In 2014, a combination of circumstances brought the journalist from French Canada Richard Hamel to take his passion for words further. His creations of crosswords, hidden words and grid variations that had never been explored before began to be published. Ten years later, his books are sold throughout the French-speaking world, his adventure continues and will give rise to a twentieth work in 2025.
“It’s a great accomplishment to make books. It may seem trivial, but these games make the brain work and teach new words to those who make them. It makes me learn too. I still love it after all these years. The day it becomes a chore, I’ll stop everything,” says the man who would like this hobby to eventually turn into a retirement project.
Creative process
Although designing game books remains a hobby in his busy schedule, Richard Hamel admits to always having word grids in mind and thinking about the vocabulary he uses.
“I make grids every morning. Generally, I finish one every two days, a little less for hidden words. I start by deciding on a theme or a variation in my repertoire of 300-400 themes. Then, I do a search for words that contain on average 3 to 12 letters. When this is done, I find a word that will be the solution to the hidden word and I have to make sure that the letters of this solution are not stuck in the grid. Finally, I make sure that words are written backwards,” explains the one who is published by Éditions Bravo!
The invented games
It is important for Richard Hamel to propose grids that do not yet exist in the world of crossword puzzles. Beyond creating several hidden words, which have become his specialty, the sports journalist has invented or modified three varieties of grids: exploded hidden words, hourglass words and 3D hidden words.
The first book of hidden words bursts was published in the winter of 2024. Richard Hamel designed 140 grids of 12 squares by 12 squares and 15 squares by 15 squares within a year. The game consists of reconstructing each thematic grid with predetermined blocks of letters and eliminating the words from the list in order to discover the hidden word. The level of difficulty varies.
For their part, the hourglass words respond to a funnel principle. From one line to the next, the crossword puzzler must remove or add a letter. Richard Hamel was inspired by a game that already existed and decided to adapt the grid so that it forms an hourglass. To spice up the game, he composes definitions that are more twisted than normal and that cannot be analyzed at face value.
Finally, the 3D hidden words are an original creation of Richard Hamel. His books are sold throughout the French-speaking world, from Belgium to Tunisia to New Caledonia.
These three-dimensional grids require exceptional skill in juggling words and letters, because the grid has three surfaces. “I run the same word on at least two surfaces. I need a list of 50 words per grid, but I only choose about 30. The challenge is to find small words to complete the grids,” he explains.
First variety book
Richard Hamel’s twentieth book will be his very first work combining several different types of games, for a total of 135 original grids, namely 45 Quebec hidden words, 45 3D hidden words and 45 exploded hidden words.
All of Richard Hamel’s books are sold in bookstores, in some pharmacies and on the official Éditions Bravo website!
