Inter-school Cryptic Crossword Contest returns for 2022 edition

A thrilling battle of the brains, the CCCC is open to students of Classes 7–12 across India.

Registrations opened on May 15 for the CCCC Cryptic Crossword Contest, the largest puzzle event of its kind in India.

This story is part of our new Puzzles & Games section. Sign up to start playing, and follow @iepuzzles for more brainy fun.

India’s biggest crossword contest for school students has returned for its 1oth edition this May. Students in Classes 7–12 can now register in teams of two for the ‘CCCC’ Cryptic Crossword Contest 2022, run by Patna civil society group Extra-C.

Recorded by the Limca Book of Records as the largest event of its kind, the CCCC unfolds every year as a pan-India test of memory, vocabulary and crafty wordplay. Registrations opened this year on May 15 on crypticsingh.com.

Schedule for CCCC 2022

Story continues below this ad

The contest will run in three stages from May to November. Stage 1 of the CCCC will have four online rounds that will take place on successive Sundays:

May 29 – Practice Round
June 05 – Round 1
June 12 – Round 2
June 19 – Round 3

For each round, a crossword grid with clues will be uploaded at 2pm on crypticsingh.com. Each team will have to solve and submit the grid by 5pm. All interested teams must register on the official website.

The Practice Round is to familiarise players with the format. After it wraps up, a cumulative leaderboard will be formed using the scores from Rounds 1, 2 and 3. The top 100 teams on this board will qualify for Stage 2, along with the top 20 teams at the end of each round. Scoring will be based on solving speed and accuracy.

Also Read | ‘Life-changing’ jigsaw has $2 million prize… and it’s no scam

Story continues below this ad

Stage 2 will allow teams to choose between face-to-face online or offline rounds. Its top players will then battle it out in Stage 3–a National Grand Finale to be held in New Delhi this winter. Extra-C is yet to release a schedule for these later stages.

Last year’s National Champions were Kuhu Goel and Ashis M, who represented DPS Pune. They were awarded a cash prize of Rs 21,000 and a trophy by Extra-C.

The contest is open to students from any recognised Indian school board. Students from different classes in the same school may also play as one team.

History of the CCCC

The CCCC began in June 2013 as the Sudha All-India Cryptic Crossword Contest (SAICCC). It was launched to mark 100 years of the first known crossword puzzle, published by Arthur Wynne in 1913 in the US newspaper New York World.

Story continues below this ad

In 2014, the contest was rebranded as the CBSE Cryptic Crossword Contest, giving birth to the ‘CCCC’ name. The event is also informally known as the National Crossword Contest.

To give you an idea of its popularity, according to a news report, 10,326 school teams from 378 towns and cities registered for the CCCC in 2021. The event has been held online since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020.

The police said the trio from Chandigarh — Rohan (21), Sumit (22), and Mohit (19) — were dhol players by profession and had procured the weapons due to an old rivalry with local residents.

Suspecting affair, Odisha lecturer assaults wife and her friend, parades them on street

India6 hr ago

A lecturer of Commerce and his associate were arrested for assaulting his wife, garlanding her with slippers and parading her on the road with her male friend. The woman, who has been living separately from her husband, was assaulted and humiliated in public. The incident was recorded and shared on social media. Police have seized evidence and are investigating the matter.

View all shorts

Live Blog