November Crossworld News and Notes

Two new books on the scene from the team at Vox: Pop Culture Crosswords and Mega Book of Mini Crosswords. Puzzles by Patrick Blindauer, Juliana Tringali Golden, Adesina O. Koiki, Will Nediger, and Andrew J. Ries.

Two new books from Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks series are available now. Eric also recently shared a reflection on the puzzle formats he’s pioneered.

Puzzmo is a new website offering a daily midi crossword alongside other games and puzzles. Most daily puzzles are free; a paid subscription ($40 per year) grants access to the backlog and to bonus and beta puzzles. Crosswords are supplied and edited by Lil AVC X with Lil AVC X reruns on weekends and Puzzmo-exclusive midis on weekdays. A limited number of new players get access every day by completing a daily game that drops at a random time. Get yours here.

The Defector crossword has fully launched. The first couple puzzles of the weekly offerings by Ben Zimmer followed by Matthew Stock have impressed. Puzzles will run every Monday and most will be subscriber-exclusive. Submissions are open.

Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon’s output has slowed over the last year or so — they’ve stepped back from The Hub Crosswords, their cryptics no longer run in the Canadian National Post, and they stopped providing the New York Times Acrostics earlier this year. After rumblings here and there that they planned to create their own site, and in recent weeks CoxRathvon.com has popped up, containing the full collection of the pair’s monthly variety cryptics from the Wall Street Journal and Atlantic dating back forty-five years. It’s an utter treasure trove.

Correction: A reader has informed us that we have Lukas Karlsson to thank for working with Hex (as Cox and Rathvon are known when co-creating puzzles) and compiling this complete archive. Many thanks to Lukas!

While Evan Birnholz is on leave, a series of guest constructors are filling in at Washington Post. Evan shared the full list in a tweet. We’re happy that the guest constructors are providing interviews about their puzzles. Up first, Paolo Pasco.

Congratulations to the newly announced members of the 2024 Lil AVC X editing team: Amie Walker, Brian Callahan, Darby Ratliff, Jess Shulman, Matthew Luter, Shannon Rapp, Matthew Gritzmacher, and Sara Cantor.

The application for constructors to join the 2024 Lil AVC X roster is open through November 13.

Applications are also open through November 10 for the New York Times Diverse Crossword Constructor Fellowship.

Wyna Liu, writing for The New York Times, discusses her work on Connections. Christina Iverson, also writing for the Times, is soliciting questions to answer in her weekly Easy Mode newsletter. Submit your question here.

Dan Feyer appeared on the Good Morning America website this week where he shared some strategies for solving and discussed his appearance on Jeopardy!.

Los Angeles-area puzzlers may be interested in an evening with Spelling Bee Editor Sam Ezersky, hosted by Writers Bloc Presents. The program may become available on YouTube at a later date.

Congratulations to everyone who has made constructing debuts since our last issue!

Los Angeles Times: Ruth Bloomfield Margolin (10/6), Jenna LaFleur (10/7), Kate Luo (10/17), Josh Goodman (10/18), Seth Weitberg (10/19), Sala Wanetick (10/26), Emily Beigas (10/26), Glenn Cook (10/30), Catherine Lammersen (11/1), Matthew Luter (11/2), Daniel Okulitch (11/4), Michèle Govier (11/7)

USA Today: Robyn Weintraub (11/8)

New York Times: John Nagamichi Cho (10/12), Dominic Grillo (10/17), Kelly Morenus (10/21), John Donegan (10/26), Kenneth Cortes (10/30), Erik Piepenburg (10/31), Steve Weyer (11/1), Desirée Penner (11/6), Jeff Sinnock (11/6), Kevin Curry (11/7), Daniel Hrynick (11/8)

Fall 2023 News & Notes

We are long overdue for one of these, so this is both quite long and a bit less in the way of commentary.

Rebecca Goldstein, Kate Chin Park, and Stan Park appeared on Boswords alongside John Lieb this week to share the announcement of the new Westwords crossword tournament scheduled for June 23, 2024 in Berkeley CA. They are seeking responses to an interest poll and promise to share more info soon.

The Boswords Fall 2023 Fall Themeless League is underway! Congratulations to Richard D. Allen, whose puzzle was chosen from the open submission process to join the constructor roster that also includes Catherine Cetta, Jill Denny & Jeff Chen, Sam Ezersky, May Huang, Tom Pepper, Ross Trudeau, Amie Walker, and Grace & Greg Warrington. Registration is still open. Boswords T-shirts are also now available at the link above.

Congratulations to Glen Ryan, the winner of the 2023 Bryant Park Tournament and to 2nd and 3rd place finishers Dan Schwartz and Ken Stern.

Congratulations to the winners of Lollapuzzoola 16: Express Division winner Will Nediger and 2nd and 3rd place finalists Dan Schwartz and Jenna LaFleur; Local Division winner Simon Henriques and 2nd and 3rd place finalists Reuben Henriques and Will Eisenberg; Pairs winners Pete & Claire Rimkus and 2nd and 3rd place pairs Madison Clague & Sam Ezersky and Scott Koenig & Peter Aquino. The solve-at-home pdf puzzle pack is still available for $20 at the link above.


The Apple News Crossword is live. Ross Trudeau, Puzzles Editor, promises a modern approach to crosswords that is more welcoming to newcomers. Puzzles are edited by Erik Agard, Kelsey Dixon, and Anna Gundlach and constructed by some of our favorite puzzlemakers in the business. Apple News+ subscribers can read the full release here and access the puzzles here.

Matt Gaffney has a new weekly crossword feature appearing at Merriam-Webster’s website. It’s a puzzle type called “The Missing Letter” created especially for the site: 25 entries in the grid are defined using their M-W dictionary definitions, and these each begin with a different letter of the alphabet. The only one not represented each week is “The Missing Letter,” and solvers can enter it for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate at their site.

We’re happy to share Enigmatology, a newsletter from puzzlemaker and magician David Kwong. Issues contain crossword puzzles, cryptic clue contests, and more.

