Prize Puzzles – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Prize Puzzles

 

Guidelines for the submission of Prize Puzzles

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

These guidelines have been kindly prepared by Phil McNeill, the former Puzzles Editor for the Telegraph Media Group, in response to some questions that have been put to him.

Can entries be in pencil?

No.

Can Tippex, or similar correction fluid, be used?

Yes.

Can entries be submitted on photocopies?

Yes, as long as the entry itself is in pen.

Can entries be printed from the Telegraph Puzzles website?

Yes. The weekly prize puzzles that appear in the newspaper on Saturday and Sunday also appear on Telegraph Puzzles.  They are not tagged as prize puzzles on Telegraph Puzzles, but if subscribers want to print them out and send them to the address in the newspaper, fair enough.  However, completing the puzzle on Telegraph Puzzles is not an entry: you have to send it in on paper.

There are also separate prize puzzles that can only be entered via Telegraph Puzzles.  These are the weekly Quick, Cryptic and General Knowledge crosswords, each of which carries a £50 prize.

In approximate figures, how many entries do you receive for each of the prize puzzles?

Regarding volumes of entries, I can’t give figures, I am afraid.  In general terms, the Saturday Cryptic and Weekend section General Knowledge get the biggest postbags of the week, with entries in the thousands.

As you would expect, the Enigmatic Variations gets the smallest entry of the week’s crosswords, so if you want to win, that’s your best bet.

As far as more “conventional” puzzles are concerned, the best chance of winning is the Telegraph Puzzles prize puzzles, because they are not open to the full Telegraph readership.

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

Please note that, although other newspapers may have similar guidelines, Phil McNeill was only able to state the policy of the Telegraph Media Group.

Other information, such as the address to which entries must be sent and the closing date for these entries, can be found in the newspaper on the day of publication.  Addresses for submission of prize puzzles can also be found in the Telegraph Puzzles FAQ – questions 40-44.