New York Times Crossword Puzzle for the Tablet PC

The New York Times crossword puzzle is widely regarded as the best crossword puzzle around, which is why MSNBC teamed up with the paper to create this little application. Simply download a new crossword puzzle from MSNBC every day to get your fix. Unfortunately, there is a little extraneous MSNBC content at the bottom (as shown in Figure 14.9), but you can just ignore it.

Figure 14.9. Here is a crossword puzzle I downloaded. Notice that you use ink instead of a keyboard to enter the letters.

With Crossword Puzzle for the Tablet PC, you enter the letters using ink instead of a keyboard, making it much more like the paper version. There are even some cheating capabilities built in for those without the patience or knowledge to complete the puzzle on their own.

In the Standard level of puzzling, when you write a letter, it will show up green if you get it correct (and a small version of the letter will also appear in the box next to your written version). If it didn't understand your letter, the ink will turn blue. If it's wrong, it will be red.

In the Master level of game play, you get no cheats. You can't reveal letters, and all letters are displayed in blue, so you're never sure if they're right.

Downloading the Latest Crossword Puzzle

To download today's puzzle, tap on Game, and then on Download Today's Crossword. Alternatively, if you have a keyboard attached to your Tablet PC, you can press F2. When you do, you will see a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 14.10 asking what level of play you want.

Figure 14.10. When you download a puzzle, you will need to tell the application which mode to start the game in.

To switch from Regular to Master mode or back, tap Difficulty, and then the difficulty mode you want.

Pausing, Exiting, and Continuing a Game

If you want to pause the game, tap Game, and then Pause. If you want to exit the game, tap Game, and then Exit. You will be asked if you want to leave, and if you want to save the game. After responding affirmatively, the program will close. The next time you start Crossword Puzzle, it will tell you that you previously saved a game, as shown in Figure 14.11.

Figure 14.11. If you exit a game, it will ask you to save it. When you return, you will see this screen.

Note

You will need Internet access to download the puzzle for the day. Unless you save a game for later, you will need a new download every time you start the game.

To continue the saved game, tap Game, and then Continue Game.

Getting Help

When you're stumped by a puzzle, you can ask for some help if you're playing a Regular-level game. If you're in Master level, you're on your own.

To get help, you can hover your pen over a square, then pull your pen back and tap on the Reveal Letter button in the lower-right corner of the screen. The correct letter will be displayed.

And as I mentioned earlier, when you're playing Regular level, the letters you write will be confirmed as being correct or incorrect as you go.