I'll be straight up about today's puzzle: I dug it out of the ever-growing rejects pile. I haven't submitted anything in months, but I had a real cold streak last year where like 10 puzzles in a row got rejected. To be honest, it took a lot of the fun out of constructing for me, which partly contributed to my decision to revive the old blog here. I still get some negative/constructive feedback here which is always very welcome, but it's more than balanced by hearing about the enjoyment solvers get out of the puzzles. And I don't have to wait 6 months.
Anyway, things are still pretty hectic around Cross Nerd HQ, despite it being a long weekend in honour of...what again? Oh yeah, "family day" or some such nonsense.
Valentine's gig on friday which was fun. Actually, I was super nervous and in way over my head. It was a jazz gig with a fantastic vocalist by the name of Kaitlyn Semple (even has her own IMDB page!) and a cookin band including her old man Jack (whose no slouch on the 6-string, to put it modestly). Now, I love jazz, but I'm a hack when it comes to playing it. Not sure how I ended up on the bill for this Regina Jazz Society concert (needed to provide head shots and bios and everything), but I was sweating it in the days leading up. Went better than expected in the end, though, so I promptly got drunk.
Sunday found me at the curling rink, for, shamefully, my first real curling experience. Curling has always seemed really difficult, but I think I was getting the hang of it. Went better than expected, at least, so we promptly got drunk.
Other than that, I put off doing my not insignificant amount of homework (did I tell you I'm back at school?) by watching the new season of House of Cards and working on my Super Metroid speedrunning strats. If part of that last sentence made no sense to you, I encourage you to watch this. I don't play a lot of video games, but when I do I play the shit out of them. I got obsessed with NES Tetris for a while (the Platonic ideal of video games, if you ask me), and got good enough to bag the 42nd highest recorded score (595,000-something). I'm still shooting for the 999,999 max-out, but it's a long way off. Only about a dozen people have ever done it. Now I've gone and dug out Super Metroid, though, another one of my faves and a perennial contender for best video game ever made. I adored it as a kid but was worried it wouldn't have aged well. On the contrary, I appreciate it even more now. The moody and gritty atmosphere, haunting music, sense of isolation and exploration, and general badassery that drew me in as a youngster are still as great as ever, but I've been struck most by the sublime design of the puzzles, map, and gameplay. It's a paragon of game design, rife with subtle but ingenious ways that the player is guided worldlessly around would could have been a very confusing and frustrating world. Not only that, but it's the perfect game for speedrunning, mostly because of all the sequence-breaking you can do. You can beat the game with only 15% of the power-ups, beat all of the bosses in reverse order, etc. And that's basically without any glitches and certainly no cheating; rather, the complex controls allow for a rich array of advanced techniques that can be exploited to circumvent the "soft lock" approach to limiting progress in the world. 20 years since its release, and people are still finding new tricks and shaving time off their runs (my first and only complete run took 57 min, but a few players have gone below 30. This is a game that took me weeks as a kid). Sorry for nerding out there, I'm just a bit obsessed at the moment.
...which leads me to this week's puzzle, which was supposed to be a freestyle that never got finished. Instead, it's a...wait for it....theme puzzle, believe it or not. Not the most inventive theme, but I thought it was solid enough and the fill clean enough that it might have a shot in the NYT or LAT. Not so, as it turns out. Luckily my standards are so much lower. I did go through and toughen up a few of the clues to put them more in the typical CN freestyle range. Hope you don't mind. Back to business as usual next week, most likely.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next week.
Puzzle: Up a Pole
Difficulty: Tues/Wed theme, Wed/Thurs clues
Downloads:
PDF
PUZ
Showing posts with label themed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label themed. Show all posts
Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Thanks for comin out, folks, to the final installment of the first Cross Nerd series. Sincere gratitude and big ups are in order for all of you solvers out there that were kind enough to give my puzzles a try, offer insightful feedback, and generally be awesome and interesting people to meet.
I'll be taking a bit of time off from puzzle making for what's shaping up to be a busy December full of festive season parties, musical engagements, and settling into new digs. Cross Nerd will be back up in the new year, albeit with a different format. Until then, amuse yourselves with the fine indie puzzle sites in the sidebar, or dig into the older puzzles here if you missed 'em. I particularly liked this one, this one, this one, and this one.
As for next year, I'll be posting aperiodically and less frequently. Keeping to a weekly schedule accomplished exactly what it was supposed to: I was motivated to keep up with constructing, I became efficient at turning vague ideas into finished work, and I was forced to make firm decisions about fill and theme entries rather than hemming and hawing indefinitely. However, I have found that making the weekly puzzles takes up just about all of the time in a week that I can/would be willing to devote to construction, and sometimes more. I want to be able to work at a more leisurely pace (which also means I'll be able to tackle some more adventurous constructions), and have a little extra time to spend on some of my other hobbies that I've been neglecting. Also, it will be nice to start submitting some puzzles for publication, now that I kind of feel like I know what I'm doing. Lastly, I'd like to focus some time and energy on doing puzzle-related work rather than solely making puzzles. Aside from the weekly puzzles, my intention with this blog (which I really didn't think out for very long before it launched) was to offer reviews and analysis of interesting puzzles, discuss the nuts and bolts of constructing, and produce and share software tools for constructors and other interested parties (notice the "For Nerds" page? Notice that's it's never been updated?). So, basically, stay tuned for interesting stuff in the new year. Either check back periodically, or join the Google group to stay in the know.
I struggled a bit with finding the right kind of puzzle to write to conclude the series. Was thinking an extra large themeless at first, but I did a themeless for the penultimate puzzle and also I had a busy work week and then moved into a new pad all weekend. Being short on time, I also knew it would be risky to try and pull anything too adventurous (I want to focus on weirder stuff once I'm free of the weekly commitment). No, the best bet was a straightforward daily-sized number with a tight and fitting theme. The theme came right away, thankfully. I would be surprised if it hadn't been before (kind Chronicle of Higher Education-y, I think), but I can't actually remember having seen it. Tried to make it nice and breezy; perhaps I'm feeling a bit sentimental.
More words, crossed and otherwise, coming soon...
Puzzle: Famous Last Words
Rating: XW-PG13
Difficulty: Gentle
Downloads:
PUZ
PDF
I'll be taking a bit of time off from puzzle making for what's shaping up to be a busy December full of festive season parties, musical engagements, and settling into new digs. Cross Nerd will be back up in the new year, albeit with a different format. Until then, amuse yourselves with the fine indie puzzle sites in the sidebar, or dig into the older puzzles here if you missed 'em. I particularly liked this one, this one, this one, and this one.
As for next year, I'll be posting aperiodically and less frequently. Keeping to a weekly schedule accomplished exactly what it was supposed to: I was motivated to keep up with constructing, I became efficient at turning vague ideas into finished work, and I was forced to make firm decisions about fill and theme entries rather than hemming and hawing indefinitely. However, I have found that making the weekly puzzles takes up just about all of the time in a week that I can/would be willing to devote to construction, and sometimes more. I want to be able to work at a more leisurely pace (which also means I'll be able to tackle some more adventurous constructions), and have a little extra time to spend on some of my other hobbies that I've been neglecting. Also, it will be nice to start submitting some puzzles for publication, now that I kind of feel like I know what I'm doing. Lastly, I'd like to focus some time and energy on doing puzzle-related work rather than solely making puzzles. Aside from the weekly puzzles, my intention with this blog (which I really didn't think out for very long before it launched) was to offer reviews and analysis of interesting puzzles, discuss the nuts and bolts of constructing, and produce and share software tools for constructors and other interested parties (notice the "For Nerds" page? Notice that's it's never been updated?). So, basically, stay tuned for interesting stuff in the new year. Either check back periodically, or join the Google group to stay in the know.
I struggled a bit with finding the right kind of puzzle to write to conclude the series. Was thinking an extra large themeless at first, but I did a themeless for the penultimate puzzle and also I had a busy work week and then moved into a new pad all weekend. Being short on time, I also knew it would be risky to try and pull anything too adventurous (I want to focus on weirder stuff once I'm free of the weekly commitment). No, the best bet was a straightforward daily-sized number with a tight and fitting theme. The theme came right away, thankfully. I would be surprised if it hadn't been before (kind Chronicle of Higher Education-y, I think), but I can't actually remember having seen it. Tried to make it nice and breezy; perhaps I'm feeling a bit sentimental.
More words, crossed and otherwise, coming soon...
Puzzle: Famous Last Words
Rating: XW-PG13
Difficulty: Gentle
Downloads:
PUZ
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Hello I Must Be Going
Sorry about the delayed post. Not skimping on the puzzles, though; for your solving pleasure I've got a themed double-header to cover this week and the next. I'll be kicking it in Texas on a bit of a holiday. Plus, seeing as I've been doing this for nearly a year now, it seemed high time I got myself a week ahead.
The puzzles are complementary, yet distinct. Either can be solved first.
Puzzle: "Out of Season" and "Consider Yourself Blessed"
Rating: XW-PG13
Difficulty: On the easy side
Downloads:
Out of Season PUZ
Consider Yourself Blessed PUZ
Out of Season PDF
Consider Yourself Blessed PDF
Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Yee Hah
Off to Austin, Texas next Thursday for the Fun Fun Fun Fest. To be honest, I couldn't name five out of the hundreds of acts that are performing there, but that's not for their lack of popularity. I know Run-DMC are going to be there, as well as David Cross from Arrested Development and Saul Williams. I scanned the list a little while back and remember being impressed. Really, though, my interest in the music is secondary to my interest in flying to Texas to stay in a small house and dig some live jams with 13 other people (most of whom are friends of friends I've never met).
