It’s been quite a while since our last News & Notes, so most of this will be brief link dumps. However, we’re making sure to get this out today, as registration for the 2026 ACPT opens for previous attendees at noon Eastern (a little less than 12 hours after this email) on January 1st.
The last few years have seen both tournament and hotel spots sell out earlier and earlier, and Will Shortz has announced that the 2026 tournament will be the last in Stamford, as the ACPT moves to Philadelphia in 2027, so interest in this year’s tournament is likely to be sky-high.
More information – and at noon tomorrow, registration – at the tournament website.
Crossword Con, hosted by Puzzmo, will once again take place on the Friday of ACPT weekend in Manhattan. There’s little more than a “save the date” right now, but that’s enough to make plans if you’re interested.
Many thanks to all who donated to our annual fundraiser. If you did donate, and you haven’t received the puzzles, either something has gone wrong or I haven’t been able to connect your donation to an email. Please email us at crossword links [at] gmail [dot] com so I can get the puzzle pack to you.
You can donate at any time of the year and be added to the list for our next fundraiser pack. More information at our Support Us page.
Prior to ACPT, Boswords’ Winter Wondersolve will take place online on Sunday, February 1st. More information and puzzles from Boswords’ two 2025 Themeless Leagues and summer tournament available at the link.
Across The Universe, Natan Last’s book exploring the crossword as a cultural instrument, published around Thanksgiving and is available to purchase, if you don’t already have it. Among many events, media pieces, etc, Natan joined the Because Language podcast to chat about the book. He’ll be on the West Coast and in DC promoting the book through January, if you’re in the areas.
Shifting to a more rapid-fire list of highlights, we’ll start with a reminder to check T Campbell’s Grid in the coming days. His crossword year-in-review posts are always an enjoyable read around the New Year.
A Trans Person Made Your Crossword is a puzzle pack written, edited, test-solved, and typeset by trans and non-binary people in support of US-based transgender charities. Released in June, the pack raised more than $25,000. Organizer Ada Nicolle had a nice interview with The Halifax Examiner about the project. I’m not sure if the puzzles are still available, but the charities are certainly still welcoming donations!
A March profile from Vulture on Will Shortz’ rehab
An interview with NYT Connections editor Wyna Liu in InsideHook
An excellent piece in Slate on cryptic crosswords crossing over to US
If you missed them, we rolled out a new DCL feature in 2025: Constructor Spotlights. Spotlights run roughly monthly, with the aim of highlighting the human/relational side of crosswords. I’m biased, but they’re some of my favorite crossword content of the year, so I hope you’ll catch up on any you missed.
A Globe and Mail profile of the multitalented Will Nediger
Also new this year was Crosstalk: A Crossword Construction Podcast from Daniel Grinberg. Episodes are engaging and insightful, and a window into construction that I think we just don’t get from step by step guides or written instructions.
Josh Kosman and Henri Picciotto, who run the cryptic subscription Out of Left Field, are now selling compilations of their puzzles from The Nation in pdf form.
A fun profile of the 2025 ACPT and some of its solvers. Paolo Pasco no longer works in LinkedIn’s puzzles department, but he penned this reflection following his win.
The New York Times released a hardcover PuzzleMania book featuring new versions of many of the games found in their daily offering and the annual PuzzleMania insert.
By Kids, for Solvers of All Ages wasn’t a daily New York Times puzzle, but was submitted through the normal channel by Nate (10 years old) and Kaela Curry (8). Christina Iverson conducted a brief interview with the pair alongside the puzzle running.
The New York Times released a hardcover PuzzleMania book featuring new versions of many of the games found in their daily offering and the annual PuzzleMania insert.
By Kids, for Solvers of All Ages wasn’t a daily New York Times puzzle, but was submitted through the normal channel by Nate (10 years old) and Kaela Curry (8). Christina Iverson conducted a brief interview with the pair alongside the puzzle running.
The Brookline (MA) News ran a nice piece on the concentration of ACPT solvers from the Boston neighborhood.
Adam Aaronson published an essay on his site exploring what he calls the “square theory,” an apparatus to analyze why wordplay works, whether in clues, puzzle themes, whatever. I can’t recommend it enough.
‘In setting any crossword clue, always, always think of the solver’ is an interview with longtime cryptic setter Azed, but the insights about a solver’s relationship with a clue or puzzle are just as applicable to our side of the pond
Dan Feyer made an appearance on the podcast “The Extraordinarians,” which is devoted to conversations with “chat with the world’s most extraordinary record breakers … a little spotlight on the strangest and most unlikely champions.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Jack Dreyer got some headlines this summer for his crossword habit, including a puzzle he constructed himself.
Ryan Judge put together an updated assessment of the most commonly solved crosswords for the “Crosscord” Discord server, sorting for size, themed/themeless, and difficulty. Your mileage may vary, but it’s a good place to start if you’re looking to try out a new puzzle.
These Puzzles Fund Abortion founder Rachel Fabi sat down the joysticks! podcast to discuss the crossword community and TPFA. I hadn’t heard of this podcast previously, but it’s been a fun listen since. In their own words: “joysticks! is a podcast dedicated to the notion that games and their creation are an excellent way to be imaginative about systems and structures of society, and this imagination is a pillar of a more revolutionary world.”
A profile on (and puzzle by) constructor Mark McLaughlin by his employer, the University of British Columbia, where he serves as Dean.
“Fill Harmonics” is a fun thing from Parker Higgins. I don’t know how better to describe it than he does, if you click through.
Alex Boisvert introduced another new tool at the Crossword Nexus, the crossword sharer, which allows for crossword sharing and in-browser solving without uploading material to third parties or agreeing to terms of service that are rapidly changing in the AI era.
“Block Party Puzzles” is a Detroit-themed puzzle book from Sala Wanetick and Emily Biegas.
Christopher Newport University ran a piece on student constructor Baylor Gallagher, who learned the hobby from indie puzzle mainstay Neville Fogarty, who teaches at the university.
“Puzzles of 2025” is a crossword/set list hybrid: a 40-track album where each track is a crossword clue. I certainly haven’t ever seen anything like it. Well worth a click through to read through the creators’ notes.
Just a few days ago, Jac Crabtree at Trash Panda Puzzles announced his own 7×7 project, hearkening back to Malaika Handa’s daily puzzle from a few years ago, creating a grid for every possible 7×7 crossword design. Malaika’s original project was one of the highlights of 2021, and it’s fun to see it crop up again.
“Puzzmo’s Recent Set Of Daily Puzzles Helped Me See Crosswords In A New Way” highlights Brooke Husic’s recent month-long project to highlight different aspects of core crossword strategies through mini puzzles, each featuring a specific window into the tacit language of crosswords.
In the author’s words:
“Subsequent puzzles explain how crossword makers clue you in to whether they’re asking for someone’s full name or a nickname, how they handle abbreviations, and all the subtle ways that the language of a question can help you answer it. While it might not seem like it at first, there’s a lot of complexity being communicated by phrases like “for short” at the end of a clue, and this series of mini-crosswords have made me far more able to understand those meanings.”
One of Brooke’s guiding tenets at Puzzmo is that any puzzle might be someone’s first crossword. The mini series, beginning on October 1st, is a great resource for anyone you’re trying to introduce to the form.
A fond farewell to end this (long) edition: after 15 years, longtime Wordplay columnist Deb Amlen will retire from the New York Times this Friday. For many, many solvers, Deb’s helpful and humorous writeups were their first “in” to seeing the Times puzzle as a bit less intimidating, and a model for puzzle criticisms and discussion whose influence can be seen anywhere people talk puzzles. Best wishes, Deb!
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