UPDATE: Can you topple the Giant?

I don't suppose the whole format of the giant could be changed so you don't have to move the clues around. More hints is a good idea. It affects the player's score but gives them the satisfaction of completion.

Sorry, I don't agree. Satisfaction is great, but the challenge surely is why we all love crosswords & puzzles & yes the ultimate satisfaction when we have completed it quickly & without any hints. No unlimited hints thank you.

It's a good idea for the beginner... Until you get used to the types of clues and answers, you need a bit of extra help. Maybe if it took points away every time you use over 10 clues, that might be an incentive for people to limit their use, but still give the big one a go! PS: I agree with stitchpuzz... I hate having to move the clues around on the Giant too :-(

The number of hints doesn't bother me as I rarely use them if I ever do a Giant. I must admit I don't do them very often now as I am sick and tired of moving the clues around! In some of the other crosswords I would like to have a single letter clue instead of the whole word.

In my previous post I meant to say I would like to have a single letter "hint", instead of the whole word.

Dockris congratulations on being an expert crossword puzzle player....you won't need all the hints so it won't affect you anyway. More hints are great for learners. I agree with Daffydill...single letter hints could be handy.

the worst part of the giant is having to move the clue box around. Would it be possible to put the clues somewhere else? eg where chat normally goes or to the side somewhere. I remember reading previously about a way to have the clue box show, but couldn't get it to work. Is there an easy (keyboard) way to swap between across and down and go from word to word without having to use the mouse? (similar to on the lovatts site) Other than that, love the crosswords, wish i had more time to devote to them (and the mag ones!!)

i don't do the giant cos i find moving the clue box a bore. so if that can be fixed , it will be great.Also single digit hints would be great.

Agree with the above poster, is there a way to move the clue box so that it's not on the puzzle? Love the unlimited hints though as previously have avoided this puzzle. Also maybe extra hints on General Knowledge and Cryptic would be good as sometimes they're quite tricky!

I like the idea of being able to find out what the answers are sometimes I can`t quite finish and find it frustrating when I can`t finish the puzzle.

I agree that more hints are handy although if you save the puzzle and re-enter you have full use of hints again. The moving of the clue box is a pain though. I'm having problems at the moment as my SAVE button is no available to me???

I love doing the Giant Crossword but it is so annoying having to move the clues around and at the same time it covers up the answers and you have to move the clues again to see if you have it right. There must be a better way!!!!!

I agree with Daffydill above. I too, would like to have the availability of a single letter hint.thereby not having to lose all the points for that word.

I don't find moving the clue box aside is too great a hassle, as you don't have to work both sides at the same time.

I tried the Giant for the first time yesterday and found it reasonably easy for me and I'm not a whiz with crosswords. I hadn't bothered with it before because I have to keep moving the clue box around. I will do it again though, now I've tried it. I don't think it's hard enough that it needs unlimited hints.

I have tried the giant twice since reading about the "spring cleaning'. Even though I am more of a cryptic and logic puzzler I really did not need unlimited hints for the giant (had to use 3-4). It was a bit tricky having to move the clue box around but I guess that adds to the challenge!! I also cannot understand how a player can complete the puzzle in 6 minutes or less - it would take about that long just to read all the clues and move the clue box around!!!

Give as many hints as the puzzler may require - the only way to learn is by experience and a newcomer may get hooked because they don't get stumped over one difficult clue. If you don't need the hints you don't have to use them.

I Love the Giant. Don't often get the time to do it, but as with all your crosswords, its a challenge and fun. One thing that I think you should do with all the crosswords is allow a LETTER hint instead of a word. Taking a word hint sometimes spoils the fun, whereas taking a letter allows you a bit more of a chance of using the 'old grey matter' to still solve the problem. Maybe there is a way you could offer the option of both. Thanks

I agree with demblues If u do not need the extra hints then u will have a higher score....as we improve we will also need less hints....I agree with a first letter hint if possible and the full word if needed

Would love unlimited clues for the cryptic as I am trying to master comnpleting them. Could be used as a learning tool so that eventually they would not be needed. Never do the giant as the clue box is too annoying, glad to hear it is not just me!

I play shapeshifter often and find it hard to get a score above 8000. How are the other players getting scores at 20000+? Also the first time a person solves a puzzle should be their score. I do not type very fast but know that some people must be solving the puzzle and then doing it again just to get a high score. In reality their first solving is their score . repeating and doing better is a falsehood

i enjoy the giant but do find moving the clues around a bit tiring

much better, makes more fun, learn new words too !!

id like the same unlimited hints on the cryptic and the knowledge crosswords if possible hope more people agree so that u will do like the giant crossword thanks heres hoping u make my suggestion a reality for me

definetly NO it is sufficient as is.One must use our (Grey CELLS)

im . fine with it....as it is.but it takes me a while to finish.......more clues.....i dont think so....makes the brain work harder.....

You know what I dislike with your crosswords? While I know the answer and have spelt it correctly it doesn't accept it! I find this very frustrating. I don't need more clues just the programe to work correctly. Love the games room however, you asked us to respond. :)

And once again I speak my mind lol. I agree with daffydill, I don't need whole word clue, just a letter would be sufficient!

Staff

Hi everyone, thanks for the great feedback! I've just emerged from the laboratory workshop with a significantly wider play window for the Giant Crossword. The drag-and-drop functionality for the clue window still works, though the clue box is controlled so that it cannot obscure the grid. So, maybe it's time to re-visit the Giant Crossword and let us know your thoughts!

