My introduction to crossword puzzles was through cheating.
Soon I was sitting on the arm of the chair, helping him with some of the clues.
I know thatproperlyyoure supposed to turn over three cards at a time, and I start out that way.
But soon Im turning over one at a time to avoid forfeiting the game.
We all have our own ideas of whatreallycounts as cheating.
Youre only cheating yourself
If youre playing a gameagainstanother person, cheating is a question of ethics.
Theres no such ethics in one-player games, though; the only person youre playing against is yourself.
SinceI write the hints for Connections, a reader once accused me of publishing cheats for the game.
Would you publish cheats about how to beat ATM machines?
Cheating brings us together
Between Connections and ATM machines, only one gives out cash prizes.
If you cheat at Connections, that doesnt affect me in the least.
In fact, Id argue that cheating turns a solitary game into a social one.
Cheats make games more fun
Games have to hit a sweet spot to be interesting.
On the other hand, if theyre too hard, they stop being fun.
Some games have difficulty parameters, or are available in different variations according to the challenge you would like.
Or take Celeste, for example.
The game menu describes why its there: Celeste is intended to be a challenging and rewarding experience.
When a game doesnt provide a tuneable assist, were on our own to provide it.
For example, I wont look up crossword answer keys or what is 34-across today?
but I do allow myself to google or ask around for basic factual information.
You see, this is all in service ofenjoyingthe game.
Every game is made up, really.
Cheating just lets you have some of the fun of making up the rules yourself.