Oh, by the way, I just googled some of the acts: Girl Talk, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Explosions in the Sky, Santigold, Deerhoof (how could I forget!), Refused, Tomahawk (hells yeah), Against Me!, Fucked Up, Converge, Air Sex Championship (wut? actually, that's on the spoken word/performance art stage. I don't think that's a band).
Anyway, for next week, the plan is to release a set of two puzzles, which will cover the next two weeks. They might go up a little later than usual, but they'll be 15x15 complementary, themed puzzles so hopefully they'll be worth the wait.
For this week, I promised you a theme, so here's a theme. Actually, I promised you a cool theme, but you'll have to settle for mediocre but kinda cute.
Grid was a bear to fill, I was surprised to find. It necessitated bumping the black square count a little high and settling for some bleh fill. I guess this kind of theme entry arrangement is not to be taken lightly, although I'm sure Patrick Berry could have done it in a 36/76 without the cheater squares.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Squares Away
Rating: XW-14A (for tasteless puns mostly, rather than actual adult content)
Difficulty: Tried to make it measium and cute
Downloads:
PUZ
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Brought to you by audacity and poor time management
**Puzzle's up now -- write to follow once I've had some sleep**
Puzzle: Magazine Inserts
Rating: XW-18A
Difficulty: Gentler than usual, but with some trickery
Download the PDF file here and the PUZ file here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the embedded app below.
Rating: XW-18A
Difficulty: Gentler than usual, but with some trickery
Download the PDF file here and the PUZ file here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the embedded app below.
Monday, 10 September 2012
A Couple 6-Packs to Go
Holy moly, we're 40 weeks in already! In case you didn't know, the Cross Nerd series was intended to be a series of 52 weekly puzzles, which means the last scheduled puzzle will run on December 4th. After that, well, I still haven't totally worked that out yet. There will certainly be more puzzles, but it's unlikely that I'll run a new one every week. Rather, I'll probably focus on quality over quantity - posting less often, but offering more interesting, ambitious, and well-crafted puzzles. I instituted the weekly routine to a) force myself to keep at it for practice and b) build up a bit of a solver base. However, now that I'm somewhat more conversant with the nuts and bolts of puzzle making, I'd really like to play around a little more and attempt some more adventurous constructions (like this week's puzzle). The weekly deadline -combined with work, friends, bands, and life in general- leaves little time for experimentation, alas (not only that, but I do this without a net; I have, and have always had, exactly zero puzzles in reserve), and as of late I've been finding myself resorting to the same old tricks and falling back on themelesses rather than trying new approaches/theme types/etc. just to get a new puzzle out each week. I love doing it, but it's nearly time for a change.
Plugs from the cruciverse: if you missed the big unveiling of Erik Agard's Glutton for Pun site last Wednesday, check it now. Great debut puzzle chock-a-block with wit and wordplay; looking forward to see what he serves up tomorrow! You know what else is awesome? Neville Fogarty's puzzle blog is what. He's a couple months in now, and shows no signs of slowing down, thankfully. Last week's had a nifty theme, I thought. Keep 'em comin'!
On to the puzzle. So, remember what I said above about getting stuck in a constructorial rut due to the weekly schedule and wanting to experiment more? Forget all of it; this week's offering is more of an experiment than a puzzle proper, truth be told. It's kind of neat, I think. Maybe you'll hate it, I don't know. Either way, it contains a few things that I've never seen in a puzzle before, and if it inspires another constructor or results in a bit of contemplation and/or discussion then I'll consider it a success. I have no idea how difficult it will be to grok what's going on with the theme, so I erred on the side of too easy with the cluing and obfuscation (especially since it seems I buggered up the difficulty of last week's puzzle a bit). I'm interested to hear your feelings on this one, positive or negative, so don't be shy!
Title is a Will Weng quote, according to Will Shortz.
Oh, and this one would be easier on paper, only because Across Lite won't accept any correct answer you give it. You can solve it but you won't see Mr. Happy Pencil even if your solution is correct. That, and the web app can't seem to fit the whole puzzle without scrollbars. See the "Special Solutions" tab for the full answer and a bit more discussion.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Greeting Card -or- "It's your puzzle. Solve it any way you want"
Rating: XW-14A
Difficulty: Easy breezy clues, but theme may be tricky
Download the PDF file here and the PUZ file here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the embedded app below.
Plugs from the cruciverse: if you missed the big unveiling of Erik Agard's Glutton for Pun site last Wednesday, check it now. Great debut puzzle chock-a-block with wit and wordplay; looking forward to see what he serves up tomorrow! You know what else is awesome? Neville Fogarty's puzzle blog is what. He's a couple months in now, and shows no signs of slowing down, thankfully. Last week's had a nifty theme, I thought. Keep 'em comin'!
On to the puzzle. So, remember what I said above about getting stuck in a constructorial rut due to the weekly schedule and wanting to experiment more? Forget all of it; this week's offering is more of an experiment than a puzzle proper, truth be told. It's kind of neat, I think. Maybe you'll hate it, I don't know. Either way, it contains a few things that I've never seen in a puzzle before, and if it inspires another constructor or results in a bit of contemplation and/or discussion then I'll consider it a success. I have no idea how difficult it will be to grok what's going on with the theme, so I erred on the side of too easy with the cluing and obfuscation (especially since it seems I buggered up the difficulty of last week's puzzle a bit). I'm interested to hear your feelings on this one, positive or negative, so don't be shy!
Title is a Will Weng quote, according to Will Shortz.
Oh, and this one would be easier on paper, only because Across Lite won't accept any correct answer you give it. You can solve it but you won't see Mr. Happy Pencil even if your solution is correct. That, and the web app can't seem to fit the whole puzzle without scrollbars. See the "Special Solutions" tab for the full answer and a bit more discussion.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Greeting Card -or- "It's your puzzle. Solve it any way you want"
Rating: XW-14A
Difficulty: Easy breezy clues, but theme may be tricky
Download the PDF file here and the PUZ file here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the embedded app below.
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Polka Your Eyes Out
Not much to report this week. One of the highlights of the weekend was hitting up a Ukrainian Festival down the road from my house. I was curious when I heard what sounded vaguely like the Tetris theme on my front step. When I decided to investigate some time later, the band was actually playing the A Music from Tetris as part of a Weird Al-esque polka medley (or whatever the Ukranian variant of polka is. I should know this; I am somewheres around half Ukranian).
In crossword news, happy (belated) 60th birthday, Will Shortz!
Today's puzzle is 15x15 and themed. I considered offering it as a print-only puzzle because no electronic form can portray the solution exactly as I envision it. But, since I know that printing is a pain in the ass and/or ecologically objectionable to some solvers, I'll just strongly recommend that you solve the print version but offer you both. See the solutions page for the grid as it was meant to look. Also, if you think the clue for 30-Down sucks, well, you'd be right, but know that I struggled for a while with that one. Another example of hey-I-found-a-great-entry-not-in-my-database-that-bails-me-out-of-a-tight-spot-but-how-the-hell-do-you-clue-it. If you have a better idea I'm all ears. Lastly, I hope you'll forgive me for yet another Game of Thrones clue. I'm currently obsessed (just started the fifth book, which is bittersweet because I know that I'll devour it and then be left hanging for God-only-knows how many more years before the series is concluded). Oh, and of course I know that the book series is called "A Song of Ice and Fire," but I wager that more people know it by the TV series name.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Inflexions
Rating: XW-14A
Difficulty: Moderate/kinda tricky
Download the PDF file here and the PUZ file here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the embedded app below.
In crossword news, happy (belated) 60th birthday, Will Shortz!
Today's puzzle is 15x15 and themed. I considered offering it as a print-only puzzle because no electronic form can portray the solution exactly as I envision it. But, since I know that printing is a pain in the ass and/or ecologically objectionable to some solvers, I'll just strongly recommend that you solve the print version but offer you both. See the solutions page for the grid as it was meant to look. Also, if you think the clue for 30-Down sucks, well, you'd be right, but know that I struggled for a while with that one. Another example of hey-I-found-a-great-entry-not-in-my-database-that-bails-me-out-of-a-tight-spot-but-how-the-hell-do-you-clue-it. If you have a better idea I'm all ears. Lastly, I hope you'll forgive me for yet another Game of Thrones clue. I'm currently obsessed (just started the fifth book, which is bittersweet because I know that I'll devour it and then be left hanging for God-only-knows how many more years before the series is concluded). Oh, and of course I know that the book series is called "A Song of Ice and Fire," but I wager that more people know it by the TV series name.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Inflexions
Rating: XW-14A
Difficulty: Moderate/kinda tricky
Download the PDF file here and the PUZ file here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the embedded app below.
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Regarding Agard
How do ya like that? I didn't even have to write a puzzle this week and I still barely have the post up before 2 in the morning. Ladies and gents, today's Cross Nerd puzzle is an offering from Mr. Erik Agard. As welcome an addition to the cruciverse as you could ask for, 18-year-old Erik came into prominence earlier this year by snagging the B Division bronze at the ACPT and has since solidified his place in puzzledom by demonstrating his formidable construction chops. For starters, you may remember him from week 4 of Guest Constructor Month over at MGWCC. Furthermore, his Anoa Place mini-series of 14 witty puzzles is not to be missed. The themes are tight and amusing and the grids ably filled, but the hilarious clues are the piece de resistance, IMO. But what do I know? Let's hear a little from the man himself:
Peter: What got you into puzzles, and how long have you been at it?
