Scroll on for our recommendations from the last week of puzzles!
Remember that this is not 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.
Washington Post: Color-Coated (3/17) by Evan Birnholz. This Sunday puzzle has it all for me – an engaging theme, some humor, clean fill, and a payoff that’s totally worth it. – Matt
New York Times: ($) All Over the Map (3/17) by Simeon Siegel. It doesn’t make sense, until it does, and that’s always a fun process. – Matt
Black Crossword: (3/18) by Juliane Pache. A satisfying punch in a mini package. – Matt
Inexact Puzzles: International Relations (3/19) by Zach Obsniuk. This is my kind of themeless — a pinwheel grid and open corners — that’s a bit on the downtrend lately. A banger of a marquee spanner helps, too. – Matt
Universal: What’s This? (3/19) by Tom Pepper and Zhouqin Burnikel. Fun twist on a typical theme structure. – Matt
The New Yorker: (3/20) by Robyn Weintraub. A quintessential Robyn puzzle, with conversational and accessible entries throughout. – Matt
AVCX Classic: Themeless #75 (3/20) by Kate Chin Park. Super fun themeless (and don’t worry, not as “HARD!” as AVCX advertised!) with Kate’s trademarks of clever wordplay and feel-good content. – Norah
Crossword Club: (3/21) by Erica Hsiung Wojcik. Simple and cute mini theme and four nice spanners. – Norah
The Modern: (3/22) by May Huang. Made my recs for the 3D clue alone but so much fun and fresh content all over in this fun midi. – Norah
Puzzmo: Human Reproduction (3/22) by Will Nediger. Fantastically rule breaking with a super on-point title. – Norah
The New York Times: (3/22) by Mansi Kothari and Erik Agard. My favorite NYT themeless of the year so far. – Norah
This puzzle is worth your time for a half-dozen clues alone, never mind the rest of its (high) quality. – Matt
The New Yorker: Mini (3/22) by Kate Chin Park. While I for one am super bummed at the loss of the Friday themed puzzle, if all the easy minis are this good – clean, fresh, and fast – it will be a good consolation. – Norah
The Riddles of the Sphinx: I Pronouns Thee by Anna Shechtman. A clever mechanic in a puzzle that also serves as an interesting and interactive introduction to the book. – Norah & Steve