Mark Halpin’s annual Labor Day pack, “Two on the Isle,” the theme of which is “elemental forces at work in the Hawaiian islands” is a collection of 13 puzzles leading to a meta puzzle and solution. While the puzzle pack is free, any donations are split between the Trevor Project and the Maui Strong Fund.

Chriswords is a new weekly column from Chris King published in Questionist by Geeks Who Drink. In each edition, Chris shares some of his favorite clues from across the puzzle landscape and bits of news about other happenings in crossworld.

Thanks to Will Nediger, we’ve learned that Crossword Club will begin offering weekly crosswords with mini themes. Puzzles are written by Kate Chin Park and will be released Wednesday afternoons.


The New York Times is accepting applications for the next class of the Diverse Crossword Constructor Fellowship through November 10.

Defector, a worker cooperative website focused on sports and culture, has begun offering crosswords through a collaboration with AVCX. The first puzzle by Paolo Pasco was quite well-received. Puzzles are edited by Hoang-Kim Vu and Maitreyi Anantharaman and open for submissions.

Amuselabs now supports Schrodinger puzzles. We’ve seen this in action a few times: a fantastic New Yorker from Andy Kravis, as well as Rich Iurilli’s blog, Morning Brew, and Xtra.

In a tweet, Amanda Rafkin shared that USA Today now has an open submission period for the first seven days of each month. All constructors may submit up to two puzzles during each period.

Brooke Husic and Enrique Henestroza Anguiano have released another update to Spread the Wordlist. The list now stands at 296,625 words. This is one of the best resources in all of crossworld; we continue to appreciate Brooke and Enrique for their work.

Congratulations to the team of constructors chosen to lead Lil AVC X in 2024: Rafael Musa, Olivia Mitra Framke, Will Eisenberg, and Sally Hoelscher. We are looking forward to the people and puzzles to be developed under their guidance. We hear the call for constructors will be coming soon! Follow them on twitter and bluesky for more.


In September, Jeff Chen and Jim Horne announced the pending closure of XWord Info. We at DCL want to express our appreciation Jeff and Jim’s many years of dedication to XWI as well as all of those who have contributed to the many tools and features. Jim shared a few details in this blog post about what will stay and what will go, and he appeared on episode 407 of Fill Me In where he told the story of how we got here, including a rundown on how dealings with NYT fell apart.

In an interview for In the Studio from BBC News, Robyn Weintraub walks through her process for constructing an a crossword for The New York Times.

Rachel Fabi, writing for the October 2023 issue of Games World of Puzzles, interviewed Stella Zawistowski about her work editing, constructing, and speed solving. The issue includes a puzzle from Stella’s book, “Tough as Nails Crosswords.”

Harper’s Magazine published an audio interview with long-time cryptic constructor Richard Maltby Jr. in which he discusses the history of the puzzle, the decline in the use of dictionaries, and rise in word puzzle fascination.

Linguistic researchers Scott AnderBois, Kyle Mahowald, and Nicholas Tomlin wrote on the grammar of crosswords for The Atlantic.

New York Times editors Tracy Bennett and Sam Ezersky appeared on a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. The episode from October 1 is available on Peacock – Sam and Tracy appear a few times throughout at the beginning of each segment.

In books, Anna Shechtman’s “Riddles of the Sphinx: Inheriting the Feminist History of the Crossword Puzzle” is available for pre-order. We also learned of Francis Heaney’s pair of throwback books: “New Grids on the Block: Hella ’90s Crosswords” coming in November and “Grids Just Wanna Have Fun: Awesome ’80s Crosswords” due out in March.

Congratulations to everyone who has made debuts since our last issue!

Los Angeles Times: Landon Horton (8/11), Amanda Cook (8/29), Jimmy Peniston (9/2), Marin Wells (9/4), Andrew Kingsley (9/4), Meghan Morris (9/10), Jay Silverman (9/11), Brynn Diehl (9/16), Zach Moore (9/19), Jess Rucks (9/30)

USA Today: Alice Liang (8/8), Sally Hoelscher (8/14), Tooky Kavanagh (8/16), Darby Ratliff (8/24), Amie Walker (8/31), Emma Lawson (9/7), Jess Shulman (9/13), Taylor Johnson (9/14), Emily Carroll (9/15), Jasmeet Arora (9/18), Adam H. Mack (9/21), Natasha Isloor (9/29)

New York Times: John Kugelman (7/30), David Litman (7/31), Alissa Revness (8/7), Manaal Mohammed (8/13), David P. Williams (8/19), Jay Silverman (8/22), Brian Callahan (8/28), Michèle Govier (8/29), Robert S. Gard (9/9), David A. Rubin (9/15), Lee Demertzis (9/15), Jill Rafaloff (9/17), Michelle Sontarp (9/17), Gina Turner (9/20), Robert Charlton (9/23), Shannon Rapp (9/26), Scott Koenig (9/27), Ahmed Bayoumi (9/30), Jeffrey Lease (10/1), Alexandria Mason (10/2) Troy Laedtke (10/3)

Saturday, September 9, 2023

BEQ: Creatures of Football by Brendan Emmett Quigley. .puz, .pdf, online.
Black Crossword: Mini by Juliana Pache. .pdf, online.
Club 72: Freestyle 842 by Tim Croce. .puz, .pdf.
Crosshare Community: Daily Mini and Featured Puzzles.
David Alfred Bywaters: All the Wrong Places by David Alfred Bywaters. .puz, .pdf, online.
Fordham Observer: Saturday, September 9 (Mini) by Abby Grunzinger. .pdf, online.
Roy Johnson’s Crossword Hub: American-Style Crossword #3 by RoyJohnson490. .puz. .pdf, online.
YourPuzzleSource: Daily Puzzle (Midi) by Phil Fraas. .pdf, online.