Erik: My math teacher from high school, David Stein, is a puzzle genius and ACPT-goer. I’ve kind of been doing puzzles my whole life, but it was his class - about 4 years ago now - that got me really hooked.
P: Aside from (American-style) crosswords, which other sorts of puzzles do you solve?
E: I do the occasional Rows Garden (Andrew Ries is amazing). My grandfather is big into acrostics, so I try those. But I’m a bit of an idiot savant, even within the puzzle world - really only good at the one thing.
P: Where have you been published?
E: One LAT puzzle. One Week 4 puzzle at Matt Gaffney’s Weekly Crossword Contest. More to come.
P: After such an impressive debut showing at the 2012 ACPT I’m willing to bet you’ll be back for 2013. Improving on this year’s performance would be tough; how do you think your chances look? Got any other tournaments/prizes in your sights?
E: Wild horses couldn’t keep me away. Well, they could, really, but I’m not anticipating that being a huge problem. I’ve gotten a bit faster since March, but also a bit stupider, so if (big if) I can manage to stay error-free, I like my chances.
P: Do you do any sort of training for solving (recording your times, purposely filling in knowledge gaps, etc.)?
E: I have a spreadsheet of my LAT times. But I don’t really do anything with it, so I haven’t quite figured out how it actually helps. As for the latter, I would never do anything like that. That sounds too much like studying. Ask any one of my classmates how I am about studying.
P: I really enjoyed the Anoa Place mini-series, and it sounds like I’m not alone. Can we expect another installment any time soon?
E: Appreciate that. And I like the term “mini-series,” I may just have to steal that in future. A lot of the puzzles on Anoa Place started out as NYT/LAT rejects; at the moment, I’m working on getting more puzzles rejected so I’ll have stock for a sequel.
P: Whose work do you admire as a constructor and enjoy as a solver?
E: Not sure I can separate my constructing, solving, and editing perspectives anymore. I got a lot of love for a lot of constructors in the game, but my top 5: Gaffney, BEQ, Norris, Gordon, Tausig.
P: What are your thoughts on eye-catching/wide-open grids, convention-shirking themes/gimmicks, etc.? Is it all about the solver, or do you think that grids and gimmicks that push the boundaries and challenge constructors are important as well?
E: It is vitally important for the evolution of crosswords that people keep doing new, cool shit. Convention is made to be shirked. But - with the odd exception - not in the newspaper. Put it in a book or something.
P: Tell me about your approach to construction. What tools do you use, what do you do with a deadline and a lack of ideas, what qualities do you look for in a seed entry or long fill, etc?
E: I am very, very dependent on autofill. It is my life support system. But I write my own clues wherever possible. I’m not really a deadline-meeting kind of guy, but in the vein of one of my favorite writers, a bath always helps.
P: What sorts of crosswords do you wish you saw more of in the cruciverse? Less of?
E: More indie constructors. Less Oreo centennial puzzles. I’ve done at least 5.
Thanks for the thoughts and the puzzle, Erik. But especially the puzzle; my weekend was gloriously free of clue-writing. It was Folk Fest in Regina, to which I have obligations as a volunteer, beer- and music-consumer, and soaker-up of sun.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Not Now...
Rating: XW-PG
Difficulty: Medium-hard
Download the PDF file here and the PUZ file here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the embedded app below.
Monday, 23 July 2012
Tuesday already?!
This summer's starting to heat up. Aside from being sweltering and humid most of the time (and storming when it's not), this next month is going to be crazy busy. Folk Fest is coming up (I volunteer there every year so I can come and go as I please, and I always end up spending the entire weekend either laying on the grass absorbing the music, working and absorbing the music, or whooping it up till all hours of the night (there's music then, too)), as is a camping trip to Good Spirit Lake (smores, bitches), and a few gigs with a few different bands (haven't been playing much this summer, aside from practices, so it'll be good to shake the booties again). As for puzzles, I'll still be posting one a week, of course, but maybe don't expect anything too adventurous for the next month. I won't let the quality suffer in favour of heavy-handed cracks at half-baked, underdeveloped ideas or ridiculous grids. I'll save those for cooler weather.
Kind of a weird puzzle today. 15x16 grid, for one, and with unconventional symmetry. I originally developed the theme to work within a more typical layout: 4 long theme answers, symmetrically placed. Theme development is by far the most time-intensive part of constructing, for me. Although filling and cluing the puzzle took only an afternoon or so once I had everything in place, I let this one percolate for a few weeks after devising the initial notion of it, and eventually I decided to add another layer to the theme (hopefully it doesn't come across as unnecessary clutter). This necessitated a left-right symmetrical grid, however, and shorter theme answers, since I couldn't find any longer entries that worked nearly as well, and couldn't find a matching 16-letter entry for the one on the bottom. Interesting, I thought, that shorter theme answers yielded a more rich theme. At just 40 theme squares this puzzle's a little on the light side by the numbers, but I think it packs a bit of a punch. Maybe you'll hate it, though? Let me know if you do!
P.S.: 49-Down: do you Americans know this song? That shit's everywhere at the moment, here in Sask.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Really Packing It In
Difficulty: Not too terribly tricky, I don't think
Rating: XW-MA
Download the PDF file here and the PUZ file here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the embedded app below.
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
Month of Metas 3/4
NOTE: For the sake of solvers who may have missed last week's contest, the solution is on a separate page (see the tabs above). The write-up below gives nothing away about the puzzle or meta answer.
Week 2 Wrap-up
So week 2 may have actually been easier than week 1 for most solvers. I'm going purely off of solvers' comments, since the numbers don't really tell me anything. The correct : incorrect ratio was slightly (but not much) higher this time, but the sample size is pretty small in both cases (it's late and I don't really feel like doing stats, so let's just assume that the difference is not significant). Also, I noticed that a number of solvers that submitted answers for week 1 did not submit for week 2, while a number of new solvers showed up after week 1, so our populations are different (and certainly not randomly sampled - last week most came from crosswordfiend, while this week most came from MGWCC). To hell with the stats, let's get to the winner:
56 solvers out of 59 submitted correct answers this week, but only one of them can win. By random selection, this week's winner is Peter Gwinn. Congrats, Peter.
A huge thanks to Matt Gaffney for directing a lot of new solvers my way. Throughout the past week I had the pleasure of chatting with a number of puzzlers whom I had never met before as their answers rolled in. Y'all come back now!
Miscellaneous Xword News
I've just joined the team of "Litzers" for the Pre-Shortzian Puzzle Project. The goal is to digitize every NYT puzzle since the dawn of time (February 15, 1942, in this case). Currently, every puzzle from the Shortz era (beginning in Nov of '93) is available in digital form for analysis and perusal at XWord Info, but the best we've got are PDFs for the considerable pre-Shortzian catalog. The project was started back in '99 by Barry Haldiman and fizzled out after a number of years, but has just recently been revived by David Steinberg. If you'd like to get involved, hit up the site and drop David a line.
This Week's Puzzle
So I've decided to swap around weeks 3 and 4. The main reason is that I felt I needed to revamp the week 3 puzzle this weekend, and haven't had time to finish it yet. Plus, considering it's Canada Day long weekend here, the title of this puzzle made it too appropriate to not run it. This means that you'll notice a significant increase in difficulty from the last puzzle (which seems to have been too easy for a week 2 anyway). Don't worry, though, the next one will be tricky as well; no more Mr. Nice Constructor.
Meta Contest Overview: There will be four metas in total, one each week. Each week, one winner will be randomly chosen from the list of solvers with the correct answer to the previous week's puzzle. They will win the opportunity to suggest an entry and/or clue for a future Cross Nerd puzzle, and will bring honour to their family and their country. At the end of the four weeks, any solvers that answered all four metas correctly will be entered into a draw to win untold riches, most likely in the form of a puzzle book or two (haven't decided yet, but seriously probably something around a $25 value).
Instructions: This week's contest answer is a brand of alcohol. This is week 3, but this puzzle was originally conceived as week 4, so it's a bit of a toughie. Send an e-mail with the answer in the subject line to peter.bananarchy[at symbol goes here]gmail[dot]com by 11:59pm CST on Sunday, July 8.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Take the Day Off and Get Stoned
Rating: XW-MA
Download the PDF file here and the PUZ file here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the embedded app below.
Week 2 Wrap-up
So week 2 may have actually been easier than week 1 for most solvers. I'm going purely off of solvers' comments, since the numbers don't really tell me anything. The correct : incorrect ratio was slightly (but not much) higher this time, but the sample size is pretty small in both cases (it's late and I don't really feel like doing stats, so let's just assume that the difference is not significant). Also, I noticed that a number of solvers that submitted answers for week 1 did not submit for week 2, while a number of new solvers showed up after week 1, so our populations are different (and certainly not randomly sampled - last week most came from crosswordfiend, while this week most came from MGWCC). To hell with the stats, let's get to the winner:
56 solvers out of 59 submitted correct answers this week, but only one of them can win. By random selection, this week's winner is Peter Gwinn. Congrats, Peter.
A huge thanks to Matt Gaffney for directing a lot of new solvers my way. Throughout the past week I had the pleasure of chatting with a number of puzzlers whom I had never met before as their answers rolled in. Y'all come back now!
