Tag: lollapuzzoola

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:

Crossworld News and Notes, September 2022

Don’t forget, we’re moving! For now we are still simulcasting via Substack and WordPress, but we will soon transition to only WordPress. Make sure you’re subscribed to the new site:

And we’re growing! We’ve added pages for Construction Resources and our entire list of puzzle sources. We also want to hear from you – is there a feature you want to see? Have an idea to pitch, a guest essay to submit, or a tip about some exciting puzzle news? Something else? Let us know!

We’re very happy to share our first essay, “On Trust,” by Will Eisenberg, exploring the relationship between a constructor and solver. A snippet: “A puzzlemaker can strive to evoke many things: happiness, nostalgia, the feeling of being ‘seen,’ the joy of an “aha!” moment, and even frustration. But the ability to evoke these emotions from the solver is built upon a base of trust. This is because a puzzle offers the solver one fundamental proposition: It is going to take you some time to work out the solution, but it will be worth it.”

We’re excited to add a home for guest essays here on our new site, and will build out public submission guidelines in time.

Congratulations to Kelsey Dixon, whose puzzle was chosen from an open call to round out the Boswords Fall Themeless League. She joins Derek Allen, Kate Chin Park & Chandi Deitmer, Malaika Handa, Natan Last, Barbara Lin, Portia Lundie, Brendan Emmett Quigley, and Brad Wilber. What a fantastic lineup! Registration is open now, and the League starts with the preseason puzzle on September 26.

New to Boswords? Check out the introductory video from organizer John Lieb:

Registration is open now for The Tenth Annual Finger Lakes Crossword Competition on September 24. After a Zoom-based kick off event moderated by Anna Shechtman, the puzzles are presented in a laid-back, self-timed, all-pdf format. The event is open to individuals and teams of up to four people with three levels of difficulty. The fee is pay-what-you-want and proceeds support adult literacy programs in the Finger Lakes area.

Final reminder that the Lollapuzzoola 15 puzzles are available for purchase through September 24. There’s so much good content here; get it while you still can!

My Jewish Learning, a site with resources to empower Jewish discovery for anyone interested in learning more, has launched a weekly Jewish themed mini crossword puzzle written by Rebecca Goldstein. They will also run larger Jewish holiday-themed puzzles throughout the year.

Crossword Club is a new free daily midi with an all-star roster: Kate Chin Park, Kelsey Dixon, Erica Hsiung Wojcik, Will Nediger, and Quiara Vasquez. Puzzles are edited by Will and Kate. With an indie vibe and easy solving experience, we’re really enjoying these puzzles so far. Kate tells us, “They’re great to send to your family members and friends who like crosswords but are intimidated by or don’t have time for full-sized puzzles.”

The first edition of Lemonade Disco has arrived! The theme of the 5-puzzle pack hosted on Taylor Made Crosswords is “Cocktail Mixer” and includes puzzles by Matt Forest, Emma Getman, George Ho, Seth Bisen-Hersh, and Glenn Cook. Puzzles are curated and edited by Taylor Johnson with help on this edition from guest editor Steve Mossberg. Constructors of any experience level may participate. Submissions for the third edition, “Rising Signs” are due on October 17. Submissions details here.

Crucinova has announced it will be drawing to a close by June 2023. We’ve enjoyed many of the innovative puzzles that Crucinova has made possible and we thank Lisa Bunker and all of the constructors for their work.

A hearty welcome back to Cursewords Live! After an extended summer hiatus, Parker Higgins and Ross Trudeau will be live solving and live creating puzzles once more starting tonight (September 18) at 8pm eastern.

AVCX Cryptics has re-opened for submissions during the month of September. Details here.

The Inkubator is open for submissions for the month of September for themed puzzles from women and nonbinary constructors. Details here.

Congratulations to Katie Hale, who has joined the L.A. Times team as Assistant Editor.

