Crossworld News and Notes

Congratulations to Erik Agard, winner of the 2022 Boswords Fall 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 Winter Wondersolve will take place February 5.

The 45th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament will be held in Stamford, CT March 31-April 2, 2023. Registration opens January 1.


AVCX+ is accepting applications for up to two new crossword editors to join the team in 2023. Applications accepted through December 4.

AVCX submissions open December 1 and Inkubator submissions open January 1.

Since the last News & Notes, Taylor Johnson (11/14), Benji Goldsmith (11/19), Kanyin Ajayi (11/26), Chloe Revery (11/28), and David Rockow (11/29) made their NYT debuts. Congratulations to everyone! Here’s some of their other work we have enjoyed: Chloe’s presentation for !!Con 2020 and Taylor’s work with the Lemonade Disco series.

Jeff Chen, operator of XWord Info, recently appeared on the Creative License podcast. He talks about what drew him into the world of puzzles, how he brainstorms themes, and what keeps him coming back for more.

The New York Times has announced that Wordle will now be edited and tested similar to Spelling Bee and the crossword. Tracy Bennett, associate puzzle editor, will lead this work.


Steve Mossberg is excited to announce “Eight Cryptic Nights,” a free Chanukah-themed variety cryptic meta suite. A new puzzle will drop at 5:00 PM ET each night of the holiday starting on December 18. It’s full of Jewish culture, humor, and even a little Hebrew, but should be loads of fun whether or not you light the menorah, and can be solved at Square Pursuit.

The Amazing Inventions of Eureka K. Jones,” a puzzle hunt by Eric Berlin is available now. For $7.99, you get eleven puzzles including a meta puzzle.

The Charlotte Ledger Crossword Puzzle Collection” by Chris King is a book of 35 Charlotte-themed crossword puzzles that originally run on the Charlotte Ledger site (5 are new) for $12.99.

Fireball Newsflash Crosswords by Peter Gordon are timely, current-event themed puzzles delivered twice a month by email. Registrations open now through January 18 on Kickstarter for the 2023 series.

The newest additions to the Sit & Solve crossword book series, edited by Francis Heaney, are here: a “simple” edition by Brooke Husic, and a “tough” edition by Kameron Austin Collins. The previous pair, by Robyn Weintraub and Adesina O. Koiki, are still available as well.

And if you’re looking for more holiday gift ideas, BEQ shared some of his recommendations in a recent blog post. We second his plug for the Inkubator book, and also suggest the reprinted film-themed A24 book. Gift subscriptions to the Inkubator to support gender diversity in crosswords and AVCX to support the indie community at large are great ideas too.


Have a news tip for us? An idea to pitch? A puzzle or puzzle site to share? Let us know!

Tuesday, 29 November 2022

BEQ: Themeless Monday #699 by Brendan Emmett Quigley. .puz, .pdf, online.
Crosshare Community: Daily Mini and Featured Puzzles.
LuterCross: Flames on the Side of My Face by Matthew Luter. .pdf, .puz, online.
Metas On A Tuesday: Complete The Square (Meta) by benchen71. .puz, .pdf, online.
Muggle Meta Mondays: The Bitter End (Meta) by Abide. .puz, .pdf.

Boswords Fall Themeless League: ($) Puzzle #8 by Kate Chin Park & Chandi Deitmer. Competitors have all week to complete the puzzle. Late registrants welcome.
Crossword Club: Daily Crossword: November 29, 2022 by Erica Hsiung Wojcik. .pdf, online.
Crossword Nation: ($) Doorbusters! by Elizabeth C. Gorski. Subscribe at link.
Luckystreak+: ($) gimme the truth (themeless) by Ada Nicolle. Subscribe at link.
Morning Brew: Brew Mini: Alias by Mary Tobler .pdf, online.
Planet Crossword: Toothless Themeless by Zhouqin Burnikel. Online.

