Listener 4541 - Doing The Rounds By Extent

[kdgs2]

This was an interesting challenge - easy to get off to a flying start but I got quite bogged down in the 12-letter answers. The grid structure and the format of the Round clues were new to me, which always makes for a bit of a learning curve. But everything seems scrupulously fair and unambiguous, so thank you eXtent (another new setter?).

[IainGrace]

Yes, agreed. Initially slightly misread rubric and failed to spot the clue numbers (!), which made it appear even more daunting. Numerical next week presumably.

[Hagen]

Despite the daunting grid and confusing preamble, the facile straight answers suggested this was going to be a pushover. Wrong. With lots of cold solving, jumbles, and putting entries in one or two letters at at time (what I call sticky label syndrome) this was a heck of a challenge and I was grateful for the easy straight clues. It did get a bit easier as the grid filled up, though I'm not sure I'd have completed this without the help of electronic anagram finders.

In the early stages I wondered why I waste my life like this, but as the solve progressed I realised I was enjoying myself enormously and was quite sorry when it was all over.

I believe eXtent is a partnership of eXternal and Serpent, both of whom have set Listeners in their own right.

Yes I think it's a numerical next week. Perhaps this fiendish challenge was intended to give those of us who don't bother with numericals something to do next weekend?

[contendo]

It took me ages to realise that the 12-letter round answers did not include the letters in the periphery, so consequently I was getting nowhere. Now I realise that you ignore those letters and use the triangular spaces I feel that life is too short, so bang goes my 100% record for 2019.

[Flocker14]

In all my Listener years I can't remember spending so long on an end game - definitely a three pipe problem - and now feel almost ready for rehab.
Having said that, this was superbly constructed and a real challenge once you got past the deceptively simple early clues. I shan't forget trying to pin down and arrange those jumbled 12 letters in a seemingly endless succession of interlinking circles in a hurry. Most enjoyable, if a trifle gruelling. Many thanks eXtent!

[sunny-dave]

Very fiddly indeed - after an almost trivial first set of entries, the gridfill then became an interesting challenge - and (eventually) a very satisfying one as it all began to slot into place.

Not often we see a genuinely new grid/entry system - congratulations to Extent on finding this new means of entertaining us.

[emcee]

As with others, I found the puzzle really began with the augmented clues leading to the 12 letter answers. I solved 10 of the 19 reasonably quickly but some of the remainder were very tough.

The last two that held me up for so long were 18 and 28.

I don't envy John Green's job in having to meticulously check entries for this one. I bet he's hoping there won't be too many!

Good puzzle -- impressive construction whereat a unique solution was guaranteed. Thanks, eXtent.

[upsetter]

Better late than never, we escaped with our sanity more or less intact.

Thanks eXtent.