Since the last News & Notes, Adam Simpson (9/5) and Ekua Ewool (9/7) made their NYT debuts and Bonnie Eisenman (9/12) made her USAT debut! Congrats to everyone!

Hayley Gold, along with Will Nediger and Al Sanders, have issued a contest to write a full set of new cryptic clues for the grid “Un-American” by Stephen Sondheim. The filled grid is here and the original puzzle and clues are here. Submit contest entries to Hayley via Twitter dm. Hayley, Will, and Al are co-streaming cryptics on Will’s Twitch channel; next streams are October 6 and October 21 at 9pm eastern.

Hayley also wrote a in-depth rundown of Lollapuzzoola 15 for Beyond Wordplay and she was a guest on the podcast “Because Language” to discuss the state and history of cryptic crosswords and crossworld in general.

Champion speed solver Stella Zawistowski recently appeared on the YouTube show “Game On,” in which she raced viewers to solve a series of crosswords.

Thanks in preparing this issue to: Kate Chin Park, Hayley Gold, Rebecca Goldstein, and Taylor Johnson.

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

Crossworld News and Notes, August 2022

Lots of news, including some of our own!

Congratulations to our very own Matthew Gritzmacher, winner of Lollapuzzoola 15!!! 🎉(Now that we’ve moved to WordPress, if you haven’t already congratulated him on twitter, you can leave a comment on this post! ⬇️⬇️⬇️)

Congrats to all the competitors, finalists, and to the other winners: Ada Nicolle of the in-person Local Division, Tyler Hinman of the online competition, Peter and Claire Rimkus of in-person pairs. See in-person and online standings.

The Lollapuzzoola 15 puzzle pack is available for $20 through September 24, and includes all of the puzzle content: Tournament puzzles by Pao Roy, Ella Dershowitz, Paolo Pasco, Francis Heaney, and Will Nediger; both versions of the final puzzle by Brooke Husic; the tiebreaker puzzle by Rafa Musa; the “Five Buroughs” meta suite by Kate Chin Park, Kelsey Dixon, Shannon Rapp, Carly Schuna, and Sid Sivakumar; and the “On Location” meta suite by Foggy Brume. The livestream of the entire event hosted by Chris Piuma, including constructor interviews, clips from the in-person event, trivia games, the in-person and online finals will be available for a limited time on Twitch.

We at Crossworld News & Notes and Daily Crossword Links are proud to announce our new home at https://dailycrosswordlinks.com. Moving to our own space allows us the flexibility to offer new features that we are very excited to share with you. For now, you will still receive the daily email via Substack, but watch for more details as we continue to add to the new site — we will keep you updated as we plan any changes to email.

To subscribe to the new Daily Crossword Links directly through WordPress, sign up here:

Registration is open now for The Tenth Annual Finger Lakes Crossword Competition on September 24. After a Zoom-based kick off event moderated by Anna Shechtman, the puzzles are presented in a laid-back, self-timed, all-pdf format. The event is open to individuals and teams of up to four people with three levels of difficulty. The fee is pay-what-you-want and proceeds support adult literacy programs in the Finger Lakes area.

Registration for Boswords Fall Themeless League opens September 3.

Save the Date! The 45th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is scheduled for March 31 – April 2, 2023 in Stamford, CT.

Since the last News & Notes, Sue Fracker (8/16), Doug Burnikel (8/22), Trey Mendez (8/23), and Robert Logan (8/26) made their NYT debuts, and Scott Earl (8/15) and Rena Cohen (8/22) made their USAT debuts! Congrats to everyone!

Trey’s puzzle on August 23 was the first to be published from the Times’ Diverse Crossword Constructor Fellowship program.

“Creating Crossword Puzzles” is a course taught by Brooke Husic and Natan Last in cooperation with Atlas Obscura. The second offering of the course begins October 11 with four weekly sessions over Zoom. The content is intended for very new constructors and those who are interested in how crosswords are made. The first cohort’s puzzle was published August 29 by Atlas Obscura.

