Crossword editor’s desk: why the Independent’s puzzle should live on

The Independent has an excellent puzzle made by excellent setters. Since 2016, it has, of course, been online-only. We used to link to gems from its cryptics on a weekly basis. Then something changed: the interface. The puzzle player had no links and trying to complete its puzzles was like trying to write on mashed potatoes with a hammer. It felt like it had been removed from the crossword ecosystem.

Many of us have persevered, but the effort it takes to print a PDF is quite the challenge of a solver’s commitment. The Indy is planning to discontinue the crossword, which is baffling since a) the online puzzles could have a busy, happy home with little effort and expenditure and b) puzzles have never been bigger.

On which topic, I am excited to share that the Guardian’s Cluesletter launches on 13 October. You don’t need to be a cryptic devotee to deduce that this will be a wonderful newsletter on all things puzzle-related. Sign up now!

Meanwhile, the winner of September’s Genius is Jude Barker from Nottingham. In Turnstone’s puzzle, solvers remove Fibonacci-related words such as “artichoke” from Fibonacci-numbered clues and indicate their grasp of the theme by placing ZERO at the unclued entry. October’s Genius now awaits your attention.

Finally, thanks for your clues for THEME. The audacity award must go to 10FootClaudicant for the preposterous “eg fish, that we may find in ship I ran haphazardly; picked out of rut in rowboat; or in the appropriate channel at last!”

The runners-up are Peshwari’s casually plausible “Those people with energy, that’s what I’m talking about” and Newlaplandes purposeful “Meet up to tackle hot topic”; the winner is the timely “We ultimately must conclude other people matter”.

Kludos to Falconbridge; to welcome the Cluesletter, please leave clues for NEWSLETTER below, along with any favourite clues or puzzles you have spotted.