Daniel Jaret author page
1 puzzle by Daniel Jaret
with Jeff Chen comments
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| D | S | L | S | A | T | A | T | P | A | D |
This type of crossword tends to be extremely divisive, engendering sparkle-eyed awe or angering with red-hot ire. When this "total reversal" concept was done back in 2008, the chatter (both ways) went off the charts.
From a technical perspective, it's a fantastic accomplishment. The starting point is to create a specialized list of emordnilap entries (ones that become new, valid entries when reversed). That's only one step in an arduous process, though — matching each entry to its symmetrically-placed partner is a painstaking process. DAP must match PAD, OGRE must pair with ERGO, etc. You can code up the entire filling problem, but that's way past casual programming.
As a solver, I slogged through the 2008 puzzle, fighting through all the choppiness and the ugly fill. I did have a nice moment when I realized why the grid felt so unpolished, though. Remembering that old puzzle, unfortunately, took away from the impact of today's. Hopefully, newer solvers will get through the AMARO ENROL ORAMA pain and appreciate the level of construction difficulty.
Jim Horne and I have discussed this genre many times over the years, trying to figure out the right balance of fun for solvers and amazement over the construction feat. Whatever perspective you side with, kudos are due to Daniel, a debut effort that achieved its goal with fewer words than the 2008 puzzle, and even some nice RACECAR and SPACER / RECAPS features.