Miscellaneous Xword News
I've just joined the team of "Litzers" for the Pre-Shortzian Puzzle Project. The goal is to digitize every NYT puzzle since the dawn of time (February 15, 1942, in this case). Currently, every puzzle from the Shortz era (beginning in Nov of '93) is available in digital form for analysis and perusal at XWord Info, but the best we've got are PDFs for the considerable pre-Shortzian catalog. The project was started back in '99 by Barry Haldiman and fizzled out after a number of years, but has just recently been revived by David Steinberg. If you'd like to get involved, hit up the site and drop David a line.
This Week's Puzzle
So I've decided to swap around weeks 3 and 4. The main reason is that I felt I needed to revamp the week 3 puzzle this weekend, and haven't had time to finish it yet. Plus, considering it's Canada Day long weekend here, the title of this puzzle made it too appropriate to not run it. This means that you'll notice a significant increase in difficulty from the last puzzle (which seems to have been too easy for a week 2 anyway). Don't worry, though, the next one will be tricky as well; no more Mr. Nice Constructor.
Meta Contest Overview: There will be four metas in total, one each week. Each week, one winner will be randomly chosen from the list of solvers with the correct answer to the previous week's puzzle. They will win the opportunity to suggest an entry and/or clue for a future Cross Nerd puzzle, and will bring honour to their family and their country. At the end of the four weeks, any solvers that answered all four metas correctly will be entered into a draw to win untold riches, most likely in the form of a puzzle book or two (haven't decided yet, but seriously probably something around a $25 value).
Instructions: This week's contest answer is a brand of alcohol. This is week 3, but this puzzle was originally conceived as week 4, so it's a bit of a toughie. Send an e-mail with the answer in the subject line to peter.bananarchy[at symbol goes here]gmail[dot]com by 11:59pm CST on Sunday, July 8.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Take the Day Off and Get Stoned
Rating: XW-MA
Download the PDF file here and the PUZ file here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the embedded app below.
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Ladies and Gentlemen, Jeffrey Harris
As you might have guessed, this week we'll get to meet puzzler par excellence Jeffrey Harris. Jeffrey is not only a deadly solver, but a fine constructor as well. He's been at it for close to a decade now, has been regular contributor to the Chronicle of Higher Education and the New York Sun (RIP), and has been published in the NYT and Wall Street Journal as well. Jeffrey has been in touch a number of times lately to provide feedback on the puzzles (mostly in the way of reporting grievous errors, which is always appreciated) and chat about his brand-spanking-new book, Sit & Solve Pop Music Crosswords. 42 mini-puzzles (10x10 mostly, I believe. Dimensions I've never worked with, but you know I love the minis), and at an unbeatable price, if you ask me. There's a sample of one of the puzzles that didn't make it in to the book (so the ones that did must be even better, right?) at Jeffrey's site. Don't be fooled by the diminuitive proportions: cramming that much thematic material into a breathable 10x10 grid with 2 themers could not have been easy, and it's a silky smooth solve nonetheless.
Anyway, I caught up with Jeffrey for a Q&A over the weekend; let's see how it went down:
Peter: Congratulations on your first book! What can solvers expect from it in terms of themes, puzzle styles, difficulty, etc.?
Jeffrey: As they’re only 10x10, most of them have only a pair of theme entries. There are a few puzzles with more, but they’re the minority. Also, there were some pairings I found that were just too nice to worry about pesky concerns like grid symmetry, so the last eight or so puzzles are nonsymmetric. I tried to keep them easy, but only solvers can really say how difficult they are.
P: Tell me about your approach to construction. What tools do you use, what do you do with a deadline and a lack of ideas, what qualities do you look for in a seed entry, long fill, or theme, etc?
J: I use Crossword Compiler with a hand-ranked wordlist, though I have made grids by hand and sometimes still do, if I feel like it. I like it when themes feel “complete”--if I solve a puzzle with three theme entries, I want that to be not because there was no room for a fourth entry, but because there is no fourth entry. As for long fill, no surprises--give me a multi-word phrase with interesting letters and I’m happy.
P: Whose work do you admire as a constructor?
J: Oh, that’d be a long list. Patrick Berry, Trip Payne, Frank Longo, Mike Shenk, BEQ, and Merl Reagle would probably be on everyone’s list; in addition, there are a number of constructors including Todd McClary, Eric Berlin, and Adam Cohen who I don’t see as much buzz/chatter about but who are definitely talented puzzlemakers who I try to emulate.
P: What are your thoughts on eye-catching/wide-open grids, convention-shirking themes/gimmicks, etc.? Is it all about the solver, or do you think that grids and gimmicks that push the boundaries and challenge constructors are important as well?
J: As a solver, I love being able to look back at a puzzle and marvel at the effort and skill put into the construction--this includes, however, the effort and skill needed to keep a puzzle clean. Quad-stacks are impressive, but if they’re filled to the brim with partials, abbreviations, dupes, and bogus phrases they become less so. And it’s not like these things are necessary! Patrick Berry, Frank Longo, and most recently Matt Jones have all made quad stacks that are much cleaner than the ones that have been published in the Times these past few months, and to me, those are exponentially more fun to solve and to admire after the fact.
P: Where do see your puzzling career going? Do you have any specific construction or publication goals that you’re aiming for?
J: Not beyond “making enough puzzles to keep a roof over my head” at this point, heh. I’d like to have a non-pocket-size book at some point, but that’ll be a long way off I think.
P: How do you think that the existence of a puzzle blogging community has affected the quality and/or style of puzzles, if at all?
J: I don’t know. It’s certainly made puzzle solving a more communal activity, which is a good thing.
P: I understand you’re a pretty shit-hot solver (a Lollapuzzoola champ if I’m not mistaken?). Which puzzle outlets do you hit up for a solid challenge? Other than traditional crosswords, which sorts of puzzles do you enjoy?
J: For challenge, both the Washington Post themeless and Fireball are hard to beat. I also do Matt Gaffney’s contest...week 5 puzzles can sometimes be even tougher than Posts or Fireballs. If you know how to solve cryptic crosswords and are looking or a real workout, I recommend the cryptics of Kevin Wald and Mark Halpin.
Thanks for the opportunity to be interviewed, and I look forward to solving more of your puzzles as you post them!
Pleasure's all mine, Jeffrey. It's always nice to get acquainted with other puzzlers, and so you can expect more interviews in the future. Feel like you've got something to share with the literally tens of adoring Cross Nerd fans? Hit me up and we'll shoot the shit.
On to today's puzzle. Dug out a bit of an oldie this week. I devised and polished the theme with the intention of whipping it into a NYT submission. Didn't even get as far as filling the grid before discovering that a very similar theme was done back in '06. Although none of the same entries are used, the idea was similar enough that it didn't seem worth waiting 6 months for the almost certain rejection, so I shelved it. Glad I did, though, because I needed a ready-made themed puzzle stat (too many themelesses recently), since I've been spending any and all of my free puzzling time working on both my submission to the 20 under 30 contest and my upcoming month of metas. Wait, what? That's right, you heard right: a month of metas. Between Trip Payne's jaw-dropping "Remote Possibilities" extravaganza, Pete Muller's (so far) excellent Muller Monthly Music Meta, and the usual dose of MGWCC puzzles, I've been more than a little inspired to try my hand at a meta-puzzle. After a little brainstorming, I've come up with what I think are four solid puzzle ideas, which I'll be running in the fashion of a month's worth of MGWCC. And there will be prizes! (mostly things of no monetary value). Tune in next week for more details.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: How Goes It?
Rating: XW-PG
Download the PDF file here and the PUZ file here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the embedded app below.
Anyway, I caught up with Jeffrey for a Q&A over the weekend; let's see how it went down:
Peter: Congratulations on your first book! What can solvers expect from it in terms of themes, puzzle styles, difficulty, etc.?
Jeffrey: As they’re only 10x10, most of them have only a pair of theme entries. There are a few puzzles with more, but they’re the minority. Also, there were some pairings I found that were just too nice to worry about pesky concerns like grid symmetry, so the last eight or so puzzles are nonsymmetric. I tried to keep them easy, but only solvers can really say how difficult they are.
P: Tell me about your approach to construction. What tools do you use, what do you do with a deadline and a lack of ideas, what qualities do you look for in a seed entry, long fill, or theme, etc?
J: I use Crossword Compiler with a hand-ranked wordlist, though I have made grids by hand and sometimes still do, if I feel like it. I like it when themes feel “complete”--if I solve a puzzle with three theme entries, I want that to be not because there was no room for a fourth entry, but because there is no fourth entry. As for long fill, no surprises--give me a multi-word phrase with interesting letters and I’m happy.
P: Whose work do you admire as a constructor?
J: Oh, that’d be a long list. Patrick Berry, Trip Payne, Frank Longo, Mike Shenk, BEQ, and Merl Reagle would probably be on everyone’s list; in addition, there are a number of constructors including Todd McClary, Eric Berlin, and Adam Cohen who I don’t see as much buzz/chatter about but who are definitely talented puzzlemakers who I try to emulate.
P: What are your thoughts on eye-catching/wide-open grids, convention-shirking themes/gimmicks, etc.? Is it all about the solver, or do you think that grids and gimmicks that push the boundaries and challenge constructors are important as well?
