Cracking the Cryptic

Cracking the Cryptic (CTC) is a YouTube channel dedicated to paper-and-pencil puzzles: primarily sudoku, but also cryptic crosswords and other types of number-placement, pencil, and word puzzles. They occasionally stream puzzle games on YouTube.

Cracking The Cryptic
The words "Cracking the Cryptic" in front of an unfinished Sudoku puzzle
Current channel logo
Personal information
Born
  • Simon Anthony
  • Mark Goodliffe
NationalityBritish
Websitewww.patreon.com/crackingthecryptic
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2017–present
GenrePuzzle
Subscribers557 thousand[1]
Total views189 million[1]
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers2020
Last updated: 27 July 2023

The channel was set up in 2017 by two friends from England: Simon Anthony, a former investment banker, and Mark Goodliffe, a financial director.[5][6] Anthony is a former member of the UK's world sudoku and world puzzle championship teams, while Goodliffe is a 12-time winner of the Times Crossword Championships and UK sudoku champion.[5][6]

Each video is generally composed of one of the two hosts presenting a puzzle with given rules and then solving it in real time, with their live commentary. The channel features both standard and variant puzzles.[7]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the channel grew in popularity, and as of 14 October 2023 it had 557,000 subscribers, with the most popular video receiving nearly 10 million views.[8][9][10]

The music played at the beginning and end of many videos is Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 16, nicknamed Sonata facile or Sonata semplice.[11]

Other activities

The channel has produced eight Sudoku apps based on Sudoku variants: Classic, Chess, Miracle, Sandwich, Thermo, Killer, Arrow, and Domino Sudoku.

In October 2020, a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign was announced in order to produce a physical book with some of the channel's most popular puzzles. The campaign reached its initial target within 24 hours.[12]

In addition to paper-and-pencil puzzles, the pair stream puzzle video games such as The Witness, Baba Is You and Return of the Obra Dinn.[11]

References
  1. "About Cracking The Cryptic". YouTube.
  2. Anthony, Simon; Collyer, Tom (8 April 2019). World Class Sudoku Solver Shares His Tricks! (YouTube). Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  3. Anthony, Simon; Schneider, Kurt Hugo (24 April 2020). This Puzzle Trick Is Not Cheating! (YouTube). Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  4. Anthony, Simon; Goodliffe, Mark; Dai, Tantan (14 February 2021). The Fastest Female Sudoku Player Ever (YouTube). Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  5. Clinton, Jane (22 May 2020). "Suduko solving aces become unlikely YouTube stars during lockdown". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  6. Johnson, Tom (3 July 2021). "Fifty years of The Spectator crossword". The Spectator. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  7. Bellos, Alex (6 May 2019). "Can you solve it? Sandwich sudoku - a new puzzle goes viral". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  8. Usborne, Simon (22 May 2020). "Puzzled man solving 'miracle' sudoku becomes YouTube sensation". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  9. Schwartz, Nick (21 May 2020). "Watch this genius solve insanely difficult sudoku puzzles". USA Today. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  10. Marsden, Rhodri (23 January 2021). "Cracking the Cryptic: How the healing art of sudoku became a YouTube sensation". The National. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  11. Bell, Alice (7 September 2021). "These sudoku YouTubers are about to become your favourite game streamers". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  12. "Update 2: We've Funded!! Cracking the Cryptic's Greatest Hits". Kickstarter. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
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