the game in britain and america

As it had in the U.S., newspaper publication in Britain opened the door. Interest in the puzzle grew gradually until the 1930s when the crossword may be said to have at last gained a foothold in Europe.

During the 1930s the British were not idle. British puzzlers quickly developed their own style. One of these innovations—the cryptic crossword puzzle—became established and rapidly gained popularity in England and eventually elsewhere in Europe. Credit for devising the rules for cryptic puzzles in England goes to A. F. Ritchie and D. S. Macnutt.

The so-called "British-style" developed in parallel with the American style. British-style puzzles include the cryptic, anagram, double literal, found or hidden clue, sounds like, quotation, charades, and ideals.

• Explore British-style crossword puzzles at the Everything2 web site: click here.

Today there is a great deal of "crossover" between American and British puzzler workers in that citizens of both countries work both styles, yet styles remain different in the two countries. How can we account for these differences?

Cultural differences may account for some of the reasons that crossword puzzles developed differently in the two countries and why they remain different. For example, typically, British crossword puzzles are considerably more difficult than American ones.

Historic accidents also have had a role to play. Grid layouts in British daily newspapers are very different from those in America because cryptic puzzles, which early on became a de facto standard in England, were originally restricted to a set of stock grids because hot-metal printing was expensive. American puzzles, which were simpler, did not suffer the burden of this expense and were free to evolve. Had cryptic puzzles established themselves in America when they did in Britain, perhaps American puzzle grid patterns would resemble those in Britain today.

Although hot-metal printing is no longer expensive, British puzzles continue to employ the old grid patterns because of tradition and British newspaper editors, who dictate that the old cryptic puzzle grids still be used. If British puzzles had moved away from these established patterns when the cost of printing fell, perhaps there would be fewer differences between British and American puzzles today.

• Look deeper into British cryptics; there's a lot to know. Visit the Wikipedia web site page on the subject of cryptic crossword puzzle grids and its other characteristics: click here.