Category: puzzle-recs

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.

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Universal: Universal Freestyle 123 (5/4) by Jess Rucks. Easy breezy themeless teeming with fun fill. – Rich

The New Yorker: The Crossword (5/6) by Wyna Liu. Not the hardest New Yorker Monday but a lovely puzzle nonetheless. – Rich

Fireball: ($) What’s Next? (5/8) by Paul Coulter. Really impressive theme that puts up a fight till the very end. – Rich

Lucky Streak: ($) puzzle #170: cruel summer (themeless) (5/9) by Ada Nicolle. An impressive lattice of stacks with some absolutely killer clues and entries. I’ve been absolutely loving Ada’s stuff lately. – Matt

Los Angeles Times: (5/8) by Rebecca Goldstein & Rachel Fabi. A remarkably full theme set for a pattern that you’d think would be hard to pull together. – Matt and Norah

Wall Street Journal: Hand It Over! (5/9) by Karen Steinberg. If you like Evan Birnholz’ Sunday puzzles at the Washington Post, this very much has that vibe in a smaller package. You’ve probably seen a theme like this before, but the extra layer sets Karen’s puzzle apart. – Matt

Universal: Center Lane (5/9) by Lisa Senzel and Jeff Chen. Just a plain darn good theme, with a spot-on revealer. – Matt 

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.

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Los Angeles Times: (4/27) by Evans Clinchy. Deft mix of tricky clues with big payoffs and accessible entries to help move through the grid. – Matt 

Slate: Slate Crossword (4/28) by Chandi Deitmer. Delightful grid and a truly standout 42-Across clue. Slate’s crossword has quickly become a must-solve. —Rich, Norah, and Parker 

Nautilus Puzzles: Inkblot’s Inferno (4/29) by Ben Tolkin. A fun challenge all around, but I’m picking this because of the clue for 56-Across. —Rich 

New York Times: ($) (4/29) by Tom Locke. A damn good theme given room to breathe. One of the better early-week NYT themes in recent memory IMO. – Matt 

Lil AVC X ($): Knights of the Wrong Table (4/29) by Lydia Roth and Christina Bodensiek. A set of very funny theme entries anchor a puzzle that carries the right balance of personality and cleverness. -Norah 

AVCX: ($) Urban Sprawl (5/1) by Shannon Rapp & Will Eisenberg. It’s good, it’s kinda hard, and (as spoiler free as possible) I like revealers like this. – Matt 

Puzzmo: Infinity and Beyond (5/1) by Jo and Winguistics (5/3) by Corvimae. These two puzzles are the first from Puzzmo’s first submission period open exclusively to those who had never published a crossword. Both earn their place on this list this week for their creative and perfectly executed themes. Hope to see more from both of them. -Norah 

Los Angeles Times: (5/3) by Jay Silverman. Theme is solid, but the themers themselves are particularly high value for my entertainment and make it memorable. – Matt 

AVCX+: ($) Have Fun! (5/3) by Will Nediger. Clever themeless that more than lives up to the imperative in its title. —Rich & Matt

Vox: (5/3) by Andrew J. Ries. Been waiting for someone to make this exact puzzle! -Norah 

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.

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Tough as Nails: Themeless #111 (4/17) by Stella Zawistowski. From last week, but too good to let slip by. As good as any maximally-hard themeless in the last several months, if perhaps a bit trivia friendly. Every entry and corner was hard-fought and well earned. – Matt 

The Modern Crossword: ($) Swap Bands (4/20) by Larry Snyder. Clever theme type that could go (too) tricky, but here is deployed in a way that is friendly for solvers of all experience levels. – Rich and Norah 

The Atlantic: Themeless (4/21) by Chandi Dietmer. Such a goldmine of clever cluing and delightful long entries. One of my hardest solves this week, and I loved every second of it. – Norah 

Crossword Club: (4/22) by Ada Nicolle. My midi pick of the week for its fun stacks and open architecture. -Norah 

Bewilderingly Puzzles: Novel Idea (4/22) by Will Nediger. Hard to explain why this one made the list without giving it away, but let’s just say it might be a little more novel than it seems. -Norah 

