Category Archives: crosswords

Happy (Inter)National Puzzle Day!

Posted on by
Reply
photo-743384

It’s National Puzzle Day on Thursday, also known as International Puzzle Day, depending on where you are and whether your puzzly activities extend across borders.

Hopefully you’ve managed to dig yourselves out of all that snow across the US, and you’ve got a jigsaw, a crossword, a logic puzzle, a brain teaser, or some other puzzly activity set aside to enjoy.

We’re delighted to be celebrating this puzzliest of days with you, and as you might expect, we’ve got a puzzle for you to solve in honor of the holiday!

This 15x crossword is titled Better Without. Happy solving!

[Click this link to download a PDF of this puzzle.]

Happy National/International Puzzle Day Eve Eve, fellow puzzle fans!

The Trevor Project and the ORCAS: A Wonderful Cause and Some Wonderful Puzzles

Posted on by
Reply

Just a quick post today, but a very important one.

The ORCAS, the Oscars of the crossword puzzle world, have put together a packet of this year’s nominated puzzles, and they’re yours to solve when you make a donation to The Trevor Project.

Please check out their full statement below, and if you can, please give to this amazing organization, offering crisis support services to the LQBTQIA+ community.

There’s something special about the 14th ORCAS.

Sure, we added five new awards (did someone say cryptics?) Yeah, the ballot contains 15 categories comprised of 124 nominations from 59 different outlets. But, this year, you can solve these spectacular ORCA-nominated puzzles in our first-ever puzzle pack!

All funds raised support The Trevor Project, a suicide hotline for LGBTQ+ youth. Although suicide rates for LGBTQ+ youth are surging (39% seriously considered suicide in 2024), HHS terminated its contract for FY2026.

The puzzle pack includes 76 ORCA-nominated puzzles from 44 outlets plus five original puzzles from the Constructor of the Year nominees. Along with the puzzle pack, donors will receive early access to the ORCAS ballot, which will be posted publicly on February 3.

For information on how to make a donation and receive the puzzle pack, email: theorcaawards@gmail.com.

Join us for the ORCA awards on Monday, February 23 at 6 pm PT / 9 pm ET. Co-hosts David Kwong and Ophira Eisenberg will be live at https://www.youtube.com/@orcaawards along with T Campbell, Aimee Lucido, Laura Braunstein, Katie Grogg, Christina Iverson, Ben Tausig, Stella Zawistowski, Andy Kravis, Brad Wilber, Mangesh Ghore, Peter Collins, Kim Vu, Rafael Musa, Lynn Lempel, and more.

Do you want to know just how good it’s going to be? Check out this sneak preview.

A Puzzle in Honor of Claudette Colvin

Posted on by
Reply

Claudette Colvin passed away this week.

On March 2nd, 1955, she refused to give up her bus seat. This was nine months before Rosa Parks would become synonymous with the civil rights movement, sparking the first large-scale demonstration against segregation in the United States.

Claudette is part of a proud history of defiance and resistance, but was unfairly pushed aside by black leaders for being unmarried and pregnant during her defiant act, making her a less desirable public image for the civil rights movement.

When asked about her actions and how Rosa Parks was chosen over her as the face of the boycott, she said:

I feel very, very proud of what I did. I do feel like what I did was a spark and it caught on… I’m not disappointed. Let the people know Rosa Parks was the right person for the boycott. But also let them know that the attorneys took four other women to the Supreme Court to challenge the law that led to the end of segregation.

I wrote this puzzle a few years ago during my Eyes Open series. I constructed it in honor of the sixty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Montgomery bus boycott. I wanted to highlight Parks, Colvin, and Pauli Murray, another woman who refused to be treated like a second-class citizen on a segregated bus.

I hope this puzzle serves to both engage you as a solver and encourage you to learn more about these events and those names that are often overshadowed or cast aside by history.

[Click this link to download a PDF of this puzzle.]

A Look at Ambigrams in Honor of John Langdon

Posted on by
Reply

Symmetry is nothing new to puzzle enthusiasts.

After all, diagonal symmetry is one of the fundamental rules of crossword grid design. (Along with the occasional example of vertical symmetry.)

Puzzlers are used to linguistic symmetry as well. A well-constructed palindrome, the same message reading forward and backward, has delighted and challenged many a puzzly mind. Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog.

