Category Archives: puzzly event

Crossword / Puzzle News Roundup!

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It’s a good week to be a puzzle enthusiast. The Boswords Spring Themeless League kicked off on Monday, the same day one of my favorite puzzly people got her first puzzle published in The New York Times.

And we’ve got news on a crossword convention, upcoming tournaments, a worthwhile puzzle-fueled charity endeavor, and a new Hallmark puzzly mystery debuting tonight.

So, without further ado, let’s get to the puzzle news roundup!

Crossword Con

April 4th marks the second annual Crossword Con, presented by the puzzle app Puzzmo.

Crossword Con is all about bringing together crossword fans and constructors to discuss crosswords as a cultural touchstone and an art form.

For their second outing, the organizers are casting their eyes to the future, asking “what’s on the horizon for crosswords, and what changes are already bubbling just beneath the surface?”

Although it’s only a half-day event, it is certainly jam-packed with notable names with plenty to offer on the subject of crosswords! Speakers and guests include Kate Hawkins, Will Nediger, Ada Nicolle, Brendan Emmett Quigley, Laura Braunstein, Rob Dubbin, Natan Last, Adrienne Raphel, and Brooke Husic.

With Crossword Con in New York and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament starting the same day in Stamford, April 4th is certainly an eventful day for crossword fans all over (and particularly those in New England).

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Crossword Tournaments

And speaking of crossword tournaments, if you’re a competitive crossword fan, the gears are already in motion for puzzly challenges all year long.

Registration for June’s Westwords Crossword Tournament is open right now.

The registration for October’s Midwest Crossword Tournament opens on April 2nd, just a few days before this year’s American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (April 4th through the 6th) will be held.

Of course, physical tickets for the ACPT sold out a while ago, but you’re still welcome to register for the virtual tournament to participate!

And the activities alongside this year’s tournament are a doozy. There’s an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the “Wordplay” documentary, a magical puzzly performance from David Kwong, and an acrostics event on Friday night!

Lots of competitive puzzle fun coming up!

These Puzzles Fund Abortion 5

There’s a long history of activism and advocacy through puzzles. Women of Letters, Grids for Good, Queer Qrosswords… these are just a few prominent examples of constructors and creators donating their time and puzzly efforts to benefit the world at large.

And for the fifth year in a row, cruciverbalists and editors have united to help fund safe and affordable abortion care.

These Puzzles Fund Abortion 5 contains 23 puzzles “centered around social and reproductive justice themes,” all for a minimum donation of $25.

If you donate $50 or more, you will also receive the puzzle packs for the previous four years of TPFA.

It’s a very worthy cause and I hope you find it in your heart to contribute to the health and safety of others.

Mystery Island: Winner Takes All

To close out today’s puzzle news roundup, I’m happy to spread the word about a new Hallmark original mystery movie.

Mystery Island: Winner Takes All returns to the setting of last year’s Mystery Island.

In the original, a luxury private island murder mystery experience turns real when a dead body is found during the event. It falls to psychologist Dr. Emilia Priestly and detective Jason Trent to unravel riddles, deceit, and shadowy motives to solve the murder.

In tonight’s sequel, we return to the island for another murder mystery game, this time created by our crime-solving duo of Emilia and Jason. With a cash prize on the line, tensions are already high, but things take a dark turn when an employee turns up dead during the game.

Anyone who enjoyed my recaps and reviews of Hallmark’s Crossword Mysteries will be happy to hear that I will be reviewing not only the new Mystery Island sequel, but the original as well!

Mystery Island: Winner Takes All debuts tonight at 8 PM Eastern on Hallmark Mystery.

Phew! So much puzzly goodness going on. Will you be attending any crossword events this year? Let us know in the comments below.

Happy puzzling, everyone!

The ORCAS: The Oscars of the Crossword World!

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Constructors are doing incredible things with crosswords, so it’s fitting that there’s an award show dedicated to the hardworking cruciverbalists of the world and their marvelously devious creations.

Originally called The Oryx Awards or the Oryxes, The ORCAS (an anagram of OSCAR) celebrate crossword excellence. For the 13th edition of the event, the team at Diary of a Crossword Fiend have lined up some seriously impressive puzzles and puzzlers.

Be sure to check out the full list of nominees and cast your votes! Here are the categories:

  • Best Easy Crossword
  • Best Themed Crossword
  • Best Themeless Crossword
  • Best Sunday-Sized Crossword
  • Best Clue
  • Best Tournament Crossword
  • Best Contest Crossword
  • Best Variety Crossword
  • Best Midi Crossword
  • Constructor of the Year

Voting closes at midnight ET on Monday, February 17 (President’s Day).

Image courtesy of the World Wildlife Fund.

I was very pleased to see a few favorite puzzles of mine make the cut (as well as a clue for CHARLIE BUCKET that melted my brain with its cleverness).

I also enjoyed checking out many of the nominees that hadn’t crossed my path. (Here’s a link to the publicly available puzzles nominated.)

Oh, and if you’d like to make sure YOUR favorites get included next year, here’s a link for 2025 nominations for next year’s edition of the ORCAS.

Good luck to all the creative contenders and happy solving to everyone checking out the nominees!

A Chance to Construct for BosWords!

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Hello fellow puzzlers!

Last week, I mentioned that the BosWords Winter Wondersolve was on the way. But I also discussed other marvelous puzzly events handled by the BosWords team, one of which is their Spring Themeless League.

And BosWords director John Lieb announced yesterday that they’re holding Open Submissions for one of the themeless puzzles in this year’s Spring Themeless League!

It’s only open to constructors who HAVEN’T had a themeless crossword published in The New York Times and also HAVEN’T constructed for a previous BosWords event.

Yes, it’s an opportunity for new faces and fresh talent to show what they can do!