The New Yorker: (4/23) by Erik Agard. Love seeing 45A in a puzzle, and those clues for 60A and 32D are perfection. – Norah 

Universal: Permanent Record (4/24) by Daniel Bodily. Love when a theme is pretty disruptive to the solve, but all the affected areas are still pretty smooth. Great payoff in the revealer here. – Matt

Los Angeles Times: (4/24) by Alex Rosen & Brad Wilber. I found the payoff without the revealer, and got a nice chuckle out of it. – Matt

Los Angeles Times: (4/25) by Sarah Sinclair and Kelsey Dixon. In a double LAT debut, a super-fresh theme in a very fun and smooth puzzle packed with modern references. – Matt and Norah 

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.

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ACPT: ($) Puzzle 8; A Final (4/7) by Sid Sivakumar. Listing this week because I waited to solve it. A tough but fair themeless that feels quintessentially Sid. -Norah 

The Modern: ($) It’s All Greek To Me (4/13) by Aaron Ullman. Smooth and breezy with a fun theme that reveals itself in parts. Appreciation to the Modern for their willingness to run 16-wide themers. -Norah 

Luckystreak Xwords: fie! (4/13) by ada nicolle. Really impressive grid, with a 9×5 stair stack in the center and four long entries going down through it—all with Ada’s typical flair.  —Rich 

Mental Judo: A Cryptic Blog (11): Clue Cryptic (4/13) by herzwesten and joeadultman. This murder mystery is an absolute blast—and very approachable if you’re new to variety cryptics. —Rich 

The Atlantic: Mini (4/15) by Paolo Pasco. For 2D alone. -Norah 

Westwords: (4/15) by the Westwords team. A clever and fun way to reveal the constructor lineup. -Norah 

Boswords Themeless League: ($) Week 7 (4/15) by Nova Qi. Delightfully modern fill and lovely clues at the choppy level. I highly recommend the spring league puzzle pack if you aren’t participating. —Rich and Norah 

Lil AVC X: ($) Climbing the Corporate Ladder (4/16) by Kaye Barton. Kaye takes advantage of the flexibility of the midi space offered by Lil AVC X to put a tight new twist on a classic puzzle form. Smart, fun, and not to be missed. – Norah 

Lemonade Disco: Side Salad (4/17) by Kaitlin Hsu. Packed with indie voice, humor, and cultural references and approachable for beginner solvers. -Norah 

Los Angeles Times: (4/19) by Rebecca Goldstein. I love everything about this theme: the themer finds, the density, the cluing. A puzzle I wish I could solve twice. -Norah  

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.

So great to see many of you at ACPT. For those who weren’t there, thanks for your patience as we took a week off. Two weeks’ worth of recommendations are below, though I forgot to jot down a few blurbs. Still good puzzles 🙂

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Club 72: Freestyle 899 (3/29) by Tim Croce. Tim specializes in hard themelesses and it can take a bit to get used to this style. This edition, while as hard as anything he’s published, is also fair throughout and for me was well worth the grind to piece it together. –Matt

The Modern: ($) Academic Terms (3/30) by Erica Hsiung Wojcik. One of those themes where you know what’s going on, and each entry is still a small aha moment on its own. –Matt

Universal Sunday: Worduckens (3/31) by Adam Wagner. Cleverly themed and pleasant to solve –Norah

Washington Post: World Wide Web (3/31) by Evan Birnholz. –Matt 

Puzzmo: First Words (4/1) by brooke. A fun April Fools’ Day challenge as only Brooke can do it.  —Rich and Norah and Matt

The New Yorker: The Crossword (4/1) by Caitlin Reid. Really enjoyed the wordplay in this one. —Rich

Puzzmo: It Takes Two (4/3) by Erik Agard. Adorable meta-theme. –Norah

Crossword Club: Daily Crossword (4/3) by Kate Chin Park and Lil AVC X: ($) Eclipse (4/8) by Katja Brinck. These different takes on the eclipse theme are a great example of how much creativity there is in the midi space. —Rich

The New Yorker: The Crossword (4/3) by Robyn Weintraub. Especially satisfying middle stack –Matt

