Random House Puzzlemaker's Handbook

Rating:
Summary: Still The Best Book on Constructing
Review: It is possible to learn to construct crossword puzzles without The Random House Puzzlemaker's Handbook, but you will save a lot of time and effort by reading this book first.

While other books (by William Sunners and Helene Hovanec, to name a few) cover much of the same territory as The RH Puzzlemaker's HB, Rosen and Kurzban present the information in a clear, step-by-step format that takes you from the history of crosswords to constructing your own simple puzzles, to how to submit for publication. There are exercises and templates, as well.

The book is a little out of date when it comes to markets, since it was published in 1995 and is now out of print with no prospect (at the moment) of a new edition. And the technology has left them behind, too, with nearly every professional constructor using software such as Crossword Compiler. But the rules of the crossword game haven't changed, or the strategies to use when your software has done all it can and you have to come up with that last corner.

The RHPHB also includes chapters on constructing diagramless puzzles and cryptic crosswords, as well as excellent instructions on making acrostic puzzles.

If you can't see paying the going price for this out-of-print and hard-to-find book, maybe you can find it at the library, or even through inter-library loan. It's well worth the wait.