The September issue of “GAMES World of Puzzles” magazine is loaded with content for crossword lovers. A three-page article by Hayley Gold titled “Cryp-tic Tick Tick Boom” explores the recent surge in popularity of cryptic crosswords both online and in print. The issue also includes crossword, cryptic, and variety puzzles by Will Nediger, Mike Nothnagel, Frank Longo, and Fred Piscop, among others. The single issue is available for $3.99.

A24 has released “99 Movie Crosswords”, a collection edited by film writer and longtime puzzle constructor Anna Shechtman. Contributing constructors are Max Carpenter, Kameron Austin Collins, Natan Last, Wyna Liu, Paolo Pasco, Amanda Rafkin, Caitlin Reid, Finn Vigeland, and Stella Zawistowski. The puzzles range from Easy to Hard in difficulty and from Neophyte to Expert in film knowledge.

“Do the Work!: An Antiracist Activity Book” by W. Kamau Bell & Kate Schatz is an interactive workbook filled with activities, puzzles, comics, and games. Each of the five chapters concludes with a crossword puzzle, all written by Adesina Koiki. All of the illustrations and games were created by contributors who are BIPOC and/or AAPI. The book gives readers/solvers a unique, hands-on understanding of systemic racism – and how we can dismantle it.

Anigrams is a new, original daily word game where you’re given four letters, and asked to unscramble a four-letter word. Seems simple, right? But then you’re given a fifth letter, and asked to unscramble a five letter word. And then a sixth letter. And then a seventh. And then an eighth. And then a ninth… How high can you go? Can you make it all the way to the🐐? Anigrams was created by Adam Wagner, and developed by Rafael Musa with help from Jacob Goldberg.

Anna Shechtman was featured in the July edition of The Cornellian in “Get a Clue: Anna Shechtman Is a Star in the World of Crosswords“. She teases her book (expected 2024) “The Riddles of the Sphinx,” a history of crossword puzzles with a focus on gender issues.

In a recent edition of The Morning from The New York Times, Sam Ezersky answers questions from Spelling Bee solvers, going deep on his strategies in developing the daily puzzle, and offering solving tips.

“‘Puzzles pair well with reading the news’: Why news outlets are getting into games (again)” examines the history and current state of the relationship between print media and crosswords, with a focus on the puzzles at The New Yorker.

Pete Muller and Andrew White were featured in Princeton Alumni Weekly earlier this month. They discuss how they got started working together in puzzles and their process for creating the daily mini meta series for The Washington Post.

Congratulations to Anna Gundlach, who has joined the editorial team at Andrews McMeel Universal.

Outside the Box Year 8 by Joon Pahk begins in September and subscriptions are open now. You can also subscribe to only weekly Rows Gardens or biweekly variety puzzles if you prefer. If you haven’t branched into variety puzzles, this is a great place to start: 72 Rows Gardens and Variety puzzles for $30 is a great deal and Joon is one of the best variety puzzlemakers in the game.

Sean Weitner and JonMichael Rasmus of The Rackenfracker are launching a variety cryptic subscription service beginning in September. Word▶️ is a suite of puzzles “about all of the different things we press ▶️ on — movies, music, television, gaming, the internet,” the creators said. Word▶️will release a new puzzle to subscribers every month for a year. The first puzzle, On First, has been released as a free preview ahead of launch.

10x10x10 Crosswords III is a pack of ten 10×10 puzzles (five crosswords and five variety puzzles) by Grant Fikes. The pack is yours for a minimum $2 donation to selected charities.

The New York Times is offering 50% off the first year of a Games subscription when you sign up by September 25. The deal also includes $5 off the purchase of…

Wordle: The Party Game by The New York Times is an analog version of the Wordle game for 2-4 real life players. Coming early October.

Thanks in preparing this issue to: Brooke Husic, Adesina Koiki, Adam Wagner, and Sean Weitner.

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