The Star’s weekly puzzles brought joy like no other to households nationwide.
THERE was a time when a single page in The Star could capture the attention of an entire household.
Every week, families gathered around the newspaper, debating clues, arguing over spellings and reaching for well-thumbed dictionaries in the hope this would finally be their lucky week.
Parents, children and even grandparents joined in, each convinced they knew the answer to that one elusive clue.
Long before Google settled every argument in seconds, The Star’s Jackpot Crossword Puzzle (later known as the Star Rewards Crossword Puzzle) became a ritual for thousands of Malaysians.
First introduced in 1991, the contest returned in several rounds throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s.
The promise of attractive prizes gave readers a compelling reason to linger over the newspaper, crack the clues and learn new words along the way.
From 1991 to 2009, The Star continued to engage readers through a succession of newspaper contests such as the 25-week Bumper Crossword Puzzle and the 20-week Word Puzzle.
Whatever the format, the excitement often stretched far beyond the living room table.
Newspaper vendors sold out and copies disappeared quickly from petrol stations.
Some readers bought dozens of newspapers to improve their chances, while others drove from one post office to another in search of the official entry postcards.
At The Star office, meanwhile, boxes upon boxes of crossword entries arrived from every corner of the country every week, keeping staff busy long after the newspapers had rolled off the presses.
Working with Pos Malaysia, The Star staff painstakingly sorted every entry by hand, bundling them together with rubber bands before preparing them for judging.
Once all the entries had arrived, a panel of judges, made up of heads of department, gathered in a secured room to determine the official answers.
“There were two security guards outside the room,” said Linda Sharini, who was just 24 when she joined The Star’s marketing and services department in August 1992.
“Nobody was allowed in and nobody discussed the answers. Everything was very private and confidential,” she said.
Only after the official answers had been agreed upon did another team of volunteers begin the meticulous task of marking every entry and identifying the winners.
The scale of the competition was enormous. The prizes made every week’s wait worthwhile.
The competition began with cash jackpots. If no one produced the winning entry, the prize rolled over to the next week.
“It could run on for 10 to 13 weeks,” Linda said. “The jackpot could grow to RM30,000.”
Over the years, the competition evolved to include holidays, cars and savings certificates, but the excitement never faded.
Official Pos Malaysia postcards produced specially for the competition also sold like hot cakes.
Looking back, Linda said the prizes were undoubtedly a major attraction. But the competition also became something families enjoyed together.
“It wasn’t just about winning,” she said.
“It was one of those products of The Star that brought people together,” she noted.
Perhaps that is why the Jackpot Crossword still occupies such a special place in the memories of many Malaysians.
Before search engines answered every question, before spellcheck settled every argument and before smartphones became part of everyday life, there was a newspaper on the dining table, a dictionary within reach and a family determined to solve one more clue together.