Ambigrams scratch the same itch, combining artistic flourish with clever letter placement to create a message with rotational symmetry, allowing you to rotate the image 180 degrees and see the same message.

The curious thing about ambigrams that they feel ancient, like an artistic work steeped in history from centuries past, but in reality, they’ve only been around since the 1970s! (The term itself was coined by Douglas Hofstadter in 1984.)

The four elements as a single ambigram.

The creation of Philadelphia painter, writer, professor, and graphic designer John Langdon, he always envisioned his ambigrams as a visual presentation of words intended to present a familiar concept in an unfamiliar way.

In an interview in 2006 with Newswise.com, he said, “In the early ’70s, I tried to do with words what Dali and Escher did with images.”

Most famously, he created several ambigrams for Dan Brown’s book Angels & Demons, adding a mystical aura to Robert Langdon’s adventures involving the church and the Illuminati.

Oh, yeah, you noticed that, did you? Yes, the protagonist of The Da Vinci Code and several other bestselling works is named after John Langdon.

In an interview, Brown shared the story of his father, a math teacher, showing him Langdon’s book Wordplay, and he was instantly hooked. “John’s art changed the way I think about symmetry, symbols, and art.”

We sadly lost John earlier this year at the age of 79, but his lasting influence in the world of wordplay is alive and well, not only with his literary legacy and namesake, but in the work of other ambigram artists.

The YouTube channel Write Words – Make Magic has gone viral over the last few years by creating ambigrams for viewers’ names, as well as other cultural touchstones, and it’s absolutely worth a watch. They happily show off their techniques for creating ambigrams, and it’s a true delight.

Ambigrams, and Langdon’s art in general, are all about revisiting one’s perspective. “Ambiguity makes people uncomfortable. But the lesson of Taoism is that if you have only one vantage point, you’re not seeing the truth.”

Puzzles are often about viewing things from another angle. Wordplay, punnery, manipulating language to surprise and playfully mislead… these are hallmarks of crosswords and crossword cluing.

A “very strong sense of legibility but also a marvelous sense of esthetics, flow, and elegance.” This could easily describe a great crossword puzzle, but it’s actually Douglas Hofstadter’s description of John Langdon and his work.

I guess it’s all a matter of perspective. Insight and wordplay, lurking within the symmetry.

If you just know how to look for it.

Do you have any favorite palindromes, ambigrams, or examples of symmetrical puzzling, fellow reader? Let us know in the comments section below! We’d love to hear from you.

Happy puzzling!

Happy New Year! Goals for 2026!

Posted on by
1

New year, new… blog post. (Sorry for anyone who was hoping for a new me. It’s just the same ol’ friendly neighborhood puzzle nerd.)

Happy New Year cruciverbalists, gamers, RPGers, and puzzle enthusiasts!

Let’s ring in the new year right, with Lily Hevesh’s domino rendition of Auld Lang Syne:

So, with everyone thinking of New Year’s resolutions and (hopefully) feeling positive for the year to come, what does the future hold for PuzzCulture?

Honestly, I’m not sure, but I would like to share some of my goals (puzzly and otherwise) for 2026.

Ideally, writing them publicly will be an incentive to work harder and bring these goals to fruition! There’s nothing quite like braingaming yourself into genuine productivity!

Keep a running tally of puzzles solved

I’m genuinely curious how many puzzles I solve in a calendar year, so I’m going to keep track of my puzzles per week, just for the delightful data. Maybe I’ll learn something about myself or the puzzle world from it!

Read two books a month

When I commuted by train every day to work, I used to read an average of 5 books a week. (250 books a year was a regular occurrence!) But when the pandemic hit and I started working from work, my reading frequency PLUMMETED. I’m hoping to get back into it and read two books a month. (One a week feels a bit too ambitious, but who knows?)

Double the PuzzCulture readership and grow our social media presence

2025 was a good year for us across the blog and social media, but we can always do better. So if there’s something you’d like to see, or something you’re enjoying that you’d like to see more of, please say so!

Construct one puzzle each month for the PuzzCulture readers

I usually create a puzzle for the major holidays, but this year, there will be a puzzle to solve each month (probably near the end of the month for my own sanity). Any favorite puzzle types? Let me know!

Submitting a crossword for publication

Publishing a crossword is a lofty goal, one that is mostly out of my hands. But submitting something I think is publishing-worthy… that’s an achievable goal, even if it doesn’t end up making the cut at one of the major outlets.

