Day: March 15, 2024

Reminder: This weekly post is not at all an attempt to pick the “best” puzzles, and we won’t be commenting as critics. Our approach is best described as “puzzles we don’t think you should miss.” Kind of like staff recommendations at a local bookstore.

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Wall Street Journal: Letter Carriers (3/9) by Peter Gordon. The theme is neat, and dense, but really I’m throwing this in here for the clue at 48d. – Matt

Los Angeles Times: Con Test (3/10) by Brian Thomas & Kate Chin Park. Just a really cute theme that I had a lot of fun solving. – Rich

The Atlantic: Caleb’s Inferno (3/10) by Caleb Madison. So devilishly tricky in the lower half. -Norah

Boswords Spring Themeless League: Puzzle #2 (3/11) ($) by Jess Rucks. A tremendously balanced grid that I hope wasn’t lost on solvers in a competitive setting. My favorite themeless of 2024, so far. – Matt

Autostraddle: Mini Crossword is a Lapsed Catholic (3/11) by Kate Hawkins. Silly, fast, and fun with more references than seems possible for a mini, and made my recommendations for 1D alone. -Norah

Bewilderingly: Word Cloud (3/11) by Will Nediger. I have not solved this puzzle yet. It’s a strong recommendation based on the instructions alone, and I have no doubt it will be great once I do get it.– Matt

LuterCross: Talking Big (3/12) by Matthew Luter. I’ve been enjoying so much of Matt’s work lately and this puzzle is a good example of why. I found this one as educational as entertaining. -Norah

AVCX: ($) Edge Play (3/13) by August Miller. August’s note from AVCX says “this puzzle was motivated in part by my rediscovery of Hyrule (after many years) during the pandemic” and for me it felt like exploring for hidden treasures. Fun and modern. -Norah

Puzzmo: Life in Plastic (3/13) by Mark Valdez. An adorable mini theme and a lot of fun evocative cluing. – Norah

The New Yorker: The Crossword (3/13) by Erik Agard. Great themeless grid with a showstopping 1-Across. – Rich & Norah

Fireball: Leaves Stumped (3/14) by Adam Vincent. I had to hold myself back from listing *every* major outlet’s Thursday puzzle this week. This one had a satisfying multi-part “aha moment.” – Matt

The New Yorker: The Crossword (3/14) by Caitlin Reid. I’m on record as preferring tougher themelesses, but The New Yorker’s easy end has been a highlight each of the last several weeks, and this one is no different: smooth as heck while still having interesting fill. Two of my favorite themelesses in a while in the same week. – Matt

Wall Street Journal: Straight to the Source (3/14) by Drew Schmenner. Lovely, tricky theme done well, with colorful entries throughout. – Matt

Crossword Club: Daily Crossword (3/14) by Quiara Vasquez. I don’t usually care about scrabble scores, but a midi with an apt grid shape is a great place to run them up. – Rich

Puzzmo: Happy Pi Day! (3/14) by Adam Aaronson. Honestly can’t believe Adam made this work. – Rich and Norah

Los Angeles Times: (3/15) by Alan Levin. I solved this one as a themeless, did a double take at the revealer after finishing, and it hit me all at once. Elegant work hiding in plain sight. – Matt