Cracking The Cryptic

Mark Goodliffe https://youtu.be/iIIwaRVDG2c and Simon Anthony (born: ),https://youtu.be/lknRYxjlRe4https://youtu.be/Lu78GsbXUxc better known online as Cracking The Cryptic, are YouTubers who solve grid based puzzles, mainly sudokus, although sometimes other types of puzzles such as crosswords are featured as well.
== Content ==
The channel uploads daily videos, each focusing on a specific puzzle or sometimes multiple similar puzzles. Each video has either Mark or Simon solving the puzzle, and also includes a link to the puzzle on Cracking The Cryptic's website, allowing viewers to solve the puzzles on their own before watching the video.
Since 2021, the channel has had live streams of various puzzle games, starting with The Witness.
Since 2022, the channel has had daily shorts of Mark solving the previous day's Wordle, titled "Wordle in a Minute". In addition, there was a second daily series of shorts with Mark solving Plusword, though this series was later discontinued.
== Championships ==
Both Mark Goodliffe and Simon Anthony have both represented the United Kingdom in World Sudoku and World Puzzle Championships. Mark has won the Times Crossword Championship 12 times, most recently in 2019,https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-times-crossword-championship-2019-337dtlr27 and is the reigning UK sudoku champion. Simon is the former record holder for most consecutive Listener Crossword solves.Channel introChannel description
==Puzzles==
There are different types of sudokus and other types of puzzles often featured on the channel.
Most of the videos on the channel focus on sudokus. There are many variations of sudokus featured on the channel, and sometimes variations can be combined or twisted. These are some of the most common sudoku types seen on the channel. In addition to these, some puzzles also include more unique rules.
*Classic Sudoku: Only the standard sudoku rules apply, meaning filling a 9×9 grid so that the numbers 1-9 appear exactly once each in each row, column and 3×3 block.
*Diagonal Sudoku: In addition to the standard rules, each of the numbers must also be included in both of the diagonal lines going from one corner to the opposite corner.
*Sandwich Sudoku: In addition to standard sudoku rules, some of the rows and columns must have the numbers between 1 and 9 add up to a specific number.
*Thermo Sudoku: In addition to standard sudoku rules, the grid includes thermometers, where the numbers must appear in a strictly increasing order (no repeats allowed), with the lowest number in the bulb.
*Killer Sudoku: In addition to standard sudoku rules, the grid includes cages, in which numbers are not allowed to repeat, and often require the numbers in the cage to add up to a specific number.
*Chess Sudoku: In addition to standard sudoku rules, there are restrictions based on chess moves. One of the most common variations is one where the numbers in the grid are not allowed to be a knight's move away from the same number.
*Arrow Sudoku: In addition to standard sudoku rules, the grid includes arrows, which consist of a circle and an arrow which starts from the circle (sometimes multiple arrows can start from the same circle). The numbers on the arrows must add up to the number in the circle.
There are a few puzzles other than sudokus and crosswords featured on the channel, which include
*Star Battle: Each row, column and shape in the grid must include exactly two stars.
*Snake: A snake must be placed on the grid where consecutive parts of the snake touch vertically or horizontally. The snake may not touch itself, although two different parts of the snake may touch diagonally. The puzzle also includes rules for non-snake tiles.
==Trivia==
*YouTuber Kurt Hugo Schneider watches the channel, and has also created one of the sudokus featured on the channel.https://youtu.be/O4haLHzdtqg
*Simon is a fan of StarCraft, and was once in the top 5 Masters in the EU. He hates the Protoss and thinks it should be deleted from the game.https://youtu.be/h4tpMbROJJY
==References==
Category:Educational YouTubers
Category:English YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2017