You can find the full submission details on the BosWords website, including parameters for grid design, fill content, and words to avoid.

I think this is such a cool way to encourage interest in both the construction side of puzzles and the great fun to be had with themeless crosswords.

The submission deadline in February 15th, so if you’re feeling inspired, get to puzzling!

And if you haven’t already, please strongly consider checking out the Spring Themeless League. It’s a blast and really shows off the creativity and constructing skill it takes to make an enjoyable, compelling themeless crossword.

Good luck to all the potential cruciverbalists out there!

The Winter Wondersolve Is Coming!

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I did a roundup of Crossword News last week, but one important bit of news came through too late to be included, so it gets its own post today!

BosWords has only been around since 2017, but every year, they deliver several outstanding puzzly experiences.

Their flagship event has long been the Summer Tournament, but you’re missing out if you don’t participate in their other events. Their Spring and Fall Themeless League events are all-virtual weekly puzzles to solve over a two-month period. It’s a great way to stretch your solving muscles without the pressure of in-person tournament-style solving.

And speaking of at-home solving, they just announced that registration is open for the 2025 Winter Wondersolve event.

It’s taking place on Sunday, February 2, from 1-4:30 PM Eastern, and features three themed puzzles and a themeless. The best of both worlds!

Plus they’ve lined up a terrific team. You’ve got event directors John Lieb and Andrew Kingsley, puzzle editor Brad Wilber, and a quartet of constructors handling the puzzling this year: Alina Abidi, Kareem Ayas, Carly Schuna, and Andrew White.

Check out the Boswords website for all the details (including a video narrated by John Lieb).

Will you be participating in the Winter Wondersolve (or any other Boswords events this year), fellow puzzlers? Let us know! We’d love to hear from you.

The 2024 GCHQ Christmas Challenge Launches Tomorrow!

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One government agency in England celebrates Christmas a little bit differently than most.

The GCHQ — or Government Communications Headquarters — provides security and intelligence services for the British government. Back when they were known as GC&CS — Government Code and Cypher School — they were responsible for funding Bletchley Park and its successes cracking the German “Enigma” code during World War II.

And now, they provide one of the coolest and puzzliest challenges of the year, designed for solvers aged eleven to eighteen to test their skills, hoping to inspire the next generation of puzzle solvers.

Yes, it’s time once again for the GCHQ Christmas card.

GCHQ card
A look at 2021’s GCHQ Christmas Card.

We provided detailed breakdowns of their Christmas cards in 2016 and 2021, and if you’d like a sample of the GCHQ Christmas Challenge, they have an archive of the last three years ready for you to solve!

The 2024 edition of the GCHQ Christmas Challenge launches tomorrow, Wednesday December 11th for the general public. (Schools were able to register for early access to the puzzles, complete with lesson-planning materials, which is very cool.)

Here’s what the GCHQ has to say about the event:

At GCHQ, we love creating puzzles and breaking codes. That’s why every year we create the GCHQ Christmas Challenge, a series of fiendish brainteasers and puzzles, designed by our very own team of codebreakers. It encourages children aged 11-18 to think laterally and work as a team, as well as showcasing some of the skills they might need to become a spy.

The puzzles are not designed to be solved alone, and each student will bring something different to the challenge. At GCHQ, we believe the right mix of minds enables us to solve seemingly impossible problems.

I’ve always been impressed with what festive puzzly efforts GCHQ brings each year, and I can’t wait to see what the 2024 edition has in store for solvers.

So, fellow puzzlers, do you accept this year’s Christmas Challenge? Let us know in the comments section below!

Club Drosselmeyer 1941 is Coming!

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You are cordially invited…

If you’re a puzzle fan, you’re absolutely spoiled for choice when it comes to puzzly events to explore. Crossword tournaments, treasure hunts, escape rooms, puzzles by mail, puzzles by email, puzzles on your phone.

But I guarantee you’ve never experienced anything like Club Drosselmeyer.

Imagine getting all gussied up in your best 1940s-era-appropriate garb and grabbing your tickets before heading out to a show in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

What kind of show, you ask? Well, a vaudeville-style variety show with live music, enchanting and exciting performances, and all sorts of mysteries and intrigue playing out before your eyes, all set during the heady days and nights of World War II.

And what if there was an elaborate puzzle hunt tying the entire event together?

In a nutshell, that’s a Club Drosselmeyer event.

And tickets are on sale now for their latest immersive show!

There are performances set for December 6th, 7th, 8th, 13th, and 14th for a two-hour whirlwind of puzzly theatricality. As the organizers themselves say, “Prepare yourself for another season of magic and mayhem, romance and revelry, champagne and sugarplums.”

Although I’ve never gotten to attend a Club Drosselmeyer event in person, a few years ago I participated in their virtual Club Drosselmeyer Interactive Radio Broadcast of 1943, and it remains one of my all-time favorite puzzle experiences.

I enjoyed two hours of wonderful music while tracking a rogue flying toaster, unraveling a criminal conspiracy during an air raid, decoding secret messages, helping a starlet choose the right lipstick for her show, and even performing a magic trick!

This year, they promise all sorts of fun surprises:

Our team is already hard at work choreographing dances and magic, crafting costumes, updating sets, building puzzles, writing insane stories and figuring out how to rope YOU into plots of espionage, military secrets, traitors, heroes, women’s rights, romance, technology, loyalty, ambition and movie stars. The band will be swinging, the drinks will be strong and you will look fabulous.

Club Drosselmeyer is run by a small and incredibly dedicated group of writers, performers, puzzlers, and musicians who put their all into this event every single year, and I simply cannot sing their praises loud enough.

Check out their website for more details and information on previous Club Drosselmeyer events. You will not be disappointed.