the next.
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You’re hooked!
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Ah, mon frere! I share your love of puzzles as a fun brain exercise that doesn’t stress, but calms. For me, it’s a daily dose of The Times Cryptic Crosswords and 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles. I totally get what you said re: puzzles–“…you don’t run into unanticipated occurrences, emotional flareups, or anything of the sort. That’s because their components are designed to fit together precisely, unlike the components of life.” In addition, jigsaw puzzles, for me, are about process, not outcomes–who cares if a puzzle takes me three weeks or three months?– which is a relief in our driven, goal-oriented world. Puzzle on!
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Hi, Amy. I’m not into jigsaw puzzles, but I think it’s charming that they are very popular. And with adults, not just kids. They’ve been around forever, and haven’t lost any of their appeal.
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It’s wonderful that you’ve found your safe zone in solving Sudoku and crossword puzzles. For sure, it’s also an excellent way of keeping our brain active.
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Yeah, we need to grab hold of peaceful situations. They are oases of calm in a very distressing world.
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Just be careful about Wordle. Seriously addictive. I’m occasionally about to go to bed at 11:55 and have to ZOOM over to the Wordle of the day before it vanishes into the next day. Which gets me fully awake, mentally and emotionally, if exhausted physically. Oh well, 2 out of 3 isn’t bad.
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Fran, you might need to go into rehab if your Wordle addiction gets any worse!
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I also find doing crossword and sudoko puzzles very relaxing, and I think you’re right, part of their appeal is that there is one correct answer. Real life is much more confusing, and often what we think is the answer to a situation turns out to be anything but!
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Right, sometimes after we’ve taken actions and made decisions, all we can do is hope for the best.
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An uncle of mine was heavily into Sudoku. He never minded airport or flight delays because it meant he could go buy yet another puzzle magazine from the newspaper stand. 🙂 – Marty
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We get The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper delivered each day. Once every month or two they include a puzzle supplement which contains a ton of all sorts of puzzles. Your uncle would have loved it.
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I’m afraid my brain just does not process sudokus. I’ve tried and failed every time. I do love a crossword though so obviously I am a word person not a number person! 😉 Mel
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Crosswords are a lot of fun. Can you imagine how complicated it must be to create one, even though computers help in designing them these days?
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Nope, that would really do my head in! 🙂
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I hope you will keep enjoying your word, number, and other puzzles for a very long time.
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Thanks, Tanja. I appreciate that.
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…if only we could solve life’s problems with logic.
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Yeah, emotions, circumstances beyond our control and other factors get in the way.
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Oh, I love sudokus and criminal mysteries too. Thanks for reviewing Unforgotten and A Mind To Murder. Will look for it.
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Hi, June. In 2020 I started watching a lot of criminal mystery series on Netflix, Amazon, and other platforms. I love them!
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Wow, knowing that you spend 90 minutes daily on puzzles makes me feel better, because I’m always mentally flogging myself for spending about an hour doing the same! You have me beat! I love that you talk about how puzzles provide you with “a healthy dose of satisfaction.” There’s nothing better than that in life, is there?
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Yeah, life would be awfully dull if we didn’t find satisfaction fairly regularly.
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I’ve tried Sudoku in the past, but just couldn’t grasp it. I enjoy crosswords immensely, but rarely have the time for them. I do enjoy a few from the Wordle archives in the evening. Wordle does a bit of what you describe here: it concentrates attention on one small thing, and in the process brings a bit of centering. And as with any puzzle, there’s always the pleasure of completing one successfully!
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Hi. It’s about 7:25AM where I am. I started a sudoku a little while ago, but messed up somewhere along the line. I’m determined to get it right, so I’m going to start over!
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And here in 6:25 land, I salute you! Try, try again is the lesson these puzzles teach!
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my partner and I spend three mornings a week before breakfast working on 4 Pics 1 Word and crossword puzzles; great fun, togetherness; later on late on a quiet afternoon we may play Scrabble: the fun never ends 🙂
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Hi. Where would we be without words!!?? We wouldn’t be on WordPress, for one thing!
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true; I admire people who construct crossword puzzles; they must be very clever —
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I like puzzles because they remind me that there are right answers, and there are incorrect answers. Nobody’s opinion can solve a puzzle. Some days, I think it’s the only thing in the paper that isn’t influenced by popular opinion on one side or the other.
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Hi. Nice to hear from you, Dan. Right, newspaper puzzles can be hard, but there’s no contentiousness in them.
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It’s so impressive that you can complete a NYT puzzle AND Sudoku in such little time—and so ghastly early in the morning! I’d be interested to hear your opinion of Wordle. I did it for a while, but it wasn’t satisfying enough to hook me. A nice big Sunday NYT puzzle, though…that’s fun that lasts for hours. (And sometimes into Monday!)
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I’ve never looked at Wordle, but have heard a lot about it. For years I’ve been satisfied with sudokus and crosswords. Maybe I’ll add something else to that mix some day. Weshall see!
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You provide a sensible explanation for the mania for such puzzles: of course we’re grabbing order when all around us is chaos. One of my favorite puzzles is the NYT Spelling Bee, which sometimes allows me to reach its “genius” status. Gratification lasts about five minutes; then reality sets in.
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Like the movie title says, it’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world.
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So important for everyone to find the one thing that helps the mind to grow and the soul to find peace.
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Hi. You’re right. It’s a great thing when we’re peaceful mentally and emotionally for even part of the day.
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I’m with you on the word-puzzles…..not so much with the math-based ones, although I do embark on them once every now and then. And I’m with you, too, on PD James.
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Hi. If you have Netflix, here’s a puzzle/mystery series you might like: The Twelve. It’s a courtroom drama, set in Belgium, that goes well beyond the courtroom.
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Puzzles are great for the brain, Neil, and in recent research, show they are almost as good as physical exercise, even simple walking. Since you do both, you should live to at least 100!
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If I increase the number of puzzles I do and the amount of physical exercise I get, maybe I’ll make it to 125!
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Why not? If anyone can do it, you can! I’m rooting for you! 😀
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Hello Neil, My uncle did cross words his whole life. He was so dedicated to them that when he died, at age 97, we buried him six down and three across. Have a great day. Jerry
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An appropriate burial!
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These are some great mental exercises! It’s amazing how our brains will change and create new pathways when we engaged in these types of things. Good for you! 🙂
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Puzzles keep us tuned up!
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I’m not great with Sudoku for the very reason you mention that they’re “untangled by applying rules of logic.” I am more of an intuitive game player. I like the WaPo meta crossword puzzles that are tiny bites of word play, easy to do in a few minutes, great for making me feel smarter.
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Hi. There are SO many puzzles available, it’s very amazing. There is something for everyone, which is great.
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Puzzle world is totally engrossing!
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Hi. It would be interesting to know the kinds of puzzles that people had in ancient civilizations.
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