I’m nonetheless very new to Connect Wall puzzle design, and I do not need to make a puzzle that frustrates or confuses potential solvers, so I figured I might ask right here for some recommendation.

Recently I’ve designed a puzzle that mixes a standard Connect Wall puzzle (organizing sixteen phrases into 4 teams of 4 based mostly on a theme) with a wordplay puzzle. In different phrases, it is form of a “wordplay-wall.”

However, as I’ve been designing the puzzle, I’ve began worrying that it is perhaps too obtuse and never have a transparent sufficient entry level for a solver to begin on. Connect Wall puzzles are infamous for having numerous false begins, useless ends and pink herrings that may frustrate a possible solver, and whereas I’ve intentionally designed this puzzle to be troublesome, I do not need it to be inconceivable or fully irritating to unravel. I all the time attempt to design my puzzles so that after you’ve got hit the proper monitor or found out the trick of the puzzle, it is clear the place to go from there and you’ll remedy the remainder of it pretty rapidly. As a consequence, I’ve been fighting find out how to make this particularly difficult Connect Wall extra approachable.

How do I ensure solvers have clear entry factors and know after they’re entering into the proper path on a very obtuse Connect Wall? That is, how ought to I am going about offering sufficient steerage and signposting to ensure it is approachable and that potential solvers may have a good suggestion of the place to begin? (Examples of actually good Connect Walls that you just suggest I have a look at are additionally appreciated.)