BRITAIN: LET'S GET PUZZLING!

The Mail already has Britain’s biggest puzzle pullout. Now to help you and your family through lockdown, there’s more... NEW 8-page bumper puzzles & prizes pullout — from Monday to Friday! £64,000 Trivia Chase game with cash prizes every day — see oppos

WHAT an oasis in the day! That priceless moment when you sit down with the puzzle pages, pick up a pen and start filling in your favourite brain-teaser. For me, it’s the crossword. I’d love to tell you that I race through the clues like a word-crunching automaton, but my colleagues at Countdown would howl with derision.

The truth is that I’m more of a dogged solver — I get my teeth into a clue and I chew on it. I ruminate. I ponder. I’ll put the paper down, make a start on preparing some lunch, with the clue still going round in my mind.

And more often than not, the answer will come to me when I’ve almost given up. But I find that so terribly satisfying.

I feel inordinately pleased with myself as I spell out the last word on the grid, reassured in a small way that everything’s going to be all right. And if we all need one thing right now, it’s certainly reassurance.

That’s why I’m so delighted to announce that, from Monday, the Mail will be doubling what is already the biggest and most entertaining collection of puzzles you’ll find anywhere.

And there’s going to be something to absorb every puzzle fiend. I’m a traditionalist, so I turn to the General Knowledge Crossword, the Master Quiz and the Quick Quiz.

I’m full of admiration for friends and family who can master the wonderful challenges from Japan — there’s three levels of Sudoku (plus Killer Sudoku, Fiendish Sudoku, Sudoku X and Mini Suduko X), Kurosu, Futoshiki, Hidato, Kakuro, KenKen, Suguru and Suko. Never mind solving them, it makes my head spin just spelling them.

It’s always fun to try a new one, especially when you discover they are not as daunting as they look. Train Tracks is quite addictive, and Zygolex is a completely fresh take on the quickie crossword. And from Monday there will be even more ways to boggle your mind, with the addition of my childhood favourite, Battleships, and the inventive Nonograms.

If you haven’t discovered all of these yet, I urge you to be adventurous. You won’t regret it.

I believe there is growing evidence to support the theory that regular mental exercise has many health benefits, not only in keeping the grey matter ticking over, but also for general physical wellbeing.

I’m not a neuroscientist, so I have to take this wisdom on trust, but I am firmly of the opinion that puzzles are especially valuable at times of stress — and medical science agrees. A doctor friend has assured me that quizzes of all sorts, such as Countdown and the teasers in the Mail, are the best antidote to lockdown blues. That’s because they offer routine as well as an entertaining distraction.

MYSISTer-IN-lAw Sarah, for example, says that a good puzzle is almost a ritual for her, a guaranteed few minutes of calm during the busiest days.

Her partner, Malcolm, is a crossword maestro who often gets to work on the cryptic clues almost as soon as he wakes. It’s more important than a morning cup of tea to get his brain working, he says.

I asked Sarah what the attraction of puzzles is for her and she said: ‘It’s very simple — they’re relaxing, they’re calming, competitive if you’re playing with a partner or another family member, they’re intellectually challenging and they become part of the structure of the day.’

The contestants I meet on Countdown certainly prove the notion that intelligence increases when the brain is constantly challenged. I’m in awe of how smart and mentally agile they are.

Some of them conjure combinations out of the random letters to create words that even our dictionary genius Susie Dent doesn’t know.

But most special of all, when I settle down to tackle a puzzle, I know that I’m going to be able to take a breather from the anxieties of the day. The television news is off and I’m not looking at the headlines. we’ve all got too many things to worry about in lockdown, and every one of us deserves a break.

Give yourself that relaxation, focus on a clue or a number and let everything else recede. Your brain will benefit from it and so will your mental health.

right now, what the world needs more than anything is SPUZleZ (anagram, seven letters).