Giant is so much more user-friendly now that the clue box has been moved. Thanks for the 'spring cleaning'!

Love the new giant it is so much easier now THANKS SO MUCH !!!

Hi I love doing all the crosswords only problem I have is, the clues, all I need is the first letter , but you give the whole word , well I do not want the whole word I just want the first letter for a clue .. thx

Thanks for changing the clue box position - much easier to handle now. Perhaps as others have suggested single letter clues would be an idea.

Thanks for moving the clue box, it's much better now. :) I like the idea for single letter clues too, maybe something for the future?

Thankyou for moving the clue box. It was really annoying to move around all the time! :)

I too like the new layout.I have no further comments to make

Love the new Giant Crossword format. Thank you - I can now see everything!!!!!

what about making the clue box scroll down when you scroll the window so you can easily see the later across clues?

Thanks for changing the clue box. A scroll feature on all clues would be great. When I first joined the next clue automatically jumped higher up the box. Now to get to the hidden clues you have to click a narrow area below the last completed clue. I like to work all across then down.

the repositioning of the clue box is excellent - more enjoyable to do. Thank you.

love the new format. it's more enjoyable to do, repositioning the clue box an excellent idea. keep it up. thank you

Kudos on the box move, though I am so used to shifting it that it was a little strange. Still think that we should have letter hints as opposed to or in conjunction with word hints. Sometimes all it takes is one little letter.....

It is so much better having the clues on the side instead of having to move the box around. I don't mind unlimited hints because I rarely use them anyway, but single letter hints would be helpful at times.

Thankyou for listening to us and moving the clue box. It is much easier to complete the crossword now. As some others have said, I too would like to have a single letter hint, and also for the clues to scroll so that you can see what the next clue is before you have to hit enter or space, whichever you use.

Cant see any problem with unlimited clues,if you ont want to use them thats up to you.The new format is great thank you welcome back Dr Play xxx

To view the whole crossword press the 'view' button on the top left of your screen and put in 'full view' mode - when finished, press the 2nd button on top right of your screen to restore.

More hints in the General Knowledge crossword would be good too

I like the new format for the Giant. Much better now that I don't have to move the box around. I will play it more often now.

Thanks for the change of clue box positioning. It is a GREAT improvement.

Well I'm sorry but I preferred it the way it was. I have to work with 125% to be able to read the print. Now I either can't see the clues to read them, and when I put it on 125% I have to move the scroll bar back and forth to work on it. So I just find it more difficult now.

Regarding the scrolling of the clues - I have noticed that around the clue numbers 70's to 80's (roughly) the clues seem to scroll so that the next few are visible but then revert to being the last one again. It would be very helpful if they would all scroll so that the next clues can be seen. This applies to all the crosswords, please. I am sorry that whiteant finds the Giant more difficult to use but it does seem as though he is in the minority.

The clue box positionong is fantastic. Thanks it is much easier now.

Cant please all the people all the time,I say, give the guys a break they really do their best.

I think the new format is really great...thanks..

Thanks for listening the clue box is great on the side. It was annoying to keep moving the clue box

I require larger print than the normal. The old format of the moveable hint column was excelent for me, as I could read the clues at the same time that I had the relevant portion of the puzzle on the page at the same time. Now that the clues are outside the puzzle, the whole thing takes up more room and I need to make the print extremely small. For me that is terrible. With the larger print, I have to swap between the puzzle and the clues constantly. A real time-wasting pest.

As to the help, I really prefer single letter clues, rather than the whole word. The original Christine Lovatt site gives single letter clues on her puzzles, why cannot you? I would also prefer unlimited number of clues to each puzzle. I am not competitive, I just want the puzzle solved. I am too curious to leave it part way. If I cannot finish a puzzle, I simply begin again, thus giving me additional clues. So if I am therefore ineligible for the competition, I don't give a(uh)care. I read that there is a sort of drag and drop function for the clues. I will have to investigate that.

how do you boost your score?????

re nanmim comments on the speed with which some people complete a crossword.I am a logic puzzler and I have often wondered how such impossible speeds (to me at least) are achieved. Even if I had the answer it would be hard to complete the puzzle in time. And how would they get the answer? Do they have a 2nd computer/username to achieve this?

Accessing the giant has been impossible since the 8th of september 2010. It has been worse than a petrified marshmallow in it's activity. Otherwise all other games have been fine.

I have just completed my first Giant Crossword.The new layout is great. I like the position of the cluebox & the fact that you can drag it down. As for the unlimited hints, I think they are a fantastic idea for those who need them, (especially for learners). For those of you who don't like hints....Don't use them.

I have just read all the earlier comments only to find out that the new layout is not so new after all.Oh well, better late than never.

I totally agree with demblues. As I'm not a big crossword fan (I always seem to get stuck midway which is very fustrating), having unlimited clues is a big help for puzzlers like me. I look forward to giving the 'Giant' a go!

More hints, please.

I agree with Winnjazza, I'm not a happy girl if I can't work it out so having the unlimited clues will be a bonus!

Have just finished doing giant crossword it is now a pleasure to do thank you

I prefer the cryptic, but I do the Giant from time to time. Relle is right, not getting the answer is very frustrating, so I use the clue button quite often.

I completed the Giant today, using a few hints. I think this format is great. It's a big puzzle so more hints won't hurt. If you don't need them, don't use them.

As pervious comments mentioned, one letter clues would be great. Love heaps of clues, and as also mentioned before, if you don't want them, don't use them, but they will help those who want them, adn sometimes they are needed