A-to-Z Crosswords: ($) Puzzle #76  by Peter Gordon & Frank Longo. Subscribe at link.
Autostraddle: A+ Crossword Likes to Go Down (And Across) by Rachel Fabi. .pdf, online.
Crossword Club: Daily Crossword: September 9, 2023 by Ada Nicolle. .pdf, online.
Morning Brew: Football Coin Toss  by Mary Tobler .pdf, online.
Reason: What Every Kid Deserves by Stella Zawistowski. .pdf, online.
Spyscape: Secret Identities by Lynn Watson. .pdf, online.
Yes! Magazine: Quid Pro Grow by Patrick Blindauer. .pdf, online.

Crosswords with Friends: Smartypants Saturday by Evan Kalish. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Midi Puzzle by Todd McClary. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Mini Puzzle by Patrick Berry. App Store | Google Play
Daily POP Crosswords: by Katie Hale. App Store | Google Play, online.
Los Angeles Times: by David Karp. Online, pdf. Free Cruciverb account for .puz.
Los Angeles Times Mini: by Elizabeth Gorski. Online.
The Modern Crossword: Finding Answers by Seth Bisen-Hersh and Jeff Chen. Online, .pdf.
New York Sun: ($) Love That Game by Gary Steinmehl. Reissues from 2004.
New York Times: ($) by Robert S. Gard. Online, .pdf, app.
New York Times Mini: by Joel Fagliano. Online, app.
Newsday: Saturday Stumper by Matthew Sewell. Online, .pdf, backup online.
PlayFour: Daily Puzzle. Online
The Telegraph: Cross Atlantic by Ali Gascoigne. Online.
Universal: Universal Freestyle 89 by Sarah Beth K. Weintraub. Online, pdf. .puz.
USA Today: “Curtain’s Up!” (Freestyle) by Amanda Rafkin. Online, .pdf, app.
Vox: Stand-Up Set by Will Nediger. .pdf, online.
Vulture 10×10: The Commonwealth Puzzle by Stella Zawistowski. .pdf, online.
The Wall Street Journal: What’s the Use? by David Alfred Bywaters. Online, .pdf. .puz.
Washington Post Daily Mini Meta: by Frank Longo. Online, .pdf.

Squared Away: Daily Puzzle. Online.

Financial Times: FT Crossword: Polymath number 1,247 by NEO. .pdf.
Financial Times: FT Crossword: Number 17,518 by ROSA KLEBB. .pdf.
Financial Times: FT Weekend Magazine Crossword Number 656 by Aldhelm. .pdf.
The Globe and Mail: The Daily Cryptic Crossword. .pdf, online.
The Hindu Cryptic: #13966 by Incognito. .pdf, online.
The Independent: Cryptic Crossword by Monk. .pdf, online.
WSJ Variety: Acrostic by Mike Shenk. .pdf.

Other American-style crosswords:

Reviews and Discussion at Diary of a Crossword Fiend | Boatload Puzzles/AARP | Crosshare | CrosswordsBackwards | Cruciverbalista (en español) | Dictionaries6 | Easy Crossword | FreeDailyCrosswords | GameLab | Hard Crossword | r/crossword | Squares.io | YourPuzzleSource | XWord-Muggles Meta Calendar

Other Cryptic/Variety crosswords:

A Frame Games | cf.kmbweb.de Links Library | Harper’s ($) | Lovatts | Magpie ($) | Mokelfish Links Library | MyCrossword | NPL | Panda Magazine ($) | Private Eye | PuzzleCrypt archives | Puzzling StackExchange | r/crosswords | Split Decisions | Sydney Morning Herald ($) | The Telegraph | The Times (UK) ($), includes The Listener

Sunday, August 20, 2023

Black Crossword: Mini by Juliana Pache. .pdf, online.
Crosshare Community: Daily Mini and Featured Puzzles.
Fordham Observer: Sunday, August 20 (Mini) by Abby Grunzinger. .pdf, online.
M & M Crosswords: Kelly & O’Connor by Martina Waluk. .pdf, online.
Pun Of A Kind: The Outer Limits by Mikey G. .puz, .pdf, online.
Sunday Summer Substitute: What Lies Beneath (Meta) by ajk. .puz, .pdf, online.
xwords by a ladee: puzzle 50 // demi themeless eleven (“it’s my party!”) by Brooke Husic. .puz, .pdf, online.
YourPuzzleSource: Daily Puzzle (Midi) by Phil Fraas. .pdf, online.
YourPuzzleSource: Weekly 15×15 by Phil Fraas. .pdf, online.

A-to-Z Crosswords: ($) Puzzle #56  by Peter Gordon & Frank Longo. Subscribe at link.
Crossword Club: Daily Crossword: August 20, 2023 by Ada Nicolle. .pdf, online.
The Hub Crossword: ($) Gimme Five  by joon pahk. Patreon subscription.
Premier Crossword: by Frank Longo. .pdf, online.
Sporcle: Leading S by Purple_Parrot. Online

The Atlantic: by Caleb Madison. .pdf, online.
Barrons: by Zhouqin Burnikel. .pdf, online.
Crosswords with Friends: Sunday Funday by Zhouqin Burnikel. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Midi Puzzle by Andy Kravis. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Mini Puzzle by Stella Zawistowski. App Store | Google Play
Daily Beast: Crazy for Her, Sun, Aug 20, 2023 by Matt Gaffney. .pdf, online.
Daily POP Crosswords: by Mark McClain. App Store | Google Play, online.
Los Angeles Times: “I’m Out” by Amie Walker. Online, pdf. Free Cruciverb account for .puz.
Los Angeles Times Mini: by Elizabeth Gorski. Online.
Merl Reagle Archives: July 20, 2023 – A Wordsmith’s Christmas by Merl Reagle. Online, .pdf.
The Modern Crossword: Themeless 36 by Matthew Stock and Amanda Rafkin. Online, .pdf.
New York Sun: ($) Swear Words by Trip Payne. Reissues from 2004.
New York Times: ($) Crunch Time by Michael Schlossberg. Online, .pdf, app.
New York Times Mini: by Joel Fagliano. Online, app.
Newsday: Scoring Points by Gary M. Larson. Online, .pdf, backup online.
PlayFour: Daily Puzzle. Online
The Telegraph: Cross Atlantic by Steve Bartlett. Online.
Universal: Themeless Sunday 47 by Adrian Johnson. Online, pdf. .puz.
Universal Sunday: Tempus Fugit by Paul Coulter. .puz.
USA Today: Tag Up by Matthew Stock. Online, .pdf, app.
Washington Post: That’s an Order by Evan Birnholz. Online, .pdf. .puz.