J: As a solver, I love being able to look back at a puzzle and marvel at the effort and skill put into the construction--this includes, however, the effort and skill needed to keep a puzzle clean. Quad-stacks are impressive, but if they’re filled to the brim with partials, abbreviations, dupes, and bogus phrases they become less so. And it’s not like these things are necessary! Patrick Berry, Frank Longo, and most recently Matt Jones have all made quad stacks that are much cleaner than the ones that have been published in the Times these past few months, and to me, those are exponentially more fun to solve and to admire after the fact.
P: Where do see your puzzling career going? Do you have any specific construction or publication goals that you’re aiming for?
J: Not beyond “making enough puzzles to keep a roof over my head” at this point, heh. I’d like to have a non-pocket-size book at some point, but that’ll be a long way off I think.
P: How do you think that the existence of a puzzle blogging community has affected the quality and/or style of puzzles, if at all?
J: I don’t know. It’s certainly made puzzle solving a more communal activity, which is a good thing.
P: I understand you’re a pretty shit-hot solver (a Lollapuzzoola champ if I’m not mistaken?). Which puzzle outlets do you hit up for a solid challenge? Other than traditional crosswords, which sorts of puzzles do you enjoy?
J: For challenge, both the Washington Post themeless and Fireball are hard to beat. I also do Matt Gaffney’s contest...week 5 puzzles can sometimes be even tougher than Posts or Fireballs. If you know how to solve cryptic crosswords and are looking or a real workout, I recommend the cryptics of Kevin Wald and Mark Halpin.
Thanks for the opportunity to be interviewed, and I look forward to solving more of your puzzles as you post them!
Pleasure's all mine, Jeffrey. It's always nice to get acquainted with other puzzlers, and so you can expect more interviews in the future. Feel like you've got something to share with the literally tens of adoring Cross Nerd fans? Hit me up and we'll shoot the shit.
On to today's puzzle. Dug out a bit of an oldie this week. I devised and polished the theme with the intention of whipping it into a NYT submission. Didn't even get as far as filling the grid before discovering that a very similar theme was done back in '06. Although none of the same entries are used, the idea was similar enough that it didn't seem worth waiting 6 months for the almost certain rejection, so I shelved it. Glad I did, though, because I needed a ready-made themed puzzle stat (too many themelesses recently), since I've been spending any and all of my free puzzling time working on both my submission to the 20 under 30 contest and my upcoming month of metas. Wait, what? That's right, you heard right: a month of metas. Between Trip Payne's jaw-dropping "Remote Possibilities" extravaganza, Pete Muller's (so far) excellent Muller Monthly Music Meta, and the usual dose of MGWCC puzzles, I've been more than a little inspired to try my hand at a meta-puzzle. After a little brainstorming, I've come up with what I think are four solid puzzle ideas, which I'll be running in the fashion of a month's worth of MGWCC. And there will be prizes! (mostly things of no monetary value). Tune in next week for more details.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: How Goes It?
Rating: XW-PG
Download the PDF file here and the PUZ file here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the embedded app below.
Monday, 7 May 2012
Running Back to Saskatoon
Up in Toon Town for the second time in three days. Drove up on Saturday night with a few friends for a Ghost/Mastodon/Opeth show. Ghost's bizarre stage show blew me away, and their compositions were tight. Mastodon was solid, but not as good as when I saw them last (granted, they were headlining that night). Had never seen Opeth before, and they were every bit as astonishing as I had imagined they would be.
After returning home basically just to sleep off Saturday night and watch Game of Thrones, I drove back up to 'stoon at 5 this morning for a work-related conference. Spent the day attending talks and fielding the tough questions, and then hit the town for some boozing and schmoozing with the coworkers and various auxiliary personnel. Needless to say, I'm completely bushed, and unmotivated to write much more than I already have. Alls I'll say is that this week's puzzle is another 15x themed. It was originally intended to be the final Campus Crosswords puzzle, but due to a scheduling snafu it won't be run as part of the CC series, so here it is! I thought it was a bit easier than the usual Cross Nerd fare, but my test solvers told me otherwise. Either way, I hope that you enjoy it.
***Update on Wednesday morning***
Errata: (SPOILER ALERT - highlight the following text to read about the last theme entry)
Alas, I'm at work (and therefore without the means to change the puzzle) until the end of the day. Therefore, the puzzle will remain on the site for at least a little while as a symbol of my lack of rigour.
***Update on Wednesday night***
The online puzzle has been corrected.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Measuring Schtick
Rating: XW-14A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
After returning home basically just to sleep off Saturday night and watch Game of Thrones, I drove back up to 'stoon at 5 this morning for a work-related conference. Spent the day attending talks and fielding the tough questions, and then hit the town for some boozing and schmoozing with the coworkers and various auxiliary personnel. Needless to say, I'm completely bushed, and unmotivated to write much more than I already have. Alls I'll say is that this week's puzzle is another 15x themed. It was originally intended to be the final Campus Crosswords puzzle, but due to a scheduling snafu it won't be run as part of the CC series, so here it is! I thought it was a bit easier than the usual Cross Nerd fare, but my test solvers told me otherwise. Either way, I hope that you enjoy it.
***Update on Wednesday morning***
Errata: (SPOILER ALERT - highlight the following text to read about the last theme entry)
A few of you have pointed out a couple of weaknesses with the last theme entry, POUND'S GRAVE. Before the puzzle was published, a few people expressed uncertainty about pound being a unit of mass. In fact, it seems that "pound" has a complicated history of usage, and can be used as a unit of either mass or weight/force. See the wikipedia entry for more elaboration. I do stand by the usage in the theme answer, however, as an unqualified "pound" is assumed to be the mass pound. Nevertheless, in hindsight this was a poor choice for a theme entry because of the ambiguity.
The bigger problem, though, which I only learned this morning (give it up one time for Jeffrey Harris, who brought it to my attention), is that Ezra Pound did not write "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," contrary to what the clue implies. I had come up with the wording and format of the clue, and then quickly skimmed the Wikipedia article on Ezra Pound for a recognizable title. In my haste, it seems I overlooked the part that said that Pound was merely responsible for the publication of the T.S. Eliot poem. The clue still sort of works, but it's not ideal, especially considering the ambiguity resulting from the substitution of POUNDS for MASS.
***Update on Wednesday night***
The online puzzle has been corrected.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Measuring Schtick
Rating: XW-14A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
Monday, 23 April 2012
XX-Rated
Holy Toledo, week 20 already?! To be honest, I didn't think much beyond the second week when I started this site. I'm going to take a page from the book of Matt Gaffney and set a goal for this puzzle series. Now, Matt's a complete fucking maniac, and his goals are fittingly maniacal. 10,000 daily puzzles!? 1000 weekly metas!? I'd be satisfied if I could think of one meta puzzle that's as good as any of his (speaking of which, I'm completely lost on this week's MGWCC - don't have a sniff. **Late-breaking update: just got it! Don't think I've ever gone 3 for 3 before. Outlook not good on 4 for 4, though**). My goal is decidedly more modest: The Cross Nerd puzzle series will run for at least (but maybe more than) 52 weeks. Since I pretty much started making puzzles at the same time as starting this site and I never know what I'll be doing with my life six months down the road, I really can't say whether or not I'll have the time or desire to continue beyond (or even until) then, but I guarantee another 32 weeks of puzzles.
Speaking of time and desire to make puzzles, this weekend I had neither. I was hit with my first flu in a few years, which rendered me more inclined toward laying in bed watching Twin Peaks than writing clues. I had come up with the theme already, thankfully, but left the grid and cluing a little later than I should have. As you'll see from entries like 4- and 27-Across, this puzzle would have benefitted from a little extra time and attention (for instance, I only noticed after filling most of it that it's a 74/35, which is low (and ill-advised) for a themed puzzle. In fact, I almost had the NW and SE corners filled with one less black square in each, but couldn't get around a few fugly entries). At any rate, I don't think the handful of clunker entries will ruin the solving experience (myself, I value solvability over all else), but I'm acutely aware of them at the moment because of a recent discussion about fill over at Tyler Hinman's blog. A number of top editors, constructors, and solvers have weighed in on the issue, so it's an enlightening read.
Lastly, last week's interview with Steve Riley was a huge hit. A number of people got in touch to say that they enjoyed it, so I'll be doing more. I've been talking with a few constructors about it, but I'd like to make it a somewhat regular feature, so if you're at all involved with puzzles, drop me a line and we'll set something up! Plus, if you're a constructor I'll gladly run one of your puzzles here.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Bobtails
Rating: XW-18A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
Speaking of time and desire to make puzzles, this weekend I had neither. I was hit with my first flu in a few years, which rendered me more inclined toward laying in bed watching Twin Peaks than writing clues. I had come up with the theme already, thankfully, but left the grid and cluing a little later than I should have. As you'll see from entries like 4- and 27-Across, this puzzle would have benefitted from a little extra time and attention (for instance, I only noticed after filling most of it that it's a 74/35, which is low (and ill-advised) for a themed puzzle. In fact, I almost had the NW and SE corners filled with one less black square in each, but couldn't get around a few fugly entries). At any rate, I don't think the handful of clunker entries will ruin the solving experience (myself, I value solvability over all else), but I'm acutely aware of them at the moment because of a recent discussion about fill over at Tyler Hinman's blog. A number of top editors, constructors, and solvers have weighed in on the issue, so it's an enlightening read.
