David J. Bodycombe (born 1973) is a puzzle author and games consultant based in London. In the UK over two million people a day read his puzzles, and internationally his work is syndicated to over 300 newspapers. The British public know him best as the author of popular puzzle columns in publications such as the Daily Mail, Daily Express, Metro and Focus magazine. He also consults on many television game shows, including hits such as The Crystal Maze, Codex, The Mole and Treasure hunt. On BBC Radio 4 he appeares on the quiz Puzzle Panel and devised the cryptic clues for X Marks The Spot. He's currently the question writer for BBC Four's new lateral thinking quiz, Only Connect. 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, also published by Penguin. In 2005 he became a leading author of sodoku puzzles, and he was the first person to have sodokus published in several major territories, including India and Scandinavia. As well as the classic 9x9 puzzle, David has 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 t