As the guide is an official document of the National Puzzlers' League, its text is not going to be changed on the website until it is released again. Annotations here, and in the guide, will be linked to each other.
Preface to the Guide
No errata, notes, or updates.
History of the NPL
No errata, notes, or updates.
Membership Information
Faro
has collected a list of all of the noms known to be used by members of the National Puzzlers' League. This is
available as a PDF from the Krewe downloads page.
After publication of the guide, responsibility
for passwords was transferred to the Treasurer rather than the webmaster. This allows the Treasurer to create,
reset, and disable user passwords as members join, forget, or lapse. (Jan/2005 Webmaster)
Sharing the Puzzles
No errata, notes, or updates.
Guidelines for Composing
The printed guide does not includes a list of where to send submissions since offices tend to change every year or
two while the guide is revised approximately every 5 years. The website, however, does include this list
here. (Jun/2004 Webmaster)
Preparing Solution Lists
From: Pebbles
Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007
Subject: [NPL] Solution formats for cryptic crosswords and vowelless forms
To: npl-announceDear Krewe:
In answer to a number of recent questions concerning the accepted format of solutions to vowelless forms and cryptic crosswords, I am giving some guidelines. For acrostical enigmas, all types of rebi, and vowelless forms, only the answer is required. However, also giving the partwords for AEs, the readings for rebi, or the expanded words for vowelless forms is never disadvantageous and may, in fact, be advantageous. If your answer is correct but the expansion (partwords, reading, or expanded words) is wrong, the puzzle is still counted as correct. However, if the answer is wrong, then the solution editor has to figure out if the answer might be an acceptable alternate; it's more likely that an answer will be considered acceptable if the solution editor can see your justification.
For cryptic crosswords, all entries (including unclued entries) must be given, either in list form or in a grid. In addition, any extra requirements specified in the puzzle preamble must be given. But when a clue answer is altered before entry, it is not necessary to give the original clue answer or to show or describe the nature of the alteration. This is easier to clarify by looking at some recent cryptic crosswords. For last December's X-3 and X-4, January's X-4 and X-5, February's X-7, and March's X-2, either a completed grid or a list of all entries is sufficient. For April's X-4, however, in addition to giving all the entries, solvers must also identify the puzzle's honoree.
The Guide states that forms must be submitted in the intended shape, not as word lists. However, some find it difficult to make the shapes correctly inan e-mail submission. Therefore, while the intended shape is preferred, I will accept a word list rather than a messy, undecipherable attempt to create the form shape. Also, non-MW words in forms can be incorrect or omitted without penalty. That is, if two non-MW answers cross, the crossing letter can be left blank or can be incorrect and, if everything else is right, the form will still be counted as correct.
In submitting solutions for the new 3-D forms, please include all the individual squares or whatever shapes, even if they repeat words. It is much easier for me to see where you are in the puzzle that way. (added Apr 9/2007/webmaster)
I trust the above will be helpful. If there are any further questions, let me know at my usual address.
Pebbles
Editorial Verses
No errata, notes, or updates.
Flats
No errata, notes, or updates.
Introduction to Forms
No errata, notes, or updates.
Cryptograms
After
publication of the guide, the "Penrose
Cryptogram Tool" (written by Kite) was uploaded to the website. This
is an addition to Brutus tool (written by Xemu ![[Password required]](/images/pass_30x15.gif "[Password required]"){kind=small}
) that provides solutions for Cryptograms
that are not in current Enigmas.
Extras
No errata, notes, or updates.
Reference Books
No errata, notes, or updates.
Constitution
No errata, notes, or updates.
Bylaws
The League unanimously elected to amend the bylaws as proposed at the 2006 Convention. From the Oct/2006 Enigma:
PROPOSED BYLAW AMENDMENT — by Kray
The following bylaws amendment (with minor changes in wording) was authorized by the business meeting at the 2006 convention for placement on the fall ballot. It has two principal functions.
- It brings the bylaws in line with current practice for selecting convention sites. Several years ago, the convention business meeting voted to begin selecting sites two years in advance rather than one; under the old wording, it was then necessary to formally ratify the choice one year in advance. The new version removes this formality, by making two-year advance selection obligatory (with the usual exception: the Board may be authorized to make a selection later, or to replace a site already selected if it becomes unavailable).
- It fixes a couple of logical problems with the site selection process. Under the current wording, one can bid for any year arbitrarily far into the future, and as soon as one bid is placed for a given year, it becomes obligatory to immediately select a site for that year by a plurality vote. (E.g., at the 2007 convention, where the 2009 site will be picked, I can “poach“ the 2010 convention by prematurely bidding for it.) The new wording removes the obligation to choose (except for the “normal” selection of a site two years into the future); it also removes the specification of a voting mechanism. In each case, the proposal is to replace the underlined text with the prosed text in quotes.
CURRENT BYLAW 4: A business meeting shall be held each
summer at the annual convention. The order of business at the meeting shall be as
follows: reading of the minutes of the previous meeting; reading of the names of
members who have died since the previous meeting, and a moment of silence in
their honor; reports from the treasurer, and from other officers, individuals, and
committees, as appropriate; unfinished business; new business, including
presentation of offers to host the following summer's convention, and election of
the same; miscellaneous announcements; adjournment.
PROPOSED REPLACEMENT: “new business, including presentation of offers to host future conventions, and election of the same;”
CURRENT BYLAW 6(A): A convention of the membership shall be held each summer. The sites of future conventions shall be decided at the annual business
meetings, and a business meeting shall not be adjourned if no site for the following year's convention has been elected, unless the assembly has
authorized, by majority vote, a committee to select the site at a later date.
PROPOSED REPLACEMENT: “and a business meeting shall not be adjourned if sites have not been elected for both of the two subsequent years' conventions, unless the assembly has authorized, by majority vote, a committee to select the site(s) at a later date.”
CURRENT BYLAW 6(B): At a business meeting, any member may present to the assembly an offer to host a future convention. When all offers have been
presented, and after appropriate debate, the assembly shall vote, and the offer
receiving the plurality of votes shall be elected.
PROPOSED REPLACEMENT: “When all offers for a particular year's convention have been presented, and after appropriate debate, a motion may be entertained to vote to select a convention site from among the offers presented.”
Glossary
Terms added after publication:
- non-mw (Apr/2005)
- npl-announce (Apr/2005)
Related information added after publication:
- Ralf P. Olio has an additional article in the FAQ
Supplements to the Guide
As the Supplements to the Guide are outside of the guide, by definition, we are unlikely to add any notes here.
- Hot has provided a new article for Picture Puzzles. (July 2006)
- Fixed a typo in ngforms
- The editors listed in the guid are out of date. See this page for current information.