The Browser: ($) Cryptic by Steve Mossberg. Subscribe at link.
Darren’s Puzzles: Cryptic 2023-08 by Darren Miller. .pdf, online.
Squared Away: Daily Puzzle. Online.
Tales From The Cryptic: Cryptic Mini #000000055: “Plastic bag video” 7×9 by Bob Weisz. .pdf, online.

Everyman Cryptic: Everyman crossword No 4,009. .pdf, online.
The Globe and Mail: The Daily Cryptic Crossword. .pdf, online.
The Hindu Cryptic: ($) The Hindu Cryptic on Sunday .pdf, online.
The Independent: Cryptic Crossword by Hoskins. .pdf, online.
New York Times Variety: ($) Split Decisions by Fred Piscop. .pdf, online.
The New Yorker Cryptic: Cryptic by Joshua Kosman & Henri Picciotto. .pdf, online.

Other American-style crosswords:

Reviews and Discussion at Diary of a Crossword Fiend | Boatload Puzzles/AARP | Crosshare | CrosswordsBackwards | Cruciverbalista (en español) | Dictionaries6 | Easy Crossword | FreeDailyCrosswords | GameLab | Hard Crossword | r/crossword | Squares.io | YourPuzzleSource | XWord-Muggles Meta Calendar

Other Cryptic/Variety crosswords:

A Frame Games | cf.kmbweb.de Links Library | Harper’s ($) | Lovatts | Magpie ($) | Mokelfish Links Library | MyCrossword | NPL | Panda Magazine ($) | Private Eye | PuzzleCrypt archives | Puzzling StackExchange | r/crosswords | Split Decisions | Sydney Morning Herald ($) | The Telegraph | The Times (UK) ($), includes The Listener

Friday, August 18, 2023

BEQ: The Strokes by Brendan Emmett Quigley. .puz, .pdf, online.
Black Crossword: Mini by Juliana Pache. .pdf, online.
Crosshare Community: Daily Mini and Featured Puzzles.
Fordham Observer: Friday, August 18 (Mini) by Abby Grunzinger. .pdf, online.
Haymarket’s Squares: Haymarket Mini #58 by ariel haymarket. .puz, .pdf, online.
Olio Grids: My Job…Is Just Beach by Brian Callahan. .pdf, online.
See 17-Across: Style Points by Brandon Koppy. .pdf, online.
YourPuzzleSource: Daily Puzzle (Midi) by Phil Fraas. .pdf, online.

A-to-Z Crosswords: ($) Puzzle #54  by Peter Gordon & Frank Longo. Subscribe at link.
Autostraddle: Mini Crossword – August 18, 2023 by Amanda Rafkin. .pdf, online.
Crossword Club: Daily Crossword: August 18, 2023 by Kelsey Dixon. .pdf, online.
Inkubator: ($) Themeless #46 by Amie Walker. Subscribe at link.

The Atlantic Mini: by Paolo Pasco. .pdf, online.
Crosswords with Friends: Sports Fan Friday by Jeff Chen. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Midi Puzzle by Jeff Chen. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Mini Puzzle by Stella Zawistowski. App Store | Google Play
Daily POP Crosswords: by Janice Luttrell. App Store | Google Play, online.
Los Angeles Times: by Lewis Rothlein. Online, pdf. Free Cruciverb account for .puz.
Los Angeles Times Mini: by Elizabeth Gorski. Online.
The Modern Crossword: Friday, August 18, 2023 by Kelsey Dixon. Online, .pdf.
New York Sun: ($) Veg Out by Joe Bower. Reissues from 2004.
New York Times: ($) by Kameron Austin Collins. Online, .pdf, app.
New York Times Mini: by Joel Fagliano. Online, app.
The New Yorker: The Crossword: Friday, August 18, 2023 by Andrea Carla Michaels and Jack Lechner. .pdf, online.
Newsday: Settle Down by Mark McClain. Online, .pdf, backup online.
PlayFour: Daily Puzzle. Online
The Telegraph: Cross Atlantic by Ray Terrell. Online.
Universal: Getting Even by Susan Gelfand. Online, pdf. .puz.
USA Today: Countdowns by Brooke Husic & Kenneth Cortes. Online, .pdf, app.
Vox: by Andrew J. Ries. .pdf, online.
Vulture 10×10: The Sterling Puzzle by Stella Zawistowski. .pdf, online.
The Wall Street Journal: Tie Game by Mike Shenk. Online, .pdf. .puz.
Washington Post Daily Mini Meta: by Andrew White & Pete Muller. Online, .pdf.
The Week: Pitch Perfect by Matt Gaffney. .pdf.

AVCX Cryptic: ($) AVCX Cryptic 8/17/23 by Nate Cardin. Subscribe at link.
Crossword Nexus Blog: Bonus Acrostic: Dressing Down by Alex Boisvert .ipuz, .pdf, online.
Norah’s Puzzles: Crazy Times by Ben Zimmer. .puz, online.

Out Of Left Field: ($) Cryptic #177 by Joshua Kosman & Henri Picciotto. Patreon subscription.
Squared Away: Daily Puzzle. Online.

Financial Times: FT Crossword: Number 17,498 by GAFF. .pdf.
The Globe and Mail: The Daily Cryptic Crossword. .pdf, online.
The Guardian: Cryptic crossword No 29,152 by Paul. .pdf, online.
The Hindu Cryptic: #13947 by Dr. X. .pdf, online.
The Independent: Cryptic Crossword by Phi. .pdf, online.

