Solving Tips

[afulton]

Lol. We await your storm to the top of the leader boards. Good luck!

[Humphtriptz]

Thanks for all the support I truly appreciate any advice. I am just so thrilled to finally find other crypto freaks such as myself. See you on the podiums lol

[Barnabas]

Earlier, I had asked Pootie (and Bansai) to chime in, and haven't had an opportunity to say thanks to Pootie for responding until now. I did check the top 100, and was amazed at the point totals I was seeing. I have a long way to go if I am to ever crack the top 100. My solve rate is currently a humble 78.1%, although the past few months I have been a little over 80%, which is slowly bringing my total solve rate up. And, I began watching where I was ranked at some point when I was somewhere in the 800's. I believe I'm currently ranked 483rd. So I've cracked the top 500. It is a fun site, and it seems to be filled with generally positive, kindhearted, and helpful people. Thanks again, Pootie... and to all the others here who have added their tips for solving.

[mikehallbackhoe]

i would like to add that the first word is often followed with the term "is the " or "is not" . I would also have to agree that the more you play , the faster you will get. I am not fast compared to most of these folks, but I notice my solve times getting faster each month. what gets me is when I solve a difficult puzzle , with an average solve time of say, 150 seconds, in 27 or 28 seconds, and then discover that bansai solved it in 7 seconds!!! I think to level the playing field , as far as solving times go, bansai should have to play blindfolded

[bansaisequoia]

mikehall, I promise I'm not looking at the keyboard when I type. Somehow, everyone still thinks I still have an unfair advantage. I just can't figure it out(???)


(aerial view of same image)

[mikehallbackhoe]

you actually bring up a good tip for faster solving times, knowing how to type. I don't know how to type, and having to look at the keyboard as well as the screen is definitely a disadvantage. regardless, your solve times are pnenomenal.

[pootie49]

Another tip to look for since many of these quotes are from
ages past...
If you see a ' before a three letter word its usually 'tis.

[kimmie]

If I suspect I have "the," I look through the puzzle for the "th" combination, since it's the most common 2-letter sequence in the language. If I find some, I am more sure I have it right.

A 4 letter word with the middle two letters the same usu. means that the middle letters are "e" or "o". I have never run across a word like this where that's not the case. If calling it 'e' gives you something like a two-letter gibberish word that starts with "e," for example, then you can be sure it's "o."

[bazinga]

I am not sure how helpful this really is, but if you have more than one 1 letter word on the board, 9 times out of 10 the one with the largest number under it is "a" and the one with the lowest number under it is "i".

[kimmie]

If you have 2 one letter words, it is probably also true that the first one is 'I" acting as the subject of the sentence. It would be difficult to start with "a" and then somehow follow it up with "i." "I think horses are a beautiful animal" hard to see it starting with the "a." I don't think this has evre failed me.