The Atlantic Mini: by Paolo Pasco. .pdf, online.
The Crosswords Club: ($) Winter Workout by Doug Peterson. Subscribe at link.
Crosswords with Friends: by Peter Wentz. App Store | Google Play
Daily Beast: Light Up the Sky Like a Flame, Tue Nov. 29, 2022 by Matt Gaffney. .pdf, online.
Daily POP Crosswords: by Christina Iverson. App Store | Google Playonline.
Los Angeles Times: by Jared Goudsmit. Online, pdf. Free Cruciverb account for .puz.
LA Times Mini: by Elizabeth Gorski. Online.
New York Sun: ($) Everybody Knows Their Names by Allan E. Parrish. Reissues from 2003.
New York Times: ($) by David Rockow. Online, .pdf, app.
New York Times Mini: by Kanyin Ajayi. Online, app.
The New Yorker: The Crossword: Tuesday, November 29, 2022 by Wyna Liu. .pdf, online.
Newsday: How’s the Weather? by Billie Truitt. Online, .pdfbackup online.
Universal: Bands Together by Catherine Cetta. Online, pdf. .puz.
USA Today: Splitting Dessert by Rafael Musa. Online, .pdf, app.
Vox: by Juliana Tringali Golden. .pdf, online.
Vulture 10×10: The Geometric Puzzle by Stella Zawistowski. .pdf, online.
The Wall Street Journal: Order in the Court by Josh Goodman. Online, .pdf. .puz.
Washington Post Daily Mini Meta: by Andrew White & Pete Muller. Online, .pdf.

Aries Puzzles: ($) Rows Garden #9.48 by Andrew J. Ries. Subscribe at link.
The Crossword Centre: Seasons Greetings XIV by Eclogue. .pdf
Garden Party: ($) Rows Garden #5.48 by Michael Blake. Subscribe at link.
Keynesian Cryptics: Privy Chambers by Jack H Keynes. .pdf, online.
Monday Fills Acrostics: Acrostic 186 by Dave Murchie. .pdf, online.

Financial Times: FT Crossword: Number 17,264 by Neo. .pdf.
The Globe and Mail: The Daily Cryptic Crossword. .pdf, online.
The Guardian: Cryptic crossword No 28,927 by Nutmeg. .pdf, online.
The Independent: Cryptic Crossword by Knut. .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, November 26, 2022

Club 72: Freestyle 766 by Tim Croce. .puz, .pdf.
Crosshare Community: Daily Mini and Featured Puzzles.
Crossword Dilemmas: nov 25 2022 by Emma Lawson. .pdf, online.
David Alfred Bywaters: Remedial Reading by David Alfred Bywaters. .puz, .pdf, online.
Fordham Observer: Saturday, November 26 (Mini) by Kreena Vora. .pdf, online.

Autostraddle: A+ Crossword Puts Its Money Where Its Mouth Is by Rachel Fabi. .pdf, online.
Crossword Club: Daily Crossword: November 26, 2022 by Will Nediger. .pdf, online.
My Jewish Learning: MJL Mini Nov 25 2022 by Rebecca Goldstein .pdf, online.
Spyscape: Pretty Sus by Thomas Gustafson. .pdf, online.

Crosswords with Friends: by Donna S. Levin. App Store | Google Play
Daily POP Crosswords: by Mark McClain. App Store | Google Playonline.
Los Angeles Times: by Bill Pipal. Online, pdf. Free Cruciverb account for .puz.
LA Times Mini: by Elizabeth Gorski. Online.
New York Sun: ($) Unknown Conclusion by Alan Arbesfeld. Reissues from 2003.
New York Times: ($) by Kanyin Ajayi. Online, .pdf, app.
New York Times Mini: by Christina Iverson. Online, app.
Newsday: Saturday Stumper by Stan Newman. Online, .pdfbackup online.
Universal: Universal Freestyle 48 by Rafael Musa. Online, pdf. .puz.
USA Today: Side Part by Amanda Rafkin. Online, .pdf, app.
Vox: Ghosts of Black Fridays Past by Adesina O. Koiki. .pdf, online.
The Wall Street Journal: Arms Akimbo by Brad Wiegmann. Online, .pdf. .puz.
Washington Post Daily Mini Meta: by Andrew White & Pete Muller. Online, .pdf.

