David J. Bodycombe (born 1973 in Darlington, Co Durham) is a puzzle author and games consultant. He is based in London, and his work is syndicated to over 300 newspapers internationally. The British public know him best as the author of popular puzzle columns in publications such as the
Daily MailThe Daily Mail is a British daily tabloid newspaper. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper, The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982. Scottish and Irish editions of the paper were launched in...
,
Daily ExpressThe Daily Express is a conservative, British tabloid newspaper. It is a middle-market title, the flagship title of Express Newspapers and is currently owned by Richard Desmond...
,
MetroMetro is the trading name of a free daily newspaper, published by Associated Newspapers Ltd in the United Kingdom...
and
BBC Focus magazine.
He also consults on many television game shows, including
The Crystal MazeThe Crystal Maze was a game show, produced by Chatsworth Television and shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from 15 February 1990 to 10 August 1995. There was one series per year, with the first four series presented by Richard O'Brien and the final two by Ed Tudor-Pole, who made his debut in...
,
The Krypton FactorThe Krypton Factor is a British game show. The show originally ran from 1977 to 1995, and was produced by Granada Television, hosted by Gordon Burns and usually broadcast on the ITV network on Mondays at 7pm. Contestants from across the United Kingdom and Ireland competed in a series of rounds that...
,
The MoleThe Mole was a 2001 reality television series in the UK which was broadcast on Channel Five. Part of The Mole television series franchise it was hosted by Glenn Hugill.-Contestants:-Execution Chart:-Episode 9:...
and
Treasure HuntTreasure Hunt was a popular UK game show, based on the format of the French show La Chasse au Trésor, created by Jacques Antoine. It appeared on Channel 4 between 28 December 1982 and 18 May 1989 and was revived by BBC Two between 16 December 2002 and 2 August 2003.-The game:A team of two...
. He's currently the question writer for BBC Four's lateral thinking quiz,
Only ConnectOnly Connect is a BBC Four quiz show programme first shown in 2008, presented by Victoria Coren. In the series, teams compete in a tournament of finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues. Radio Times's listings usually describe it as "a game of patience and lateral thinking"...
. On BBC Radio 4 he appeared on the quiz
Puzzle PanelPuzzle Panel was a light-hearted, though cerebral BBC Radio 4 panel game that was broadcast between 1998 and 2005. It was written and presented by puzzle columnist for The Guardian, Chris Maslanka....
and devised the cryptic clues for
X Marks the SpotX Marks the Spot was a quiz and panel game that was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1998 and 2006. It could be likened to be a more light-hearted version of Round Britain Quiz. It was presented by the comedian and author Pete McCarthy until his death in October 2004...
. He has written and edited over forty books, including
How to Devise a Game Show and
The Riddles of the Sphinx – a history of modern puzzles.
In 2005 he became a leading author of sudoku puzzles, and he was the first person to have sudokus published in several major territories, including India and Scandinavia. As well as the classic 9x9 puzzle, he pioneered a number of alternative designs which have proved popular with readers all over the world. His games, puzzles and questions also appear in many magazines, and on websites, advertising campaigns, board games and interactive television.
He edits
UKGameshows.comUKGameshows.com is a website dedicated to British game shows. The site currently provides information on more than 1,500 British game show formats from 1938 to the present day, over 500 mini-biographies of hosts, along with numerous other background articles....
, a
wikiA wiki is a website that uses wiki software, allowing the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked Web pages, using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor, within the browser...
-based web site cataloguing UK television and radio game shows.
Television series
- The Crystal Maze
The Crystal Maze was a game show, produced by Chatsworth Television and shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from 15 February 1990 to 10 August 1995. There was one series per year, with the first four series presented by Richard O'Brien and the final two by Ed Tudor-Pole, who made his debut in...
(1991-5) - games devisor
- Sub Zero
Sub Zero is an interactive children's game show based around the show Crystal Maze. The show featured on CBBC on BBC2 from the 21 January 1999 to 11 March 2001...
(1999) - games devisor
- The Mole
The Mole was a 2001 reality television series in the UK which was broadcast on Channel Five. Part of The Mole television series franchise it was hosted by Glenn Hugill.-Contestants:-Execution Chart:-Episode 9:...
