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 solved that we don’t think you should miss.” Kind of like staff recommendations at a local bookstore.
Did we miss your favorites? Add them in the comments!
NYT Acrostic: (1/26) by David Balton and Jane Stewart. This acrostic is elegant and satisfying, especially in how it weaves in topical information in the clues and answers. Really fun! – Steve
Puzzmo: Single Ladies (1/27) by kenny & brooke. This theme and revealer would’ve caught my attention no matter what, but the unusual size and grid shape are particularly striking. Here’s to more outlets embracing themes that don’t fit typical 15x symmetry rules. —Rich
Puzzmo: Elevenses (1/31) by Priyanka Sethy & Rajiv Sethy. Another cool grid from Puzzmo: Every single entry is an 11 or a 3. —Rich
Boswords: ($) Afternoon Fourcast (2/2) by Alina Abidi. A standout from this year’s Winter Wondersolve; I loved how intentionally the themers were positioned in the grid. The puzzle pack is available now and well worth it if you haven’t solved. —Rich (and Norah and Steve)
BEQ: Themeless Monday #809 (1/27) by Brendan Emmett Quigley. this week (#809) was just the right level of hard, with a couple of new in-the-language words and phrases and eventually gettable difficult clues. Right in my sweet spot. – Steve
Lutercross: Remember When (1/28). A rare themed puzzle from Matthew with a great payoff – Matt
Wall Street Journal: But You Can Call Me… (1/24) by Matt Gaffney. Nothing groundbreaking here, just plenty satisfying. – Matt
Zerofiftyone: Organized Crimes (1/23) by Ben Wilson. We only found Ben’s site a few weeks ago, and we’ve all been missing out. – Matt
Vox: Punxsutawney Fill (2/1) by Andrew Ries. I didn’t recognize the full theme until the revealer. My favorite puzzle of the Groundhog Day weekend. – Matt
The Hub Crossword: We’ve Got Issues (2/2) by Joon Pahk. It’s a bit of an old standard, theme type-wise, but one of those puzzles where each themer is a little discovery. – Matt
Universal: Insert Bills Here (2/3) by Zachary David Levy. Has it been done before? Sure, but it lends itself to particularly fun themers. – Matt
The New Yorker: (2/4) by Erik Agard. Erik’s unthemed puzzle was the perfect combination of stuff you didn’t know you knew that eventually become obvious, in the language phrases, and new things that are great to learn. – Steve
AVCX+: ($) The Search Goes On by August Miller. This puzzle turns up the heat in both current fill and tricky cluing – Matt
You must be logged in to post a comment.