Lastly, last week's interview with Steve Riley was a huge hit. A number of people got in touch to say that they enjoyed it, so I'll be doing more. I've been talking with a few constructors about it, but I'd like to make it a somewhat regular feature, so if you're at all involved with puzzles, drop me a line and we'll set something up! Plus, if you're a constructor I'll gladly run one of your puzzles here.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Bobtails
Rating: XW-18A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
All About Steve
As promised, we have a special guest with us this week: give it up one time for Mr. Steven Riley. I met Steve a few months back when we both started constructing for Campus Crosswords. He's been turning out consistently astounding puzzles throughout the semester, and with a tight and very well-reviewed NYT debut a few Fridays back (check it: NYT, 3/23/12) Steve is certainly a constructor to watch. (***Late-breaking update: Steve also has tomorrow's (Wed Apr 18) NYT puzzle! Also, Campus Crosswords constructor/editor Milo Beckman has today's, and it's a gooder***). Let's see what the man has to say for himself, shall we:
Peter: Let’s start with your background outside of puzzles. Tell me about yourself: vocation, avocations, A/S/L, hopes and dreams, etc.
Steve: I’m a self-employed tutor who’s trying to make the transition to a career in clinical psychology. I’m a 31 year old dude who lives in San Francisco with my lovely gf Erica and my crazy cat Banshee. As I write this, she (the cat) is running circles around the living room.
P: What got you into puzzles, and how long have you been at it?
S: I think of myself as a problem solver first and foremost. I get nerd-sniped at the drop of a hat. So, crossword solving came pretty naturally to me. About six months after I started solving them, I remember dropping the word SYZYGY into a puzzle and thinking “man, I’ve gotten better at this.” The next step was building them. I created one as a holiday present for Erica and then tried making a few more just for fun. This was about two years ago, and since then I’ve written about 50 or 60 total.
P: Where have you been published?
S: On 3/23 I had my NYT debut. It was a wide open themeless that I was very proud of. Also, I’m one quarter of the Campus Crosswords syndicate. You should be familiar with them, since you’re another quarter. :) We publish in the Harvard Crimson. I’ve also written a couple of puzzles for weddings, and I had one puzzle that was commissioned by a company I used to work for called vibrantBrains. HYPOTHALAMUS is not a good puzzle entry, but you do what you get paid to do, right?
P: Whose work do you admire as a constructor and enjoy as a solver?
S: As a solver, I look for Patrick Berry’s tagline. I think that guy really has it dialed in as to what makes an enjoyable solve. His themes are never boundary-pushing, his themeless puzzles are never flashy, but every square in every one of his grids flows together like melted chocolate. In terms of construction, I admire Joe Krozel. He’s willing to take an idea to its logical extreme even if it’s risky. I think back on puzzles that stand out from the crowd, and pretty much every one of them belongs to Krozel. Remember the LIES puzzle? Well, if not, here it is.
P: Tell me about your approach to construction. What tools do you use, what do you do with a deadline and a lack of ideas, what qualities do you look for in a seed entry or long fill, etc?
S: After about three puzzles filled by hand, I decided to write my own crossword filling software. Because its mine, I have access to the guts and am constantly tweaking the way it fills. I get wordlists from random sources like Wiktionary, so I’m constantly able to fill a grid with fresh phrases. In terms of themes, I prefer stuff related to math, letter patterns, and the geometry of the grid. That kind of thing is easy for me. What’s hard for me is wordplay. I find that what I think of as funny is often thought of as bizarre or offensive by others. For instance, I just got a puzzle rejected by Campus Crosswords because it was too raunchy, even though I thought it was hilarious. As far as I know, that’s the only puzzle that has been rejected by Campus Crosswords. :) For long fill, I basically look for something that is scrabbly and is a bit incongruous to put into a crossword puzzle. The way I see it, crosswords have a bit of a mystic aura surrounding them. It is very common for people to stay away from them because they’re “not smart enough”. Because of this, crosswords are seen as very high brow and very special. So, putting in common and slangy entries can throw off that sense of mysticism and bring the puzzle back to earth. I mean stuff like OH SNAP, or GET BENT, or CRAPOLA. One of the best phrases I ever put into a puzzle was LAME JOKES. It’s scrabbly and has a endearing but common quality to it. Of course, sometimes I’ll go just for pure scrabbliness. One of these times I’m going to fit BLIZZARD OF OZZ into one of our 11x13 grids.
P: The ACPT has taught me that constructors run the gamut as far as solving ability goes. How are you as a solver?
S: I find that I don’t like solving crosswords alone. It’s a team sport for me. With a partner of above average skill, I find that we can get through a Saturday NYT in about 20 minutes, and can get through a Sunday in 30 to 40. I don’t know what that says about me though. :) If I try to tackle anything harder than a Wednesday by myself I end up having a miserable time.
P: What are your thoughts on eye-catching/wide-open grids, convention-shirking themes/gimmicks, etc.? Is it all about the solver, or do you think that grids and gimmicks that push the boundaries and challenge constructors are important as well?
S: It’s definitely NOT all about the solver. It’s all about what you can get away with as a constructor without pissing off your solvers. They’re willing to deal with a certain amount of crap, but anything past that and you’ll hear from them. Personally, I find wide-open grids to be passe. Once there gets to be a convex section of grid that’s about 5x5 or larger, the only letters that will fill that section are the 1-point scrabble letters. Those letters are boring and they have no punch. If someone could create a 60-entry (or lower) grid with a 1.6 (or higher) scrabble average and not overrun the thing with cheater squares, I would rethink my position on open grids. I think the closest to that goal was this gem by Raymond C Young. However, most open grids just don’t have any real feeling to them. I’ll take a punchy 72-worder any day over a dramatically open 54-word Frank Longo monstrosity. As for gimmicks, I feel that they are important in order to prevent solver fatigue. If every theme were replace-a-letter-with-another-letter, solvers would get bored and move on to a different outlet. It’s important to play with the rules every once in awhile in order to figure out which of them are actually important. For instance, were it not for some dude who thought “Only one letter in a box? Screw you!”, we would never have had this beauty (which was Will Shortz’s very first publication as editor).
P: Do you have any specific construction or publication goals that you’re aiming for?
S: My last goal is to get a second themeless into the NYT with stacks of 15s on top and bottom and only 21 black squares. For some reason those numbers are very important to me.
P: Even among the small number of your puzzles I’ve seen, there has been a lot of variety: quote/joke themes, a rebus, and a lipogram, in addition to simpler letter-addition/removal themes. Do you make a concerted effort to try different styles, or do you just go with whatever comes to mind?
S: Thanks for noticing! I actually had to look up “lipogram”. :) I get a lot of inspiration by learning the lore of construction and trying to outdo the master constructors. I’m very competitive. For instance, once I saw that Bob Klahn had created this puzzle, I decided I needed to do better. Of course, I couldn’t. :) But that didn’t stop me from wasting a bunch of time trying. That’s how I’ve learned my limits as a constructor. Now I have a good intuitive idea of what might work and what probably won’t. So now, I focus more on what would make a good effect, or how to reinterpret a phrase to deliberately bend its meaning, rather than aiming for a specific type of puzzle. I daydream quite a bit, and odd ideas can meld together in unexpected ways when you let your mind wander.
Thanks for the interview, Peter!
Hey, pleasure's all mine. Not least because Steve covered puzzle duty for me this week as well! I suspect his "Keeping the Grid Clean" might be one of the puzzles he had in mind when he said that some might find his sense of humour "bizarre or offensive" but personally I love it. Not for the faint of heart, to be sure, but the ostensibly puerile theme is masterfully executed, and there's a brilliant revealer at the end to tie it all elegantly together. Enjoy!
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Keeping the Grid Clean
Rating: XW-18A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
Peter: Let’s start with your background outside of puzzles. Tell me about yourself: vocation, avocations, A/S/L, hopes and dreams, etc.
Steve: I’m a self-employed tutor who’s trying to make the transition to a career in clinical psychology. I’m a 31 year old dude who lives in San Francisco with my lovely gf Erica and my crazy cat Banshee. As I write this, she (the cat) is running circles around the living room.
P: What got you into puzzles, and how long have you been at it?
S: I think of myself as a problem solver first and foremost. I get nerd-sniped at the drop of a hat. So, crossword solving came pretty naturally to me. About six months after I started solving them, I remember dropping the word SYZYGY into a puzzle and thinking “man, I’ve gotten better at this.” The next step was building them. I created one as a holiday present for Erica and then tried making a few more just for fun. This was about two years ago, and since then I’ve written about 50 or 60 total.
P: Where have you been published?
S: On 3/23 I had my NYT debut. It was a wide open themeless that I was very proud of. Also, I’m one quarter of the Campus Crosswords syndicate. You should be familiar with them, since you’re another quarter. :) We publish in the Harvard Crimson. I’ve also written a couple of puzzles for weddings, and I had one puzzle that was commissioned by a company I used to work for called vibrantBrains. HYPOTHALAMUS is not a good puzzle entry, but you do what you get paid to do, right?
P: Whose work do you admire as a constructor and enjoy as a solver?
S: As a solver, I look for Patrick Berry’s tagline. I think that guy really has it dialed in as to what makes an enjoyable solve. His themes are never boundary-pushing, his themeless puzzles are never flashy, but every square in every one of his grids flows together like melted chocolate. In terms of construction, I admire Joe Krozel. He’s willing to take an idea to its logical extreme even if it’s risky. I think back on puzzles that stand out from the crowd, and pretty much every one of them belongs to Krozel. Remember the LIES puzzle? Well, if not, here it is.
