I thought the campaign would fizzle out but it’s still on, sixth months after it began. Readers continue untiringly sending the “Bring back the puzzles” campaign slogans. But what puzzles do they want brought back? That’s the question I asked at the beginning, without getting any answers. I suspected the messages were phishing or spam. But, as it later turned out, I was dead wrong.
Opinion Editor Mwiti Marete, who also edits letters, was also puzzled. On April 24, 2021, he told me: “Over the past week, I’ve (received) about 100 such letters. I’m not sure whether they are written by humans or bots. Besides, I do not know which puzzles the writers are talking about.”
Two months later, on June 24, 2021, Mwiti again told me: “I’ve been receiving these emails over the past few months. I don’t know what the problem is.” Yet again on July 9, 2021, he said: “The number of these emails has increased. I don’t understand what the readers (or whosever they are) want.”
Most of the messages contain only the three or four words: “Bring back (the) puzzles”. A few of the messages go further, such as George Nalugala’s outcry: “What exactly happened? Why tease us with a discontinued service? I hope somebody seriously reviews this and returns the puzzles as soon as Wednesday next week.”
Charles Ngenoh’s plea emphasizes the educational value of the puzzles. “I request you to bring back the daily puzzles. They have really helped me to build my vocabulary as I try to solve them. I also enjoy finding the words and filling the numbers in the puzzles.”
Omongini Ebinet’s prayer is about loss of life-long enjoyment. “I’ve had fun with puzzles ever since I was a child. I humbly request for the puzzles to be returned,” he says.
The puzzles in the Nation were intact. So, what was the hullabaloo about? The mystery of the cryptic slogans remained until September 2021, when it suddenly dawned upon us that we were not reading from the same page as the puzzle enthusiasts. The problem was that, although the Nation publishes crosswords (Simple and Complex), Sudoku and Codeword without fail, the puzzles were missing online!
Launched the puzzles online
The Nation had, on December 22, last year, launched the puzzles online, offering more than what appeared in print. They included Sudoku, Word Search, Crossword, Oh hi, Oh no, Quento, Sudoku 4×4 and Sudoku 6×6.
“Today, we are pleased to announce the launch of Nation Puzzles on Nation.Africa. This new feature will contain daily crosswords, Sudoku, word searches and so much more that is designed to give our audiences and registered members a fresh way to challenge themselves and stimulate their minds.”
The announcement invited readers to log on to Nation.Africa/puzzles and share “the fun with your friends, colleagues and loved ones”. Unfortunately, the Nation Puzzles were discontinued a few months later. A notice on where the puzzles should be now reads: “Dear reader, your favourite puzzles are briefly unavailable. We are sorry. The puzzles will be back shortly. — Editor.”
Another message reads: “Puzzles are no longer active. We’re sorry to let you know that the daily puzzles can no longer be played here. If you’ve enjoyed the daily puzzles and wish to see them come back, please contact the website owner.”
I don’t know what went wrong. Nobody was talking. I suspect there were copyright problems. In any event, readers should have been told exactly what went wrong and when the puzzles would be restored. Transparency, and exactness, is the hallmark of good journalism. Six months is a long time to wait for puzzles that readers have been told are “briefly unavailable” and “will be back shortly”.
We kept asking, on behalf of readers, when the puzzles would be back. On September 13, 2021, NMG’s Head of Development and Learning, Churchill Otieno, finally told us tersely: “Puzzles have been rebuilt, we are just preparing to relaunch.”
It’s better late than never, we say. Our puzzle lovers should take heart. “God has perfect timing, never early, never late,” to quote a godly saying whose author I don’t know. “It takes a little patience and faith, but it’s worth the wait.”
The Public Editor is an independent news ombudsman who handles readers’ complaints on editorial matters including accuracy and journalistic standards. Email: [email protected] . Call or text 0721989264.