Other American-style crosswords:

Reviews and Discussion at Diary of a Crossword Fiend | Boatload Puzzles/AARP | Crosshare | CrosswordsBackwards | Cruciverbalista (en español) | Dictionaries6 | Easy Crossword | FreeDailyCrosswords | GameLab | Hard Crossword | r/crossword | Squares.io | YourPuzzleSource | XWord-Muggles Meta Calendar

Other Cryptic/Variety crosswords:

A Frame Games | cf.kmbweb.de Links Library | Harper’s ($) | Lovatts | Magpie ($) | Mokelfish Links Library | MyCrossword | NPL | Panda Magazine ($) | Private Eye | PuzzleCrypt archives | Puzzling StackExchange | r/crosswords | Split Decisions | Sydney Morning Herald ($) | The Telegraph | The Times (UK) ($), includes The Listener

Crossworld News and Notes, July 2023

Last time round we shared word of changes at The Atlantic, including the new feature “The Inferno,” a tall, narrow puzzle that gets more difficult from top to bottom. Editors Caleb Madison and Paolo Pasco held a Reddit AMA in which they discussed the new feature The Inferno and answered questions about their constructing and editing work.

We have little new information since last time to share on the crosswords associated with Apple News Plus, other than that folks who can access the iOS 17 beta can access puzzles now. We’re eager to see what we learn from announcements, once they come.

Patrick Berry has a new book, “Set Design,” a total of 50 puzzles (nine sets of mini puzzles, a meta puzzle, and a supersized Rows Garden). PDF only, $15. Suites like this are can’t-miss

Crosswordr is a new place to solve and share crosswords. A handful of constructors have listed puzzles on the site, which is still building out features but incorporates a level of curation and recommendation in putting puzzles in front of solvers. The team hopes to build out an ecosystem where (my words) the constructor-solver relationship is more robust than simply solving a puzzle, and the deeper connective tissue in the community is brought forward more. Learn more at the site, or touch base with the team on Reddit or in their Discord.

Elise Corbin has announced “Words on Fire,” a single-constructor charity pack supporting the March to End Fossil Fuels, featuring four new puzzles and two re-worked from Elise’s archive. Elise’s puzzles chase intricate, high-concept themes and are really on the forefront of creativity in the crossword space right now. Learn more about Words on Fire and solve some of her backlog at her site, Cruciverbology.

Two names familiar to puzzleheads, A.J. Jacobs and Greg Pliska will launch a short-form daily podcast called “The Puzzler,” named after Jacobs’ recent book. The podcast promises it “will challenge listeners and celebrity guests with original, audio-friendly puzzles that are complete with weird history, fun trivia and lots of laughs.”

The National Puzzlers’ League’s annual convention was held earlier this month in Montreal, and attracted a flurry of press attention. New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz, who is also active in the NPL, appeared on the CBC podcast “The Current” (Will’s segment begins at about 22 minutes) and an accompanying article further speaks with Shortz, on crosswords, and on the NPL Convention.

Mike Selinker offers “Mindspaces,” a book of puzzles and essays on creativity and mental health. Currently in pay-what-you-want presale with proceeds going to charity, Mike’s Lone Shark Games is also offering the book as part of a humble bundle with other game and puzzle design books he’s previously offered. More information at Lone Shark Games.

Lemonade Disco has expanded! In addition to the every other month themed packs, they will now offer twice-monthly midi puzzles at gin + grapefruit. Submissions are open, and specs are available at the link.

The Verge published a bit of a P.R. piece with Jonathan Knight, Head of Games at the New York Times, focused on the changes to the Times’ Crossword app, which has now caught up to the “Games” terminology we’ve seen on the web for a bit now. Nothing super groundbreaking other than a tidbit that reveals the sheer magnitude of Wordle and confirming what we’ve assumed: Spelling Bee and the Mini far outstrip the full-size puzzle in solver attention.

Speaking of the Times, last time round we shared a new game, Connections, and word of a new feature: the Easy Mode newsletter, in which subscribers receive early access to that week’s Friday puzzle on Wednesday, but with easier clues, written by associate puzzle editor Christina Iverson. Victoria Coren Mitchell, host of the BBC’s “Only Connect” quiz show tweeted noting the similarity. After an (in retrospect, unsurprising) flurry of tabloid-y headlines overdramatizing her tweet, she devoted her weekly column at The Telegraph to further fleshing out her thoughts, with the headline: “Does it matter if The New York Times’s new puzzle is an Only Connect rip-off?”

As for the Easy Mode Newsletter, themeless constructor extraordinaire Robyn Weintraub chimed in on the feature this past week in her constructor notes at XWord Info on that Friday’s puzzle. Among a larger series of thoughtful reflections was this recommendation:

“But that’s the thing … it’s my grid getting reclued, and it just feels weird. I hope Easy Mode is wildly successful and has the desired result of introducing many new solvers to themeless puzzles. But I also hope the NYT takes the next step and begins offering ORIGINAL easy themeless puzzles rather than this questionable hybrid.”


Congratulations to Adam Doctoroff, winner of the Boswords 2023 Summer Tournament, and to second- and third-place finishers Tyler Hinman and Marie desJardins. Congrats also to Paolo Pasco, winner of the online division, Peter and Claire Rimkus, winners of the in-person pairs division, and Harold and Paul Ngyuen, winners of the online pairs division.

Looking ahead to Boswords’ Fall Themeless League, set for Monday nights in October and November, a partial constructor lineup has been announced: Catherine Cetta, Jill Denny & Jeff Chen, Sam Ezersky, May Huang, Tom Pepper, Ross Trudeau, Amie Walker, Grace Warrington & Greg Warrington. As has become normal procedure for the Boswords leagues, a final constructor selected from an open submission process, details of which should be available shortly.

The next tournament on the horizon is Lollapuzzoola, August 19 in New York City.  Registration is open now.

Further ahead, the 46th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is April 5-7, 2024.


Congratulations to everyone who has recently made crossword debuts!