P: Tell me about your approach to construction. What tools do you use, what do you do with a deadline and a lack of ideas, what qualities do you look for in a seed entry or long fill, etc?
S: After about three puzzles filled by hand, I decided to write my own crossword filling software. Because its mine, I have access to the guts and am constantly tweaking the way it fills. I get wordlists from random sources like Wiktionary, so I’m constantly able to fill a grid with fresh phrases. In terms of themes, I prefer stuff related to math, letter patterns, and the geometry of the grid. That kind of thing is easy for me. What’s hard for me is wordplay. I find that what I think of as funny is often thought of as bizarre or offensive by others. For instance, I just got a puzzle rejected by Campus Crosswords because it was too raunchy, even though I thought it was hilarious. As far as I know, that’s the only puzzle that has been rejected by Campus Crosswords. :) For long fill, I basically look for something that is scrabbly and is a bit incongruous to put into a crossword puzzle. The way I see it, crosswords have a bit of a mystic aura surrounding them. It is very common for people to stay away from them because they’re “not smart enough”. Because of this, crosswords are seen as very high brow and very special. So, putting in common and slangy entries can throw off that sense of mysticism and bring the puzzle back to earth. I mean stuff like OH SNAP, or GET BENT, or CRAPOLA. One of the best phrases I ever put into a puzzle was LAME JOKES. It’s scrabbly and has a endearing but common quality to it. Of course, sometimes I’ll go just for pure scrabbliness. One of these times I’m going to fit BLIZZARD OF OZZ into one of our 11x13 grids.
P: The ACPT has taught me that constructors run the gamut as far as solving ability goes. How are you as a solver?
S: I find that I don’t like solving crosswords alone. It’s a team sport for me. With a partner of above average skill, I find that we can get through a Saturday NYT in about 20 minutes, and can get through a Sunday in 30 to 40. I don’t know what that says about me though. :) If I try to tackle anything harder than a Wednesday by myself I end up having a miserable time.
P: What are your thoughts on eye-catching/wide-open grids, convention-shirking themes/gimmicks, etc.? Is it all about the solver, or do you think that grids and gimmicks that push the boundaries and challenge constructors are important as well?
S: It’s definitely NOT all about the solver. It’s all about what you can get away with as a constructor without pissing off your solvers. They’re willing to deal with a certain amount of crap, but anything past that and you’ll hear from them. Personally, I find wide-open grids to be passe. Once there gets to be a convex section of grid that’s about 5x5 or larger, the only letters that will fill that section are the 1-point scrabble letters. Those letters are boring and they have no punch. If someone could create a 60-entry (or lower) grid with a 1.6 (or higher) scrabble average and not overrun the thing with cheater squares, I would rethink my position on open grids. I think the closest to that goal was this gem by Raymond C Young. However, most open grids just don’t have any real feeling to them. I’ll take a punchy 72-worder any day over a dramatically open 54-word Frank Longo monstrosity. As for gimmicks, I feel that they are important in order to prevent solver fatigue. If every theme were replace-a-letter-with-another-letter, solvers would get bored and move on to a different outlet. It’s important to play with the rules every once in awhile in order to figure out which of them are actually important. For instance, were it not for some dude who thought “Only one letter in a box? Screw you!”, we would never have had this beauty (which was Will Shortz’s very first publication as editor).
P: Do you have any specific construction or publication goals that you’re aiming for?
S: My last goal is to get a second themeless into the NYT with stacks of 15s on top and bottom and only 21 black squares. For some reason those numbers are very important to me.
P: Even among the small number of your puzzles I’ve seen, there has been a lot of variety: quote/joke themes, a rebus, and a lipogram, in addition to simpler letter-addition/removal themes. Do you make a concerted effort to try different styles, or do you just go with whatever comes to mind?
S: Thanks for noticing! I actually had to look up “lipogram”. :) I get a lot of inspiration by learning the lore of construction and trying to outdo the master constructors. I’m very competitive. For instance, once I saw that Bob Klahn had created this puzzle, I decided I needed to do better. Of course, I couldn’t. :) But that didn’t stop me from wasting a bunch of time trying. That’s how I’ve learned my limits as a constructor. Now I have a good intuitive idea of what might work and what probably won’t. So now, I focus more on what would make a good effect, or how to reinterpret a phrase to deliberately bend its meaning, rather than aiming for a specific type of puzzle. I daydream quite a bit, and odd ideas can meld together in unexpected ways when you let your mind wander.
Thanks for the interview, Peter!
Hey, pleasure's all mine. Not least because Steve covered puzzle duty for me this week as well! I suspect his "Keeping the Grid Clean" might be one of the puzzles he had in mind when he said that some might find his sense of humour "bizarre or offensive" but personally I love it. Not for the faint of heart, to be sure, but the ostensibly puerile theme is masterfully executed, and there's a brilliant revealer at the end to tie it all elegantly together. Enjoy!
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: Keeping the Grid Clean
Rating: XW-18A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Broadcast
I'll be heading to Brooklyn, for the purposes of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament and kickin' it, on Friday, and won't be back in time for next week's post. Instead, there will be a puzzle on Friday morning (and a topical one, too). Things will return to normal the following week, and I promise a good ACPT write-up. What I'm most looking forward to is Matt Ginsberg's presentation of his crossword-solving AI, Dr. Fill. Read about it here and here, and, if you're brave, read Ginsberg's JAIR research paper here.
Today's puzzle is a 13x13 mini-themed offering. Had intended to do a mini-themeless style grid with the themers as the seed entries, but their placements in the grid would not admit a suitably low word count. Even the grid as it stands now was problematic in a few spots (hence the cheater/helper squares), but that was also because I stubbornly pulled out all the stops to keep the long down answers in there - those two have been on my shortlist for a while. Turned out fair, I feel.
More words, crossed and otherwise, on Friday.
Puzzle: Jobsite Safety
Rating: XW-14A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
Today's puzzle is a 13x13 mini-themed offering. Had intended to do a mini-themeless style grid with the themers as the seed entries, but their placements in the grid would not admit a suitably low word count. Even the grid as it stands now was problematic in a few spots (hence the cheater/helper squares), but that was also because I stubbornly pulled out all the stops to keep the long down answers in there - those two have been on my shortlist for a while. Turned out fair, I feel.
More words, crossed and otherwise, on Friday.
Puzzle: Jobsite Safety
Rating: XW-14A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Not Even a Bit
My good friends' recent DIY kitchen renos inspired me to came in here earlier and spruce the place up a bit. Gave it a real no-nonsense feel, I think. Now it's late, though, so this post is also gonna be no-nonsense. None.
The 2011 Orca Awards (for outstanding achievement in crossword construction) are the talk of puzzledom at the moment. "Nerds!", I hear you scoff. Well, I challenge the skeptics to peruse some of the grids and themes and not be at least mildly impressed (especially by the big winner, Matt Gaffney's "Moving Day"; Holy Toledo!)
Todays offering: a couple of puzzles I made for the Campus Crosswords syndicate. The 6th installment in my Mini Themeless series ran last week, and the themed puzzle ran yesterday. Next week, a blog-exclusive 15x themed, to make up for the recycled puzzles today.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzles: Mini Themeless #6 and Mini Themed "One Tequila, Two Tequila, ..."
Rating: XWPG-13 for both
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
The 2011 Orca Awards (for outstanding achievement in crossword construction) are the talk of puzzledom at the moment. "Nerds!", I hear you scoff. Well, I challenge the skeptics to peruse some of the grids and themes and not be at least mildly impressed (especially by the big winner, Matt Gaffney's "Moving Day"; Holy Toledo!)
Todays offering: a couple of puzzles I made for the Campus Crosswords syndicate. The 6th installment in my Mini Themeless series ran last week, and the themed puzzle ran yesterday. Next week, a blog-exclusive 15x themed, to make up for the recycled puzzles today.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzles: Mini Themeless #6 and Mini Themed "One Tequila, Two Tequila, ..."
Rating: XWPG-13 for both
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Know Your Meme
I'm currently kicking it on day 3 of a 4-day weekend thanks entirely to the provincial government. In Saskatchewan we don't have Presidents' Day, obviously, but the gov't has declared the 3rd Monday of Feb to be "Family Day", because why not? Then, for Tues, my "Earned Day Off" which I earned by doing nothing more than having scheduled "days on". Spent the weekend making puzzles, seeing a neat flick called "Pina" (see it! Not only will you enjoy it, but it's in my constructorial interest to have PINA and director WIM Wenders become cross-worthy names), checking out the Pile of Bones Brass Band, and paying my respects to John Carr, a fine local muso who died tragically.
Pretty bushed, but glad to have this puzzle ready to go. Was cluing a wide-open style 11x13 themeless for this week, but I became increasingly dissatisfied with the fill the more I looked at it. I had come up with and built a grid around the theme entries in this puzzle earlier, but shelved it because I wasn't sure the entries were strong enough. I still don't, but I think the idea is fun, I'm pleased with the grid, and, most importantly, I've wanted to do a social media meme puzzle like this since BEQ's brilliant "25 Random Things About Me" puzzle from a few years back. Next week, maybe a "Shit Crossword Constructors Say" puzzle?
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: What do you think you're doing?
Rating: XW-PG
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
Pretty bushed, but glad to have this puzzle ready to go. Was cluing a wide-open style 11x13 themeless for this week, but I became increasingly dissatisfied with the fill the more I looked at it. I had come up with and built a grid around the theme entries in this puzzle earlier, but shelved it because I wasn't sure the entries were strong enough. I still don't, but I think the idea is fun, I'm pleased with the grid, and, most importantly, I've wanted to do a social media meme puzzle like this since BEQ's brilliant "25 Random Things About Me" puzzle from a few years back. Next week, maybe a "Shit Crossword Constructors Say" puzzle?
