Sir, – Louis O Flaherty (Letters, June 7th) is the latest reader to express disbelief in the authenticity of the leaderboards of the online version of your crosswords.
The solution to the mystery is simple. A software bug in the app resets the clock after one hour so if you want to top the leader board delay entering the final answer until an hour has elapsed. The leaderboard is meaningless, and even if this bug were fixed, there will always remain ways to “game” the system, so enjoy the crossword and forget about the time! – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL CLEARY,
Ballyhaunis,
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Co Mayo.
Sir, – Recent letters have pointed to those who complete the online Simplex crossword in 1.31 minutes and find this a somewhat incredible achievement. Ponder on those who complete the Crosaire in a similar time. The Crosaire consists of 28 clues; each clue is made up of three elements (total clues = 84) which can be fused together to get the solution if it doesn’t seem obvious. What one needs to do is think about each clue for 0.015595223807524 seconds (ie 1.31 minutes divided by 84) before fusing the elements in zero time to solve the clue. One must also type the solutions as one thinks. This proven method should enable others to achieve the dream 1.31 minutes target solution. Simple really. The only danger being your head may fall off or explode while working at this speed but that’s a small price to pay to get your nickname on that leaderboard. – Yours, etc,
JOHN GAFFNEY,
Carrick on Shannon,
Co Leitrim.
Sir, – It takes me a week to complete a Crosaire crossword. If I’m lucky. – Yours, etc,
HUGH McDONNELL,
Termonfeckin,
Co Louth.