Okay, so I spent some time today tackling something new, this thing called a ‘splashes crossword’. Thought I’d jot down how it went, more for my own record, really, but maybe someone else finds this sort of thing interesting.
Finding the Puzzle
I actually just stumbled upon it. Was flipping through an old activity book I found tucked away, you know the kind with word searches, Sudoku, and stuff. This one had a section with different types of crosswords, and ‘Splashes Crossword’ caught my eye. Looked different from the standard black and white squares.
First Look and Getting Started
It wasn’t super complicated at first glance, but the grid definitely had these… well, ‘splashes’ on it. Looked like artistic splotches of grey or maybe light blue overlaying parts of the grid. Some squares were partially obscured, which I figured might be part of the challenge.
I grabbed my usual pencil – always pencil for crosswords, right? Found a comfortable spot and decided to just jump in. Started with the ‘Across’ clues, looking for the easiest ones to get a foothold.
Working Through It
The clues themselves were pretty standard crossword fare, maybe leaning a bit towards water or liquid themes, but not overly so. Stuff like ‘Ocean movement’ (TIDE) or ‘Leaky faucet sound’ (DRIP). Pretty straightforward.
- I filled in the easy ones first.
- Then I started using the crossing letters to figure out the tougher words.
- The ‘splashes’ on the grid were a bit annoying sometimes. Had to really look closely to see the number for a clue hidden under a lighter patch, or figure out the square boundaries.
- Made a few mistakes, naturally. Did some erasing. That’s part of the process.
- There was one tricky section in the bottom right corner. The splash pattern there was darker, and the clues were a bit vague. Took me a good ten minutes just staring at that part, trying different combinations.
Persistence paid off, though. Eventually, a word clicked, and the rest of that corner fell into place pretty quickly. That’s always a good feeling.
Finishing Up
It probably took me about 45 minutes all told, maybe a bit longer than a regular puzzle of the same size because I had to squint at those splashy bits now and then. I managed to fill in every square correctly, double-checked against the crossing words.
So, yeah. I did it. The whole ‘splashes crossword’ thing.
Final Thoughts
Was it revolutionary? Nah. Was it a bad way to spend some time? Not at all. The splash effect was mostly a visual gimmick, I think. Added a tiny bit of difficulty just by obscuring things slightly, but didn’t fundamentally change how you solve a crossword.
It was alright. A decent little brain exercise. Glad I tried it just to see what it was. Probably wouldn’t go out of my way to find another one specifically, but if I came across one, I wouldn’t skip it either. Just another variation on a classic pastime.