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: What do you think you're doing?
Rating: XW-PG
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Quizmaster Flash
Busy evening tonight. Had a Clarinet Choir rehearsal earlier (we're playing an arrangement of "Danse Macabre," which is fun, along with some Smetana, Verdi, Dvorak, and even Sidney Bechet), and then spent the rest of the night brainstorming some new themes and writing trivia questions. Two of my coworkers challenged each other to a trivia throwdown this week (with a United States theme), and I volunteered to write the questions. They didn't do too well on today's battery of Geography and Places questions - I was disappointed that they didn't know that Basin St is in New Orleans, The Tenderloin is in San Fran, and that Route 66 goes from Cali to Illinois (I didn't even ask for the cities), but they both correctly worked out how many landlocked states are completely surrounded by other states. Tomorrow: Law and Order, Crime and Punishment. It will be comprised of, among other things, a "name that mass murderer" stop round and a question about the Twinkie Defense. Also, TWINKIE DEFENSE is a great entry for a puzzle.
In "great words that are unfortunately too obscure for puzzles" news, my roommate is taking a home piano tuning and maintenance course, and he showed me one bit of piano innards called "The Grand Whippens". Actually, that whole course is solid gold. It came with a pipe wrench looking tool, presumably for the actual turning of the tuning pegs, and a companion book called "Smooth Moves," which details no less than 20 essential manoeuvrues you can and should learn how to perform with the tool. They all have colourful names like "The 5 O'Clock Shadow" and "The Lefthand Lift".
Lastly, I guess now that I'm into puzzle-making I should stay on top of important holidays and dates. The commemorative holiday puzzle is a mainstay of the industry, after all. Long story short, no Valentine's Day puzzle today. What I do have for you is a themed puzzle that I made for this Friday's Campus Crosswords 15x15 feature. The theme isn't quite as strong as it could be, due to an oversight on my part involving letter placement, but the entries and clues make me laugh, so I think you might still enjoy it. Note that this is my original, unedited puzzle, and not necessarily the one you'll find in print.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: 4G Coverage
Rating: XW-18A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
In "great words that are unfortunately too obscure for puzzles" news, my roommate is taking a home piano tuning and maintenance course, and he showed me one bit of piano innards called "The Grand Whippens". Actually, that whole course is solid gold. It came with a pipe wrench looking tool, presumably for the actual turning of the tuning pegs, and a companion book called "Smooth Moves," which details no less than 20 essential manoeuvrues you can and should learn how to perform with the tool. They all have colourful names like "The 5 O'Clock Shadow" and "The Lefthand Lift".
Lastly, I guess now that I'm into puzzle-making I should stay on top of important holidays and dates. The commemorative holiday puzzle is a mainstay of the industry, after all. Long story short, no Valentine's Day puzzle today. What I do have for you is a themed puzzle that I made for this Friday's Campus Crosswords 15x15 feature. The theme isn't quite as strong as it could be, due to an oversight on my part involving letter placement, but the entries and clues make me laugh, so I think you might still enjoy it. Note that this is my original, unedited puzzle, and not necessarily the one you'll find in print.
More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.
Puzzle: 4G Coverage
Rating: XW-18A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
If only my moustache filled in so well
I never thought the day would come when I made a quote theme puzzle. I don't like leaving things up to chance, and constructing one is all about chance. First you have to find a short quote that, when combined with its author's name, splits up symmetrically into not too many 3-15 letter chunks. Then, you've got to pray that you can fill around those chunks, because you can't really rearrange them in the grid. If you manage to get past those hurdles and actually construct the puzzle, chances are good that solvers will find it unremarkable anyway. The constraints on the grid tend to force fugly fill, and you don't get quite the same "aha" experience, since you know exactly what the theme is going in. So what compels a constructor to attempt a quote puzzle? Well, there was some discussion about quote themes last week at Crossword Fiend, incited by Stu Ockman's Thursday NYT, and I posed that very question. To my delight, the inimitable Henry Hook responded with this pearl: "In my case, a deadline and lack of a better idea [compels me to construct one]." Realizing that I was in the exact same position, I started toying with the notion myself. In an amazing stroke of luck, the very first quote that came to mind happened to be one that splits into 2 15-letter chunks, and its speaker into 2 5-letter chunks. Not only that, but both quote and speaker are among my all time faves in their respective domains. However, with only 40 theme squares, I was worried that the puzzle wouldn't be strong enough. So, I threw in a fun visual element, gave it a sly title, and voila! I had myself a half-decent puzzle (admittedly, the visual element will be a give-away for fans. I wonder if any die-hard fans will be able to guess the quote as well, from just the grid design, title, and length of theme entries?). The fill turned out surprisingly clean, to boot. Not thrilled about the abundance of 3-letter entries and abbrevs., but I am thrilled about the 38-Across/38-Down/39-Down crossing. If you're not up on your slang, I apologize in advance. To make the puzzle fun and gettable (especially with those corners - only one way in!), I tried to make it super easy.
In other news, I've been hemming and hawing for months but I finally booked off a few days in March to go to the ACPT. It's a hell of a long way to travel for just a weekend, but I'm stoked. I'll compete, but I expect to get destroyed. Really, I'm just after the schmoozing. The big names in puzzling are like rock stars to me, and an opportunity to meet some of them is unmissable. Also, if you're a cross nerd fan, come find me there and we'll have a drink. I'm really nice, I swear.
Enjoy the puzzle, tell your friends, and don't forget to register to vote (fans of 4/62-Across will know what I mean)
Puzzles: Play That Funky Music
Rating: XW-14A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
In other news, I've been hemming and hawing for months but I finally booked off a few days in March to go to the ACPT. It's a hell of a long way to travel for just a weekend, but I'm stoked. I'll compete, but I expect to get destroyed. Really, I'm just after the schmoozing. The big names in puzzling are like rock stars to me, and an opportunity to meet some of them is unmissable. Also, if you're a cross nerd fan, come find me there and we'll have a drink. I'm really nice, I swear.
Enjoy the puzzle, tell your friends, and don't forget to register to vote (fans of 4/62-Across will know what I mean)
Puzzles: Play That Funky Music
Rating: XW-14A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Midnight clue
Need sleep. Thus, short post. I went balls out on crosswords early last week, preparing a few new NYT submissions and putting myself 2 weeks ahead on the blog puzzles...or at least that's how I remembered it. I opened up this week's offering at 10pm tonight intending to put the finishing touches on it, and discovered that I had written exactly 3 clues. Bad ones too. Since I normally find cluing a bit of a slog and almost never do an entire puzzle's worth in one sitting, I was worried for the quality of this puzzle. Ironically, I think I ended up doing some of my best cluing tonight (and probably some of my worst, but it'll get the job done), but that's probably just the delirium talking.
Seeing as I promise reviews right in my header yet only ever talk about my own puzzles, try this one on for size: BEQ's Themeless Monday this week was a real corker; easily my favourite from him in who knows how long. He's always fresh, but his puzzles (at least the free ones) tend to have that rough-around-the-edges "indie" feel (I'm not complaining; he's one of my all-time faves and he's been pumping out an average of 2.5 freebies/week for 3 years). This one felt really smooth and elegant, though, and the whiz-bang fill is exceptionally dense. If you're used to crossnerd difficulty, though, well, may god have mercy on your soul...
Also, this (which is linked to from BEQ's page as well) is the most brilliant thing I have ever seen in my life. It's part of this year's M.I.T. Mystery Hunt, which is a weekend-long puzzle-binge extravaganza. If you, like me, don't have an entire evening and a crack team of puzzlers at your disposal, I suggest just peeping the answer. Prepare to be astonished (and remember that this whole "yo dawg" puzzle is like a 20th of the entire Mystery Hunt).
Lastly, my band Ink Road is playing at The Gaslight with The Dustin Ritter Band on Saturday night. If you swing by, mention you heard about the gig here and I'll buy you a drink.
Puzzle: Open the Gates
Rating: XW-14A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
Seeing as I promise reviews right in my header yet only ever talk about my own puzzles, try this one on for size: BEQ's Themeless Monday this week was a real corker; easily my favourite from him in who knows how long. He's always fresh, but his puzzles (at least the free ones) tend to have that rough-around-the-edges "indie" feel (I'm not complaining; he's one of my all-time faves and he's been pumping out an average of 2.5 freebies/week for 3 years). This one felt really smooth and elegant, though, and the whiz-bang fill is exceptionally dense. If you're used to crossnerd difficulty, though, well, may god have mercy on your soul...
Also, this (which is linked to from BEQ's page as well) is the most brilliant thing I have ever seen in my life. It's part of this year's M.I.T. Mystery Hunt, which is a weekend-long puzzle-binge extravaganza. If you, like me, don't have an entire evening and a crack team of puzzlers at your disposal, I suggest just peeping the answer. Prepare to be astonished (and remember that this whole "yo dawg" puzzle is like a 20th of the entire Mystery Hunt).
Lastly, my band Ink Road is playing at The Gaslight with The Dustin Ritter Band on Saturday night. If you swing by, mention you heard about the gig here and I'll buy you a drink.
Puzzle: Open the Gates
Rating: XW-14A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.
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