I have tried crossword puzzles off and on and never picked up the knack of doing them. I like the fill-ins. But then it is like you, just don't keep up with news, movies etc. I have even tried easy ones. Just not my thing.

Oh, I do them in pen.

For the first time in my entire adult life, I've dropped the daily paper. There were several reasons, all of them due to changes made by the newspaper owners. What a tough decision and not one I came to lightly.

I did all of the word puzzles every day which included two crosswords. I always did them in ink. It doesn't mean anything special if a person does a crossword in ink....you simply don't fill in the squares until almost certain that the word is correct. You double check yourself by solving a word or two that intersects it.

I miss the puzzles and haven't found that doing them electronically is nearly as satisfactory. I would never do a puzzle that told me if my answer was right or wrong....that should be for me to find out.

I used to do the NY Times puzzles in pen--only because I like pens better than pencils. :-)

I got away from them when I left NY, but picked up the habit again when I worked for the university library, where the NY Times was delivered every day. I did a lot better with the Monday or Tuesday puzzles than I did with the Friday ones. Didn't even attempt Sundays.

These days I play Scrabble on my tablet, and Words With Friends on the computer. I'm off crossword puzzles again, but I'll probably go back to them at some point. I have a book of NY times puzzles (old ones) at my bedside....

Love daily crosswords in the paper, but I read that on line and print out the crossword!

I have always loved Crossword puzzles and other word games. I prefer my crosswords to be on paper, and I always use a Bic pen (they write smoothly). I can't really get into online crossword puzzles, but there are a lot of other word games online that I like...and I'm totally addicted to Scrabble on the iPad!

I don't know what I'd do in the mornings if it weren't for my puzzles. We get two newspapers (you're welcome, pammyfay). I also work two cryptograms and a word scramble. At least it gets my brain moving in the morning, if not my body. I do them in ink, but sometimes only I can read what the letters are because I have to write the correct letter over the wrong one.

Alisande, we get the NY times crossword in our local paper. I'm a huge Will Shortz fan!! His puzzles are the best. Yes, as the week goes on, the puzzles get harder. I have a problem with Friday and don't even try Saturday, but Sunday's puzzle is my favorite. I've bought those big books of NY Times crosswords, but they aren't Will Shortz--at least the ones I've had. I'd buy more, if they were edited by him.

I do the crossword puzzle in the Philadelphia Inquirer every day, and in ink.
We get the digital version of the Inquirer ($1.99/wk), and the digital edition allows me to "cut out" the crossword and sent it to our printer at home, I have it print out 2 copies, so both DH and I can do it.I do the same with the Sunday NY Times puzzle.

I do them in ink.

I do crosswords daily... I especially look forward to the Sunday NYT one!

They are all done in pen.

Always on paper. In pen.

I do a daily newspaper crossword and do them in pencil.

I do the Sunday puzzle in the Phila Inquirer by Merl Reagle. I love doiung it on paper and I think that doing them online takes away a lot of the pleasure of puzzling things out. I usually do it in pen but I do write over things. It can get messy.

I really love the Cryptogram and also do the Jumble, but that's so easy I can do it in my head.

We get a daily newspaper and it has both a cross word and a sodoku puzzle. [I do both in pencil by necessity.] Once in a while, I'll try the cross word puzzle, but most of the time, i don't get more that half way through. Our puzzle editor is too obtuse with his definitions.

The sodoku puzzles are fun. In our paper, the difficulty lever begins with the easiest on Monday and then progressing to the most difficult on Saturday. I can solve the Monday thru Wednesday puzzles in reasonabe time, and then the snags begin to appear on Thursday. I can solve the Thur - Sat puzzles, but have to resort to drastic measures becasue these require guesses after the obvious numbers have been filled in. I usually don't bother with the Friday and Saturday puzzle because those are too time comsuming.

I make use of the copier built inot my printer to solve the harder puzzles. After all the obvious numbers have been filled in, I lightly pencil in all possibilities in the remaining squares and then make several copies. I begin experimenting on a copy starting by circling a guess and marking out all eliminations this guess makes. If i can proceed through the entire puzzle ending with a solution, then I have guessed correctly. Most of the time, this does not happen and I must return to a nother copy and make a different guess. Continue making guesses on fresh copies until you find the solution.

Hint: Start the first guess in a square that contains only 2 possibilities. If that one does not work out, then return to that square and try the other possibility. Often, this is the quickest way to find a solution. However, I have encountered puzzles where both guesses have ended in blind alleys which forces one to try a different square.

We have the paper delivered daily and on Sunday and those puzzles are MINE! After reading the paper, that's the last thing I do and I do all the puzzles in ink....I always know it's going to be a good day if I can get all the puzzles completed......

This site will help you out - don't use it unless you have exhausted your brain cells, but once in a while it is a great tool to have:

http://crosswordheaven.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: Online crossword puzzle solver

My first cup of coffe, and the crossword puzzle. . . in ink. It's a routine that can't be changed except for Sunday when I need a bit more time. Actually a LOT more time. I usually can't do much in one day and have go back Monday and Tuesday, and if I can't get close to finished then I give up. I do not believe in using dictionaries and such to help me. If I don't know it and can't figure it out from the context, so be it.

I've never been able to get into doing crosswords online. I need that paper and pen. Sometimes I will wake up in the middle of the night with an answer that has been eluding me and have to get up and see what it opens up in the puzzle.

My morning isn't complete without the two crossword puzzles in our paper. One the NY Times and the other somewhat easier. Before I do the puzzles I do the cryptoquip.

While I do this my husband reads the sports pages and brings me my coffee and English muffin. Oh the joys of being old and retired!!!

SeniorGal -- you've trained your husband very well!