National Puzzlers’ League

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What is a Form?

As a puzzle lover (and we’re guessing you’re a puzzle lover if you’re here) you might be familiar with a word square, where the same words read both across and down. For example:

FORMER
ORIOLE
RICHES
MOHAVE
ELEVEN
RESENT

Members of the National Puzzlers’ League (NPL) would call this a “form,” specifically a “Square.” Each issue of our monthly magazine, The Enigma, contains several forms, but instead of presenting the words, as shown above, the shape (also called the grid) is given to the solver, as well as the clues. Similar to a crossword, the puzzle is to fill the grid with the answers to the clues. NPL forms can take various shapes. Here is an example of a form called a “Diamond.” Note that unlike the Square above, this one has different across and down words. In the NPL, we would call this a “double form.” 

     M

    RIP

   RESET

  DEICERS

 COSTARICA

WINTERSPORT

GUERRILLA

  TRAINED

   STATS

    EGO

     E

Here’s an example of how a form might appear in The Enigma

LEFT WINDMILL

  1. Device to detect objects
  2. Compadre
  3. Large extinct reptiles
  4. Gathering place
  5. Bus passenger who, on December 1, 1955, became famous for not giving up her seat
  6. Sphere of interest or activity
  7. Building refurbishments
  8. Rounded protuberances
  9. Impudent, or smart and stylish

=WITZ, Vancouver BC

First, check out the title; it tells you the shape of the form, in this case a LEFT WINDMILL (don’t worry, there’s a Guide to The Enigma that lists all the different types of forms; you don’t need to memorize them). After this are the clues. Because this isn’t a Double Form, the down clues and across clues are identical.

Forms also include a byline with the author’s nom and location. This flat was written by Witz, who lives in Vancouver. It was originally published in The Enigma in December 2024.

You can take a shot at solving this or reveal the answers hidden below.

Solution

1) RADAR 2) AMIGO 3) DINOS 4) AGORA 5) ROSAPARKS 6) ARENA 7) REDOS 8) KNOBS 9) SASSY

In The Enigma you will find all kinds of variations on Forms – different shapes, putting multiple letters in a square, even removing all of the vowels. If creating or solving Forms sounds like fun to you, please consider joining the NPL.