New York Times: Kunal Nubar (6/23), Anthony Gisonda (6/27), Victor Sloan (6/28), Ben Tolkin (7/1), Alison Perch (7/6), Hanh Huynh (7/13), Jonathan Kaufman (7/14), Mary Crane (7/26)

Los Angeles Times: Alice Liang (7/5), Hanh Huynh (7/7), John Andrew Agpalo (7/9), Zachary Schiff (7/16)

USA Today: Jared Goudsmit (6/26), Catherine Cetta (7/11)

Monday, 12 June 2023

Black Crossword: Mini by Juliana Pache. .pdf, online.
Crosshare Community: Daily Mini and Featured Puzzles.
Fordham Observer: Monday, June 12 (Mini) by Ana Kevorkian. .pdf, online.
Jeff’s Puzzles: Strange Desires by Jeff Linder. .puz, .pdf
Monday Fills: Split Accounts by Dave Murchie. .puz, .pdf, online.
Olio Grids: Round and Round We Go by Brian Callahan. .pdf, online.
YourPuzzleSource: Daily Puzzle (Midi) by Phil Fraas. .pdf, online.

Crossword Club: Daily Crossword: June 12, 2023 by Kelsey Dixon. .pdf, online.
The Hub Crossword: ($) No Holds Bard by joon pahk. Patreon subscription.
Lil AVC X: ($) Free Honee Bea by Kelly Nguyen Dickson. Subscribe at link.
Planet Crossword: Reassuring Themeless by Brooke Husic. Online.

The Atlantic Mini: by Paolo Pasco. .pdf, online.
Crosswords with Friends: Movie Monday by Doug Peterson. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Midi Puzzle by Andy Kravis. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Mini Puzzle by Jeff Chen. App Store | Google Play
Daily Beast: Career Upswing, Mon, Jun 12, 2023 by Matt Gaffney. .pdf, online.
Daily POP Crosswords: by Janice Luttrell. App Store | Google Play, online.
Los Angeles Times: by Angela Kinsella Olson. Online, pdf. Free Cruciverb account for .puz.
Los Angeles Times Mini: by Elizabeth Gorski. Online.
The Modern Crossword: Monday, June 12, 2023 by Amanda Rafkin. Online, .pdf.
New York Magazine: She’s Got It by Matt Gaffney. .pdf, online.
New York Sun: ($) Two for T by John Underwood. Reissues from 2004.
New York Times: ($) by Alice Liang. Online, .pdf, app.
New York Times Mini: by Joel Fagliano. Online, app.
The New Yorker: The Crossword: Monday, June 12, 2023 by Anna Shechtman. .pdf, online.
Newsday: College Majors by Stella Zawistowski. Online, .pdf, backup online.
PlayFour: Daily Puzzle. Online
The Telegraph: Cross Atlantic by James Brydon. Online.
Universal: Take the Leap by Josh M. Kaufmann. Online, pdf. .puz.
USA Today: Dress Down by Jimmy Peniston & Brooke Husic. Online, .pdf, app.
Vox: by Patrick Blindauer. .pdf, online.
The Wall Street Journal: Total Defeat by Guilherme Gilioli. Online, .pdf. .puz.
Washington Post Daily Mini Meta: by Andrew White & Pete Muller. Online, .pdf.

Monday Fills Acrostics: Acrostic 200 by Dave Murchie. .pdf, online.
Redhead64: PUZZLE #443: Gryptics 7 .pdf.
Squared Away: Daily Puzzle. Online.
Steve’s Cryptic Crosswords: Puzzle 324 by Ben Robinson Online.

Financial Times: FT Crossword: Number 17,440 by Flimsy. .pdf.
The Globe and Mail: The Daily Cryptic Crossword. .pdf, online.
The Guardian: Cryptic crossword No 29,094 by Carpathian. .pdf, online.
The Hindu Cryptic: #13889 by KrisKross. .pdf, online.
The Independent: Cryptic Crossword by Kairos. .pdf, online.

Other American-style crosswords:

Reviews and Discussion at Diary of a Crossword Fiend | Boatload Puzzles/AARP | Crosshare | CrosswordsBackwards | Cruciverbalista (en español) | Dictionaries6 | Easy Crossword | FreeDailyCrosswords | GameLab | Hard Crossword | r/crossword | Squares.io | YourPuzzleSource | XWord-Muggles Meta Calendar

Other Cryptic/Variety crosswords:

A Frame Games | cf.kmbweb.de Links Library | Harper’s ($) | Lovatts | Magpie ($) | Mokelfish Links Library | MyCrossword | NPL | Panda Magazine ($) | Private Eye | PuzzleCrypt archives | Puzzling StackExchange | r/crosswords | Split Decisions | Sydney Morning Herald ($) | The Telegraph | The Times (UK) ($), includes The Listener

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Troubleshooting some issues with our email delivery — apologies if you receive a duplicate here.

BEQ: Activity Pages by Brendan Emmett Quigley. .puz, .pdf, online.
Black Crossword: Mini by Juliana Pache. .pdf, online.
Club 72: Freestyle 811 by Tim Croce. .puz, .pdf.
Crosshare Community: Daily Mini and Featured Puzzles.
Crossword Nexus Blog: Puzzle #94: Speak Up! by Alex Boisvert .ipuz, .pdf, online.
The Daily Princetonian: Pomp and Circumstance III by Gabriel Robare. Online.
David Alfred Bywaters: Outer Space by David Alfred Bywaters. .puz, .pdf, online.
Good Clues For People Who Love Bad Clues: Scrabble Don’t F Me Now by Frisco17. .puz, .pdf, online.
YourPuzzleSource: Daily Puzzle (Midi) by Phil Fraas. .pdf, online.

Autostraddle: A+ Crossword Is Making Popcorn for Lesbian Movie Night by Amanda Rafkin. .pdf, online.
Crossword Club: Daily Crossword: May 20, 2023 by Ada Nicolle. .pdf, online.
Morning Brew: Bots by Mary Tobler .pdf, online.
Spyscape: What’s My Line by Lynn Watson. .pdf, online.

