How I choose the puzzles

People ask how a title ends up as the day's puzzle, so here's roughly how it goes.

Mostly I'm after films and shows in a sweet spot: familiar enough that guessing them is fair, without being so obvious the puzzle's over on the first clue. Too obscure and nobody has a fair way in. Too famous and it falls on the first or second clue, with no real game in it. The ones I want sit in the middle, where you feel you should know it and you get there with a bit of work.

I keep half an eye on balance too. If it's been a run of films I'll drop a TV show in, because a predictable pattern takes the fun out of it. I lean towards films more often than not, partly because there are more of them, and partly because they tend to make sharper puzzles, built around a single famous image and a lead everyone knows. But some television is too good to leave out. Something like #0022 earns its place, and if you haven't played it, go and see how you do.

Once I've settled on a title I put the clues together. Every puzzle uses the same five in the same order, so it stays fair from one day to the next: the year, the box office or number of seasons, the director, a supporting actor, and the lead. I'll find a trailer for the reveal screen, build the page, and it goes into the queue for its day.

I try not to be too clever with difficulty. I'd rather a puzzle felt gettable than leave people staring at the last clue with nothing. The stars on each puzzle are my rough read on how well known it is, which is really a hint at how hard it'll be. Five stars means you're after something huge, so think big.

There's no grand system behind it. I just keep an eye on what makes a good guess and try to make sure no two days feel the same. If you've got a title you think would work, the contact page is there. Some of the best ideas come from people playing.