The most enticing part of the newspaper isn’t always the headlines on the front. For many, it’s the puzzles in the back.
These classic offerings have existed for more than a century. A long-extinct newspaper called “New York World” pioneered the crossword in 1913. Since then, a range of other puzzles — word searches, noughts and crosses, sudoku and more — have become mainstays in the pages of magazines and broadsheets across the globe.
And for good reason. The benefits of puzzles are numerous. They combine the fun of an engaging game, the thrill of a formidable challenge and the relaxation of a mindful daily ritual.
Let’s explore why newspaper puzzles are so popular, the benefits they provide and how they’ve successfully transitioned from print to pixel.
There are a lot of puzzles that claim to improve players’ cognitive function, but it’s important to note that they aren’t all created equal. Researchers cite examples of brain-training games that fall short — like when a number is paired with a letter, and the player is asked to quickly identify whether the letter is a vowel or a consonant, or if the number is even or odd.
It turns out that these types of narrowly-focused, time-pressured tests of mental flexibility don’t translate to general cognition. In fact, one gaming company received a $50 million fine from the Federal Trade Commission in 2016 for making misleading claims.
Meanwhile, puzzles such as crosswords and sudoku have stood the test of time and can deliver real benefits. A large-scale and widely-reported study conducted by the University of Exeter and King’s College London tested the attention, memory and reasoning skills of more than 19,000 participants aged 50 and over. On average, those who regularly did these classic puzzles had the brain function of someone ten years younger and the short-term memory of someone eight years younger.
What sets these games apart is that they encourage novel and critical thinking. Players sit with their puzzle for a while, trying to make connections between seemingly unfamiliar or unrelated concepts, or recognize patterns and possibilities that never occurred to them before. This type of complex problem-solving recruits several brain regions at once — for knowledge, memory, logic, strategy and a host of other faculties.
For some, puzzles represent a peaceful, solitary endeavor — a daily ritual with a morning coffee, a way to relax while maintaining focus during a study break or a stimulating way to pass the time while travelling. A large part of puzzles' popularity is that they strike the sweet spot between brain training and relaxing.
For others, puzzles are an opportunity for social engagement. Friends or colleagues may challenge each other for fun, competing to see who can solve the day’s puzzle the fastest or make the fewest mistakes. Newspaper puzzles are also a common family tradition, with everyone coming together to solve one or sharing their triumphs in the family group chat — a phenomenon that helped many long-distance families stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even if the daily puzzle isn’t a shared undertaking, it still has a way of becoming collaborative. Puzzlers who are stumped with a clue in the crossword might ask those around them if they have ideas. In this way, puzzles have a built-in social component, and that’s another huge benefit. Whether they’re solved as a team or "gamified” to see who did best, puzzles are a wonderful way to connect with people every day.
We now live in a digital world. News, entertainment articles and the publications that provide them are increasingly consumed via digital platforms, like PressReader, the all-you-can-read digital news platform.
PressReader provides readers with the convenience of digital newspapers, magazines and books, while faithfully recreating the traditional reading experience (along with some enhanced accessibility features).
But it’s not just news that’s gone digital. Puzzles have made the transition, too. Today, when you see a group of friends gathered around the daily puzzle, they’re more likely to have a tablet than a tabloid.
That’s why PressReader now recreates the experience of tackling the daily newspaper puzzle section, too. From crosswords to codewords and wordsearches to sudoku, PressReader offers a daily selection of classic newspaper puzzles. So, PressReader users can now get their favorite newspapers, magazines, books and puzzles all in one platform.
Digital puzzles don't just provide a more convenient option, though. For institutions and industries that often have to create paper copies for patrons, like libraries for example, digital puzzles are a far more sustainable option. Plus, digital puzzles save would-be-puzzlers from the frustration of opening a newspaper or magazine — whether in a library or a lobby — and finding that someone with a permanent pen and too much spare time has already completed everything.
From pen and paper to click and tap, puzzles have found a new home. But one thing’s for certain, they're as satisfying as ever.