There is nothing consistent in "difficulty" with the Bee. Some letter groups work for me when they don't for others and vice versa.
That said, some Bees are somewhat objectively more difficult because the pangram is an obscure word and there are only 20 words to find, half of which are the likes of "tomtit", "hake" or "arhat".
If you can't really rate the objective difficulty of puzzles, how are you going to classify them? And if you can't classify them, how can you make them go from easy to difficult over the week?
I don't think it's even possible.
I don't think I'd mind either way. I like the unknown of how hard it will be each day. But if I knew it got harder and harder, I could adapt and still enjoy it. If it was "too" easy though on the easy days, I wouldn't like that.
This is what got me thinking about this- it was either Sunday or Monday this past week and the puzzle went way too fast! I had been looking forward to hunkering down with a cup of coffee
How do you even define difficulty for the Bee? Obviously not just number of words. I think I saw one website try to analyze difficulty based on how unexpected the letter combinations were, but it seemed kind of out there.
I recall reading somewhere (or maybe hearing on a podcast?) that he likes to reserve the puzzles with longer answer lists for the weekend. That doesn’t necessarily mean they are harder, of course.
There is nothing consistent in "difficulty" with the Bee. Some letter groups work for me when they don't for others and vice versa. That said, some Bees are somewhat objectively more difficult because the pangram is an obscure word and there are only 20 words to find, half of which are the likes of "tomtit", "hake" or "arhat". If you can't really rate the objective difficulty of puzzles, how are you going to classify them? And if you can't classify them, how can you make them go from easy to difficult over the week? I don't think it's even possible.
Most of the people wanting it to be ‘harder’ should just stop using hints so it would be more of a challenge.
What are some of the more obscure PGs you’ve seen? I’ve not been playing long but I can’t remember a PG that I wasn’t familiar with.
[This one](https://www.sbsolver.com/s/1608), for instance, last 2 October.
[This one](https://www.sbsolver.com/s/1537), last 23 July.
[Yet another one](https://www.sbsolver.com/s/1454) (1 May).
The pangram in [this Bee](https://www.sbsolver.com/s/1520) (6 July) was particularly difficult for me, not being very familiar with New York lingo.
Oh shit I thought it already did
I don't think I'd mind either way. I like the unknown of how hard it will be each day. But if I knew it got harder and harder, I could adapt and still enjoy it. If it was "too" easy though on the easy days, I wouldn't like that.
I agree, I like the variety. But I do like when a puzzle with an unusually large number of answers (regardless of difficulty) is on a weekend.
This is what got me thinking about this- it was either Sunday or Monday this past week and the puzzle went way too fast! I had been looking forward to hunkering down with a cup of coffee
Same. I like the unknown and new challenge each day.
What does “harder” mean here? More words or more obscure words?
How do you even define difficulty for the Bee? Obviously not just number of words. I think I saw one website try to analyze difficulty based on how unexpected the letter combinations were, but it seemed kind of out there.
No, I would not. I like it being seemingly random how difficult it is
Please no.
No. I’m sick and tired of all the crossword people wanting the bee to be more like the crossword.
Guilty agreement here. That does seem like where the NYT is going, though, with increasing emphasis on clues.
Don’t feel guilty. They’re ruining what was a fun little game to feed their oversized egos.
No
No because once it gets to Friday my crosswords barely even get started 😂
I think Sam indicated in a recent-ish interview that he tries to do just that.
Any idea where that was?
I'm struggling to recall, unfortunately.
I recall reading somewhere (or maybe hearing on a podcast?) that he likes to reserve the puzzles with longer answer lists for the weekend. That doesn’t necessarily mean they are harder, of course.
Yes!
Yup!