Universal: Beginning Bird-Watching (4/3) by Rebecca Goldstein and Will Eisenberg. So glad this theme set worked in mirror symmetry, because it’s a fun group. –Matt

AVCX: ($) Seeing Double (4/3) by Sam Brody –Matt

Trash Panda Puzzles: Hawaiian Drinks on the Ghost Ship (4/4) by Jason “Jac” Crabtree –Matt

ClassiCanadian Crosswords: ($) Custom-built for Critters (4/3) by Barb Olson –Matt 

Universal: Universal Freestyle 119 (4/6) by Rich Feely –Matt

New York Times: (4/5) by Rebecca Goldstein –Matt

Kieran Boyd: Ambitious Constraint Practiced Thoroughly (4/8) by Kieran Boyd. It’s true to its title, both the ambitious constraint and the practiced thoroughly parts, in the best way. –Matt

The New Yorker: The Crossword (4/10) by Rebecca Goldstein. Surprise themed New Yorker! And a delightful one at that. —Rich

Slate: Slate Midi (4/10) by Chandi Deitmer. I’ve really been enjoying Slate’s new crossword; this one is probably my favorite so far. —Rich

Los Angeles Times: (4/12) by Amie Walker & Wendy L. Brandes. Lovely theme with a truly satisfying revealer. —Rich and Norah 

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.

Programming note: No highlights post next Friday, as we’ll all be in Stamford for the ACPT. Will be back on 4/12 with two weeks’ worth.

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Los Angeles Times: Themeless (3/23) by Nate Cardin. I loved so much of the cluing in this puzzle – just the right amount of tricky with highlights in 33A and 37D. I appreciate the fills of 8A, 22D, 40D, and more. – Norah

Autostraddle: AF+ Crossword (3/23) by Darby Ratliff. Pretty developed theme for a midi, and it got a laugh out of me when I got it. – Matt

USA Today: Primetime (3/23) by Ryan Mathiason. Great theme + themeset find. – Matt

The Modern: Themeless 67 (3/24) by Ryan McCarty. I’ve missed Ryan’s themelesses and this is a textbook example of why. This one’s a don’t-miss. – Norah

Ryan is a master of this themeless shape and we’ve seen too little of him lately. Trademark McCarty, and a joy to solve. – Matt

Crossword Club: Daily Crossword (3/24) by Will Nediger. Fun 11x with a cool grid design and pair of lovely triple stacks. – Rich

Alta Magazine: Curl Up with a Good Book (3/25) by Rebecca Goldstein and Rafa Musa. Cute and cozy theme, breezy solve. – Norah

Lutercross: Getting Down To It (3/26) by Matthew Luter. Matthew is consistently putting out solid themelesses just about every week. This time the grid architecture especially stood out to me, but I also admire the commitment to cluing common stuff interestingly, like 43D AND 24A. – Norah

Lil AVC X: “Who’s Even in Charge of This Place?” (3/26) by Owen Bergstein. I know I’m biased, but Lil is doing some fantastic things already this year and this is one of the best so far, with seven (!) spanners and a notched-up difficulty that make for an extra pleasing experience. – Norah

New York Times: ($) (3/26) by Laura Dershewitz and Katherine Baicker. I didn’t found DCL to direct clicks to the New York Times, but I did do it so Laura and Katherine, and those before and after them, could get there due. This is a neat theme with interesting entries kicked up to “check it out” by an absolutely pitch-perfect revealer – Matt

AVCX Classic: Cover All Your Bases (3/27) by Matthew Stock. A cute theme that surprised me in the end. – Norah

Crossword Club: March 27 (3/27) by Kate Chin Park. Quick and easy diagonally symmetrical midi with two fun spanners. – Norah

Luckystreak+: ($) yada yada blah blah blah (3/27) by Ada Nicolle. The indie vibes all over this grid, so much fun to solve. Ada has recently added a free trial option! – Norah

Wall Street Journal: Going to Pieces (3/27) by Alexander Liebeskind. Slightly different theme, placement-in-the-grid wise. Fun. – Matt

A Crossword Rose: Epic Highs and Lows (3/28) by acommonrose. Not one but TWO perfect revealers? We love to see it. – Rich