Meet Ellis

A good solution should explain the path, not just reveal the answer.

Logic • Words • Visuals • Challenges

Hi, I’m Ellis, the founder of PUZZLECRAFT. I began it for a simple reason: too many puzzle books make the first step feel harder than the puzzle itself.

Their instructions are brief, their solutions jump from question to answer, and the most useful part, the reasoning in between, disappears.

Ellis Mercer, founder of PUZZLECRAFT, at his desk with puzzle grids, pencils and wooden puzzles — Ellis MercerFounder & writer

The missing step

Most puzzle books show two boxes. The interesting part is between them.

Most puzzle booksQuestion, then answer.

QuestionAnswer

PUZZLECRAFTEvery decision made visible.

Question→Notice→Record→Rule out→Check→Answer

PUZZLECRAFT takes a slower, clearer approach. Each guide breaks a puzzle into visible decisions, so the next blank grid feels inviting instead of intimidating.

Four visible decisions

What to notice, what to record, what to rule out and how to check.

1

NoticeRead the clue for facts, exclusions and relationships. Separate useful information from distracting wording.

2

RecordKeep every deduction visible on the grid or the page, so nothing gets lost.

3

Rule outCross off what cannot be true. Negative information is half the puzzle.

4

CheckConfirm the result against every original clue before calling it solved.

Ellis Mercer filling in a colour grid puzzle with a pencil, shape cards and wooden puzzles on the desk — At the deskEllis Mercer

How I work

Not above the reader. Beside them.

My role is not to stand above the reader as an expert. It is to sit beside them as a patient guide, curious, methodical and always willing to show the missing step.

Not this

An expert standing above you.

This

A guide sitting beside you.

Curious
Methodical
Always shows the missing step

Four guides · four ways to think

Choose your way of thinking.

Each guide solves a different part of the beginner’s problem. Start with the format that feels most natural, then use the last one to bring the methods together.

LogicLogic from the First ClueGrids, sequences and step-by-step deduction.

A calm, repeatable process for turning written clues into clear deductions.

WordsThe Wordplay WorkshopAnagrams, riddles, ladders and language games.

What to look for when a word puzzle refuses to move.

VisualsThe Visual Puzzle RoomPatterns, spatial thinking and picture problems.

Scan, compare and test one transformation at a time.

ChallengesThe Progressive Brain Teaser Book100 mixed challenges from warm-up to multi-step.

All the methods together, arranged in a clear progression.

Logic • Words • Visuals • Challenges. Find the first clue. Build the next step.

Who this is for

Beginners, returning solvers and anyone who has ever thought: “I would enjoy this if someone showed me where to begin.”

You do not need to be “a puzzle person” to begin. Choose the kind of challenge that draws you in, then learn a process you can use again.