Finish at least four short stories

Half-finished stories have piled up over the last two years, and I need to get these brainworms out to make room for exciting new brainworms!

Publish a game and/or RPG module

Over the last two years, I’ve published a game through 9th Level Games’ Level 1 promotional collection for Free RPG Day. I don’t know if that will happen again this year, but yea or nay, I will be self-publishing something in 2026.

I’m not sure if it will be a short standalone game or an RPG module for an established system, but I feel good about this goal.

#JusticeForSnow

This year, snow got robbed of its rightful place in the National Toy Hall of Fame, and I’m gonna do everything I can to get it back on the ballot AND into the Hall of Fame this year! #JusticeForSnow

Actually compete in a crossword tournament

I love solving tournament puzzles (as you can tell from my reviews), but except for Crossword Tournament From Your Couch, I’ve never competed. Travel is tough for me, but I think I’m gonna take a shot and attempt an At-Home solve for one of this year’s tournaments. I’ll keep you posted!

Do you have any puzzly (or non-puzzly) goals for 2026? Let me know in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you!

End-of-Year Crossword News Roundup: Globe and Mail, Upcoming Xwd Events, and Crossword Love!

Posted on by
Reply

We’ve got all sorts of crossword-related news, updates, and stories for you today! Buckle up, and let’s talk xwds!

The Globe and Mail’s Annual Giant Holiday Crossword

Every year, constructor Fraser Simpson creates a giant holiday crossword for Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. He has been doing so since 2003, so for many Canadian crossword and cryptic fans, this is a decades-long holiday tradition!

Not only is it enormous, but it’s visually striking, as he uses a cryptic-style grid, but American-style crossword cluing.

With 628 clues and entries, this puzzly behemoth will no doubt tax even the hardiest crossword enthusiasts!

And The Globe and Mail is offering a behind-the-scenes look at their constructing process, including an introduction to cluing styles for new solvers!

While it won’t be anything new to crossword enthusiasts or established constructors, it’s still cool that they’re willing to pull back the curtain on one of their biggest promotions of the year. Demystifying crosswords just means more people get to enjoy the puzzles we love so much. And that’s a very good thing.

ACPT, Boswords Winter Wondersolve, and Puzzmo’s Open Submission Week

Just a quick reminder of all the puzzly opportunities awaiting you at the end of this year and the start of 2026!

#1: Puzzmo is holding their next Crossword Open Submission Week from December 29th to January 5th, 2026, with new and established constructors all welcome to submit their puzzly creations.

Themed and themeless puzzles are welcome, as long as they fit Puzzmo’s specs, and the Puzzmo team has created an impressively thorough document to assist aspiring constructors with their efforts. Grid specs, examples of previously published puzzles, and more await anyone hoping to see their work pop up on Puzzmo.

#2: Registration for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament opens on January 1st for former contestants and on January 8th for rookies!

With the tournament changing venues for the 2027 tournament, this is the last time to experience the ACPT in Stamford’s familiar locale.

#3: The Boswords Winter Wondersolve is coming Sunday afternoon, February 1st (and registration opens Friday, January 2nd)!

This online only, four-puzzle tournament (3 themed puzzles and 1 themeless) kicks off another year of puzzly events from the Boswords team, and there’s plenty to enjoy.

They’ve already announced the team of constructors lined up for this year’s Winter Wondersolve: Adam Aaronson, Wendy L. Brandes, Pao Roy, and the team of Amanda Rafkin & Amie Walker!

Boswords never disappoints, so be sure to sign up early for this one!

Crossword Compatibility

Please allow me to wrap up this crossword-centric post with a fun story I spotted on Reddit.

Making a crossword for your partner is a wonderful gift, and I’m sure the significant others of many puzzlers have either commissioned a special crossword or taken the leap and constructed one themselves!

So it was delightful to read a story where BOTH partners had the same idea.

Yup, each of them had constructed a crossword for the other in secret, revealing their linguistic efforts at the same time.

How can you not love a story like that?

Even better is the top comment on Reddit, where this anecdote first appeared: “Your shared disregard for symmetry tells me you were meant for each other.”

Clearly it’s a match made in puzzle heaven.

What are you looking forward to in the world of puzzles for 2026, fellow solvers? Let us know in the comments section below! We’d love to hear from you.