Cracking the Cryptic

Last updated

Cracking The Cryptic
Nationality British
Cracking The Cryptic logo.png
Current channel logo
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2017–present
Genre Puzzle
Subscribers668 thousand
Views273 million
Last updated: 154 October 2025
Website crackingthecryptic.com

Cracking the Cryptic (CTC) is a YouTube channel dedicated to paper-and-pencil puzzles: primarily sudoku, but also cryptic crosswords and other types of number-placement, pencil, and word puzzles. They occasionally stream puzzle videogames on YouTube.

Contents

The channel was set up in 2017 by two friends from England: Simon Anthony, a former investment banker, and Mark Goodliffe, a financial director. [1] [2] Anthony is a former member of the UK's world sudoku and world puzzle championship teams, while Goodliffe is a 14-time winner of the Times Crossword Championships and UK sudoku champion. [1] [2]

Each video is generally composed of one of the two hosts presenting a puzzle with given rules and then solving it in real time, with their live commentary. The channel features both standard and variant puzzles. [3]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the channel grew in popularity, and as of 23 June 2025 it had 650,000 subscribers, with the most popular video receiving nearly 10 million views. [4] [5] [6]

The music played at the beginning and end of many videos is Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 16, nicknamed Sonata facile or Sonata semplice. [7]

Other activities

The channel has produced twelve Sudoku apps based on Sudoku variants: Classic, Chess, Miracle, Sandwich, Thermo, Killer, Arrow, Domino and Line Sudoku.

In October 2020, a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign was announced in order to produce a physical book with some of the channel's most popular puzzles. The campaign reached its initial target within 24 hours. [8] A second volume was funded in October 2022.

In addition to paper-and-pencil puzzles, the pair stream puzzle video games such as The Witness , Baba Is You , Blue Prince and Return of the Obra Dinn . [7]

References

  1. 1 2 Clinton, Jane (22 May 2020). "Suduko solving aces become unlikely YouTube stars during lockdown". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 Johnson, Tom (3 July 2021). "Fifty years of The Spectator crossword". The Spectator. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  3. ↑ Bellos, Alex (6 May 2019). "Can you solve it? Sandwich sudoku - a new puzzle goes viral". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  4. ↑ Usborne, Simon (22 May 2020). "Puzzled man solving 'miracle' sudoku becomes YouTube sensation". The Guardian . Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  5. ↑ Schwartz, Nick (21 May 2020). "Watch this genius solve insanely difficult sudoku puzzles". USA Today . Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Marsden, Rhodri (23 January 2021). "Cracking the Cryptic: How the healing art of sudoku became a YouTube sensation". The National . Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  7. 1 2 Bell, Alice (7 September 2021). "These sudoku YouTubers are about to become your favourite game streamers". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  8. ↑ "Update 2: We've Funded!! Cracking the Cryptic's Greatest Hits". Kickstarter . Retrieved 31 March 2021.
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