Crosswords with Friends: Smartypants Saturday by Stella Zawistowski. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Midi Puzzle by Fred Piscop. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Mini Puzzle by Caitlin Reid. App Store | Google Play
Daily POP Crosswords: by Robin Stears. App Store | Google Playonline.
Los Angeles Times: by Kate Chin Park. Online, pdf. Free Cruciverb account for .puz.
Los Angeles Times Mini: by Elizabeth Gorski. Online.
The Modern Crossword: A Revolutionary Puzzle by Enrique Henestroza Anguiano and Brooke Husic. Online, .pdf.
New York Sun: ($) Bite Your Lip! by Gary Steinmehl. Reissues from 2004.
New York Times: ($) by Erica Hsiung Wojcik. Online, .pdf, app.
New York Times Mini: by Joel Fagliano. Online, app.
Newsday: Saturday Stumper by Stan Newman. Online, .pdfbackup online.
PlayFour: Daily Puzzle. Online
The Telegraph: Cross Atlantic by Ali Gascoigne. Online.
Universal: Universal Freestyle 73 by Will Pfadenhauer. Online, pdf. .puz.
USA Today: Bowl Game by Bruce Haight. Online, .pdf, app.
Vox: Give Me Some Credit by Will Nediger. .pdf, online.
Vulture 10×10: The Apocalyptic Puzzle by Stella Zawistowski. .pdf, online.
The Wall Street Journal: Do It Again! by Freddie Cheng. Online, .pdf. .puz.
Washington Post Daily Mini Meta: by Andrew White & Pete Muller. Online, .pdf.

Squared Away: Daily Puzzle. Online.
Tortoiseshell Studio: ($) Crushword Spiral by Nathan Curtis. Patreon subscription.

Financial Times: FT Crossword: Number 17,420 by JULIUS. .pdf.
Financial Times: FT Crossword: Polymath number 1231 by GOZO. .pdf.
Financial Times: FT Weekend Magazine Crossword Number 640 by Aldhelm. .pdf.
The Globe and Mail: The Daily Cryptic Crossword. .pdf, online.
The Hindu Cryptic: ($) #13870 by Afterdark. .pdf, online.
The Independent: Cryptic Crossword by Serpent. .pdf, online.
WSJ Variety: Acrostic by Mike Shenk. .pdf.

Other American-style crosswords:

Reviews and Discussion at Diary of a Crossword Fiend | Boatload Puzzles/AARP | Crosshare | CrosswordsBackwards | Cruciverbalista (en español) | Dictionaries6 | Easy Crossword | FreeDailyCrosswords | GameLab | Hard Crossword | r/crossword | Squares.io | YourPuzzleSource | XWord-Muggles Meta Calendar

Other Cryptic/Variety crosswords:

A Frame Games | cf.kmbweb.de Links Library | Harper’s ($) | Lovatts | Magpie ($) | Mokelfish Links Library | MyCrossword | NPL | Panda Magazine ($) | Private Eye | PuzzleCrypt archives | Puzzling StackExchange | r/crosswords | Split Decisions | Sydney Morning Herald ($) | The Telegraph | The Times (UK) ($), includes The Listener

Crossworld News and Notes: May

Congratulations to Erik Agard, winner of the 2023 Boswords Spring Themeless League, and to second- and third- place contestants Tyler Hinman and Will Nediger. League puzzle packs, videos, and full standings are available at boswords.org. Boswords summer tournament will take place July 23 online and at the Roxbury Latin School in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Lollapuzzoola 2023 is August 19 in New York City. Registration is open now.

Save the Date: the 46th annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament will take place April 5-7 in Stamford Connecticut.


We’re happy to commemorate Patti Varol’s first anniversary as editor at the Los Angeles Times crossword. We asked her to share a few words about her first year and goals for the future:

“In addition to being proud of the overall quality and consistency of the puzzles, I’m really happy about the gender balance I’ve brought to the venue. Since I took over, we’ve had full gender parity every month — if anything, it has been unbalanced in the direction of more women than men some months. We’ve also had a ton of debuts, and I love working with and mentoring new constructors — we average five debuts a month, so that means we’ve probably had in the neighborhood of 60 first-timers in the LAT since I took over, including 28 so far in 2023. There’s still work I need to do to improve cultural and ethnic diversity in the constructors and the content, of course, and that’s part of the commitment I’ve made to improving the puzzles overall.”

The latest entry in the New York Times series “60 Seconds with a Constructor” welcomes Christina Iverson as Associate Puzzle Editor.

Congratulations to everyone who has recently made crossword debuts!

New York Times: Sam Buttrey (4/6), Robin Yu (4/13), Clay Haddock (4/14), Mike Hobin (4/16), Katherine Baicker (4/17), Kiran Pandey (4/18), Catherine Cetta (5/8), Spencer Leach (5/13).

Los Angeles Times: Sean Ziebarth (4/4), Adam Arvidson (4/13), Juliet Corless (4/18), Garrett Chalfin (4/23), Stacey McCullough (4/30), Max Schlenker (5/4), Francie Jones (5/5), Margaret Hurley (5/17), Kelly Richardson (5/25), Andrew Anker (5/26), Rose Sloan (5/28);

USA Today: Jimmy Peniston (5/15).


Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 contest-style (meta) crosswords organized by Will Pfadenhauer to help raise money for cancer-related organizations. The puzzles are easy-to-medium in difficulty (for both the grids and the metas). Make a donation of any amount to the cancer-related organization of your choice to get the puzzles. More details are available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.

A-to-Z Crosswords 2023 is open for registration on Kickstarter. Puzzles are daily 9×11 pangrams written by Frank Longo and Peter Gordon. At $14 for the series that’s $0.16 per puzzle. The subscription begins in early June.

Puzzlesnacks Plus Volume 2 by Eric Berlin is available now. 20 variety puzzles, this time bigger and more challenging. $7.99

These Puzzl3s Fund Abortion, Grids 4 Kids, and Puzzles for Democracy are still available — along with TPFA merch!

National Treasures is a free puzzle hunt available at The Puzzle Society. This series of ten word games and puzzles is presented in a detective story format rich with narrative.