(2001) - games devisor, UK series 2
- Treasure Hunt
Treasure Hunt was a popular UK game show, based on the format of the French show La Chasse au Trésor, created by Jacques Antoine. It appeared on Channel 4 between 28 December 1982 and 18 May 1989 and was revived by BBC Two between 16 December 2002 and 2 August 2003.-The game:A team of two...
(2002-3) - clue writer
- Mind Games (2003-4) - puzzle writer
- Starfinder (2003-4) - games devisor
- Inside Clyde (2004) - games devisor
- Tout le Monde Veut Prendre sa Place (France, 2006) - format consultant
- Codex (2006-7) - games designer
- Only Connect
Only Connect is a BBC Four quiz show programme first shown in 2008, presented by Victoria Coren. In the series, teams compete in a tournament of finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues. Radio Times's listings usually describe it as "a game of patience and lateral thinking"...
(2008-9) - question writer/editor
- The Krypton Factor
The Krypton Factor is a British game show. The show originally ran from 1977 to 1995, and was produced by Granada Television, hosted by Gordon Burns and usually broadcast on the ITV network on Mondays at 7pm. Contestants from across the United Kingdom and Ireland competed in a series of rounds that...
(2009) - games designer
- Panic Attack (2009) - question writer
Radio series
- Puzzle Panel
Puzzle Panel was a light-hearted, though cerebral BBC Radio 4 panel game that was broadcast between 1998 and 2005. It was written and presented by puzzle columnist for The Guardian, Chris Maslanka....
(1998-2005) - panellist/contributor
- X Marks the Spot
X Marks the Spot was a quiz and panel game that was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1998 and 2006. It could be likened to be a more light-hearted version of Round Britain Quiz. It was presented by the comedian and author Pete McCarthy until his death in October 2004...
(1998-2006) - clue writer
Books
- The Mammoth Book of Brainstorming Puzzles (1996)
- The Mammoth Puzzle Carnival (1997)
- Lateral Puzzles (1998, reprinted in the US as Mind Benders: Adventures in Lateral Thinking)
- Optical Illusions and Picture Puzzles (1998)
- Codes and Ciphers (1999)
- Reader's Digest Compendium of Puzzles and Brain Teasers (2000, consulting contributor)
- How To Devise A Game Show (2003)
- Number Crunchers (2004)
- Visual Vexations (2004)
- SU DOKU for alle (Denmark, 2005)
- SU DOKU for alle 2 (Denmark, 2005)
- SU DOKU Classic (Denmark, 2005)
- SU DOKU Classic, English version (Denmark, 2005)
- SU DOKU Classic 2 (Denmark, 2005)
- Master SU DOKU (Denmark, 2005)
- Sudoku Classic 2006 Calendar (2005)
- Penguin 2006 Sudoku (2005)
- Penguin Holiday Sudoku (2006)
- Master SU DOKU 2 (Denmark, 2006)
- SU DOKU Classic 3 (Denmark, 2006)
- SU DOKU Classic 4 (Denmark, 2006)
- SU DOKU for alle 3 (Denmark, 2006)
- Penguin 2007 Sudoku (2006)
- Hyper Su Doku (Denmark, 2006)
- Sudoku Classic 2007 Calendar (2006)
- The Riddles of the Sphinx (2007)
- SU DOKU Classic 5 (Denmark, 2007)
- SU DOKU for alle 4 (Denmark, 2007)
- SU DOKU Classic 6 (Denmark, 2007)
- Master SU DOKU 3 (Denmark, 2007)
- SU DOKU Classic 7 (Denmark, 2007)
- SU DOKU for alle 5 (Denmark, 2007)
- Penguin 2008 Sudoku (2007)
- SU DOKU Classic 8 (Denmark, 2007)
- Sudoku Classic 2008 Calendar (2007)
- Penguin Pocket Sudoku (2008)
- Penguin 2009 Sudoku (2008)
- Penguin Pocket Sudoku 2 (2008)
- Penguin 2010 Sudoku (2009)
- Penguin Pocket Sudoku 3 (2009)
External links