The Rackenfracker: ($) Word▶️ #3: Unknown Knowns by The Rackenfracker. .pdf, online.
Tortoiseshell Studio: ($) Hex Words by Nathan Curtis. Patreon subscription.

Financial Times: FT Crossword: Polymath number 1206 by Sleuth. .pdf.
Financial Times: FT Crossword: Number 17,262 by Artexlen. .pdf.
The Globe and Mail: The Daily Cryptic Crossword. .pdf, online.
The Independent: Cryptic Crossword by Tyrus. .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

Friday, 14 October 2022

BEQ: Pig Bun by Brendan Emmett Quigley. .puz, .pdf, online.
Crosshare Community: Daily Mini and Featured Puzzles.
The Daily Princetonian: Ground Beef by Simon Marotte. Online.
Fordham Observer: Friday, October 14 (Mini) by Kreena Vora. .pdf, online.
Half-Baked Puzzles: Strings Attached v2 by Will Eisenberg & Christopher Adams. .puz, .pdf, online.

AVCX+: ($) Can We Solve It? Yes We Can! (themeless) by Rafael Musa and Kate Chin Park. Subscribe at link.
Crossword Club: Daily Crossword: October 14, 2022 by Erica Hsiung Wojcik. .pdf, online.
Crucinova: ($) Not Smart by Guilherme Gilioli. Subscribe at link.
Inkubator: ($) Keep It Down! by Beth Rubin and Robyn Weintraub. Subscribe at link.
luckystreak+: ($) hoo boy, 100 is next huh (themeless) by Ada Nicolle. Patreon subscription.
Planet Crossword: New puzzle released each weekday at noon. Online.

The Atlantic Mini: by Paolo Pasco. .pdf, online.
Crosswords with Friends: by Zhouqin Burnikel. App Store | Google Play
Daily POP Crosswords: by Patti Varol. App Store | Google Playonline.
Los Angeles Times: by Christina Iverson. Online, pdf. Free Cruciverb account for .puz.
LA Times Mini: by Elizabeth Gorski. Online.
New York Sun: ($) Squaring the Circle by Bill Zais. Reissues from 2003.
New York Times: ($) by David Steinberg. Online, .pdf, app.
New York Times Mini: by Kanyin Ajayi. Online, app.
The New Yorker: The Crossword: Friday, October 14, 2022 by Kyra Wilson and Sophia Maymudes. .pdf, online.
Newsday: Snake in the Grid by Stan Newman. Online, .pdfbackup online.
Universal: Take a Number by Andrew McIntyre. Online, pdf. .puz.
USA Today: Outlandish by Rafael Musa. Online, .pdf, app.
Vox: by Andrew J. Ries. .pdf, online.
Vulture 10×10: The Bali Puzzle by Malaika Handa. .pdf, online.
The Wall Street Journal: Keep on Truckin’ by Mike Shenk. Online, .pdf. .puz.
Washington Examiner: ($?) Biased Pollsters by Brendan Emmett Quigley. Online.
Washington Post Daily Mini Meta: by Andrew White & Pete Muller. Online, .pdf.
The Week: Best In Show by Matt Gaffney. .pdf.

Puzzles For Progress: #94: Word Ladder, Capsules, Slitherlink by Jacob Cohen. .pdf, online.

Financial Times: FT Weekend Magazine Crossword Number 611 by Basilisk. .pdf.
Financial Times: FT Crossword: Number 17,225 by Aldhelm. .pdf.
The Globe and Mail: The Daily Cryptic Crossword. .pdf, online.
The Guardian: Cryptic crossword No 28,888 by Paul. .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