We’re sad to see The Crosswords Club discontinued. The longtime puzzles-by-mail subscription added an electronic delivery in recent years and was for our money the highest-quality option for 21x puzzles out there. The June 2023 issue will be the last. We’re grateful to Patti Varol for her great editing work and Penny Publications for their support over the years.

Ross Trudeau announced on his site that he will stop posting puzzles weekly on Sundays, as he has done weekly since March 2020 (and biweekly for a bit prior to that). Two pull quotes we’ll highlight from his reflections:

“I suspect puzzles here will appear on the order of, oh, 1-2 a month, but who knows!”

“There’s a silver lining though. My motivation for letting this and other future Sundays pass with no new puzzle–I’ll keep sharing them irregularly–is that I have new and exciting puzzle projects on the horizon. I encourage you to continue to check back here for updates in the coming months.”

Ross isn’t the only one lately to use “new and exciting projects on the horizon” language, so we’re looking forward to new developments on the scene, whatever they might be.


Stella Zawistowski posted “Decrypting the Cryptic: Resources!” as a list of sources for those looking to get into solving cryptic crosswords.

Tracy Bennett, associate puzzle editor for the New York Times appeared on a recent episode of The, Art of Sway. She discussed gender in crosswords, the social appeal of Wordle, and her own solving strategies.

The Aesthetics of Crossword Puzzles” by Robbie Kubala published in the British Journal of Aesthetics in March explores the three sources of aesthetics in crossword puzzles: “the experience of one’s own agency, the visual appeal of grid art, and the literary pleasures of idiomatic language” using examples of puzzles and commentary from across the puzzle landscape.

The Labor of Play” by Ben Tausig for Public Books Magazine includes short interviews with puzzle and game writers Adrienne Raphel and Oliver Roeder.


Some ACPT 2023 retrospectives and media that we enjoyed:

Saturday, 13 May 2023

Black Crossword: Mini by Juliana Pache. .pdf, online.
Club 72: Freestyle 809 by Tim Croce. .puz, .pdf.
Completing the Square: 47: does it spark joy? by carter. .puz, .pdf, online.
crocswords: A.I. Artificial Intelligence by Clev Cong. .pdf, online.
Crosshare Community: Daily Mini and Featured Puzzles.
The Daily Princetonian: Holey Moley! by Dashram Pai. Online.
The Griddy: Dirty Birds by Devin McIntyre. .puz, .pdf, online.
YourPuzzleSource: Daily Puzzle (Midi) by Phil Fraas. .pdf, online.

Autostraddle: A+ Crossword Is Still Horny for That Lesbian Sex Survey by Rachel Fabi. .pdf, online.
Crossword Club: Daily Crossword: May 13, 2023 by Will Nediger. .pdf, online.
luckystreak xwords: ($) Spritz Up! by Ada Nicolle. Patreon subscription.
Morning Brew: Brew Crossword: Sunday Salute by Mary Tobler .pdf, online.
Spyscape: Mission Possible by Lynn Watson. .pdf, online.

Crosswords with Friends: Smartypants Saturday by Lynn Lempel. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Midi Puzzle by Robyn Weintraub. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Mini Puzzle by Nate Cardin. App Store | Google Play
Daily POP Crosswords: by Mark McClain. App Store | Google Play, online.
Los Angeles Times: by Rich Norris. Online, pdf. Free Cruciverb account for .puz.
Los Angeles Times Mini: by Elizabeth Gorski. Online.
The Modern Crossword: Nothing Left by Michael Berg. Online, .pdf.
New York Sun: ($) Night Lights by Joy M. Andrews. Reissues from 2004.
New York Times: ($) by Spencer Leach. Online, .pdf, app.
New York Times Mini: by Joel Fagliano. Online, app.
Newsday: Saturday Stumper by Matthew Sewell. Online, .pdf, backup online.
PlayFour: Daily Puzzle. Online
The Telegraph: Cross Atlantic by Ali Gascoigne. Online.
Universal: Universal Freestyle 72 by Shannon Rapp. Online, pdf. .puz.
USA Today: Info Dumping by Amanda Rafkin. Online, .pdf, app.
Vox: Irregular Sleep Patterns by Adesina O. Koiki. .pdf, online.
Vulture 10×10: The Link Puzzle by Stella Zawistowski. .pdf, online.
The Wall Street Journal: Get On It! by Zhouqin Burnikel. Online, .pdf. .puz.
Washington Post Daily Mini Meta: by Andrew White & Pete Muller. Online, .pdf.

Crossword Nexus Blog: Puzzle #93: Not Half Bad (a “Two Outta Three Ain’t Bad” puzzle) by Alex Boisvert .ipuz, .pdf, online.
Squared Away: Daily Puzzle. Online.

Financial Times: FT Crossword: Polymath number 1,230 by FALCON. .pdf.
Financial Times: FT Crossword: Number 17,414 by LEONIDAS. .pdf.
Financial Times: FT Weekend Magazine Crossword Number 639 by Aldhelm. .pdf.
The Globe and Mail: The Daily Cryptic Crossword. .pdf, online.
The Hindu Cryptic: #13864 by KrisKross. .pdf, online.
The Independent: Cryptic Crossword by Cnut. .pdf, online.
WSJ Variety: Spell Weaving by Mike Shenk. .pdf.

Other American-style crosswords:

Reviews and Discussion at Diary of a Crossword Fiend | Boatload Puzzles/AARP | Crosshare | CrosswordsBackwards | Cruciverbalista (en español) | Dictionaries6 | Easy Crossword | FreeDailyCrosswords | GameLab | Hard Crossword | r/crossword | Squares.io | YourPuzzleSource | XWord-Muggles Meta Calendar

Other Cryptic/Variety crosswords:

A Frame Games | cf.kmbweb.de Links Library | Harper’s ($) | Lovatts | Magpie ($) | Mokelfish Links Library | MyCrossword | NPL | Panda Magazine ($) | Private Eye | PuzzleCrypt archives | Puzzling StackExchange | r/crosswords | Split Decisions | Sydney Morning Herald ($) | The Telegraph | The Times (UK) ($), includes The Listener