The Alpha Sleuth® is a spanking-new brand of puzzle invented by Dan Meinking of Cincinnati, Ohio in May 2007. Through collaborations with his brother, John, and associate, Dave Brown, it evolved into its current form which includes three components: a letter-set, a grid, and a phrase.  See example below:   (view as PDF).

The letter-set contains letters (A-Z) to be moved into the grid & phrase. The grid consists of (26) blank and numbered cells.  The phrase is comprised of numbered cells only, while the grid has one of each number. Cells with the same number (grid or phrase) share the same letter.  When finished, the grid & phrase must contain valid words.

 

The numbers are arranged in alphabetic sequence which means the lower the number, the lower the letter it represents, and vice versa.  Very important!  Let's say you determine that 3=E; that tells you 1 and 2 are less than E, and 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 are greater than E.  So... pay close attention to the numbers.

 

Another helpful solving tip is that the grid words are related to the phrase.  So... once you've cracked the phrase, that can narrow down the potential grid words significantly.  Unless otherwise indicated, an Alpha Sleuth® will only contain common words.  For general solving advice, plus a tutorial on solving the above, see our Solving Tips page.

 

For further samples, visit our Sample Puzzles page. 

 

Each Alpha Sleuth® is assigned a solving level from 1 (easiest) to 10 (hardest). Approximate solving skills: