Crossword season is here and all sorts of events for solvers are approaching fast. The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is a little more than a month out, registration is open for Westwords, the preseason puzzle for the Boswords Spring Themeless League was launched last night, and the Spring Themeless League starts in earnest next Monday!
But it’s not just tournaments that are gearing up. Crossword-fueled charitable organizations are hard at work making puzzles and encouraging fundraising efforts for wonderful causes.
There’s a long history of activism and advocacy through puzzles. Women of Letters, Queer Qrosswords, Grids for Good… these are just a few prominent examples of constructors and creators donating their time and puzzly efforts to benefit the world at large.
Tuesday night was my first chance to sit down and try my hand at the puzzles from this year’s Winter Wondersolve event. Given the talent involved amongst the organizers and constructors — as well as the always-reliable puzzles featured in previous Boswords-hosted events — I had high expectations, and I was not disappointed.
So let’s put those puzzles under the microscope and see what’s what!
Warm-Up: Opening Kickoffby John Lieb
Perennial Boswords warm-up puzzle master Mr. Lieb delivers a terrific puzzle to knock any ring rust off of solvers with this 16×11 football-shaped grid.
With both teams competing in this year’s Super Bowl (as well as one team’s coach) in the grid, the theme is on point and the smart construction makes this puzzle so accessible. It’s a first-class starter for a day of solving.
My favorite clue was the double use of “Like a haunted house” for both SCARY and EERIE, especially since they were in mirrored spots in the grid.
Puzzle #1: French Twistby Pao Roy
The tournament proper launched with this 15x grid that relied on pronunciation as much as wordplay, adding an “eh” sound to established phrases, like PURE NONSENSE becoming PUREE NONSENSE or SNAIL MAIL becoming SNAIL MELEE.
I appreciate a puzzle that takes you out of the traditional solving experience, so the fact that I had to say each theme entry aloud to get the most out of the solve was great fun. Add in the tight construction and you’ve got a strong opener on your hands.
Interesting grid entries included THE FONZ, HARISSA, TUMBLR, and DEEP CUTS, and my favorite clue was “Only Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee to win a National Book Award (for her memoir “Just Kids”)” for PATTI SMITH. I learned something in this puzzle!
Puzzle #2: Pandora’s Boxby Wendy L. Brandes
Puzzle #2 was only a half-step or so tougher than Puzzle #1, remaining very solver friendly while still peppered with some great vocabulary.
This 16×17 grid had a marvelous visual element, with some of the bad things contained in Pandora’s Box literally escaping from their rows and longer entries, so CIVIC ENGAGEMENT only read CIVNGAGEMENT, as the rest of VICE was spelled out in the circled letters above.
With HOPE remaining in the box in the final themed entry, this puzzle’s beautifully visual style nicely encapsulated the classic myth. My favorite puzzle of the day!
Interesting grid entries included STRIATED, ENRON, USER FEES, and AMATEURISH, and my favorite clue was “Name contained in a wedding registry?” for GREG.
Puzzle #3: Skipping a Gradeby Adam Aaronson (or dm ronson, perhaps?)
The most devious puzzle of the day belongs to Adam Aaronson, as this 16×17 grid featured theme entries where all of the As have been removed from phrases, turning BLACKSABBATH into BLCKSBBTH. With six theme entries plus the revealer STRAIGHT A’S, this grid was packed!
And it’s hard to deny the absolute insanity of writing FLLLLLLLL for “Refrain in a Christmas carol.” An unforgettable puzzly moment, to be sure.
Interesting grid entries included BEAN BAG CHAIR, RIZZLER, I’LL SUE, and CULT HIT, and my favorite clue was “India is in its alphabet, but not in it” for NATO.
Puzzle #4: Themeless by Amanda Rafkin and Amie Walker
The tournament concludes with the toughest puzzle of the day, a 15x themeless grid with an S-shaped grid pattern that created a genuine flow while solving.
Two sets of clues were offered for the final puzzle — FLURRY clues on the easier side (approximately a NYT Wednesday level) and BLIZZARD clues on the tougher side of the spectrum (approximately a NYT weekend level) — but both offered their fair share of challenges for solvers of all skill levels.
I have gained a new appreciation for themeless puzzles over the last few years (in no small part thanks to Boswords’s seasonal themeless leagues), and this one was a highlight, for sure. Great long entries, fun fill, and really smart construction made the final challenge of the day a very satisfying solve.
Interesting grid entries included WHITE LIE, STRAY CAT, SCRAP PAPER, TARGETED AD, and THERE THERE. Both the easier and tougher sets of clues had some gems, so I’ll list them separately below:
FLURRY clues:
“Brass fastener, as in a kid’s model skeleton” for BRAD (love the specificity!)
“Ball culture affirmative” for YAS
‘”You can totally pull off a Mariah Carey song at karaoke tonight,’ probably” for WHITE LIE
“Wool whose name becomes a country if you change one letter” for ANGORA
BLIZZARD clues:
“Draft pick?” for SCRAP PAPER
“Twosome in ‘Waiting for Godot'” for ACTS
“Whopper Jr.?” for WHITE LIE
“It might be right up your alley” for STRAY CAT
This year’s tournament felt like the perfect introduction to tournament-style solving and puzzles for a newbie competitor, and the wide array of themes, cluing, and grid entry vocabulary kept me engaged throughout the entire solve.
The cluing this year was topnotch, and I laughed out loud several times at the clever linguistic trickery on display.
Boswords events aren’t about difficulty, they’re about the joy of crossword solving and wordplay and all the delights that come with filling in these black-and-white grids, and this year’s Winter Wondersolve was no exception.
It’s the right mix of challenge and creativity for solvers accustomed to NYT-style solving, and I think the constructors and organizers did one heck of a job putting together the event. A hearty tip-of-the-hat to the hardworking puzzlers for pulling this all off!
I can’t wait to see what they cook up for us next.
And speaking of, the Boswords 2026 Spring Themeless League is coming soon! A weekly tournament that happens every Monday night from 9-10 pm Eastern in March and April (with a bonus livestream hangout!), the Spring Themeless League is the kind of community puzzly joy that is always welcome.
Registration for the event opens Saturday, February 15th, and they’ve already announced a killer’s row of constructors (in addition to the spot for the winner of their open submission contest).
This year’s line-up includes Kareem Ayas, Michael Berg, Malaika Handa, Katie Hoody, Rafael Musa, Jess Shulman, Byron Walden, and Stella Zawistowski.
Thanks for solving with me today. Did you tackle the challenge of the Winter Wondersolve, or will you be participating in this year’s Spring Themeless League? Let me know in the comments section below, I’d love to hear from you!
The Winter Wondersolve has come and gone, but the team at Boswords is already looking ahead to their 2026 Spring Themeless League.
The Spring Themeless League spreads out a tournament-style solving experience over nine weeks, with one themeless crossword per week. Each puzzle is scored based on your answer accuracy (incorrect letters, empty squares, etc.) and how quickly you complete the grid.
While each week’s puzzle only has one solution, there are three sets of clues, each representing a different difficulty level for solvers. Smooth is the least challenging, Choppy is the middle ground, and Stormy is the most challenging. (When solvers register to participate, they choose the difficulty level that suits them best.)
And the Boswords team has announced that they’ll be accepting Open Submissions for one of those themeless puzzles.
They’re looking for an unclued themeless grid (size 15x or 15×16), and it’s only open to constructors who have never had a themeless crossword published in the New York Times (prior to 1/24/26). Constructors who have constructed for a previous Boswords event are also ineligible.
Just donate to the Trevor Project from the special link, and you’ll receive a puzzle pack featuring 76 ORCA-nominated puzzles from 44 outlets, plus five original puzzles from the Constructor of the Year nominees. I solved my way through the entire pack, and it was an absolute joy.
Please give if you can, it’s a wonderful cause. For information on how to make a donation and receive the puzzle pack, email: theorcaawards@gmail.com.
(Oh, and PuzzCulture is nominated as well — Best Crossword-Related Media — and the competition is stiff. So much great crossword commentary and content available online!)
Crossword fans have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks and months!
Boswords Winter Wondersolve was on Sunday (I’ll be delving into the tournament puzzles on Thursday), this coming Saturday is the Westport Library Crossword Tournament, and we’ve got the ORCAS livestream on Monday, February 23rd.
Not only that, but the Boswords Spring Themeless League starts in March, plus we’ve got the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament and Crossword Con in April! (And somewhere in there, Westwords will announce when registration is open for their June event.)
Are you looking forward to any puzzly events coming up, or will you be submitting to the Boswords Spring Themeless League open submission contest? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.
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.
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!
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.
If you’re unfamiliar, the Boswords Fall Themeless League is a clever weekly spin on traditional crossword tournament-style solving. Instead of cracking through a number of puzzles in a single day (or two), the Fall Themeless League consists of one themeless crossword each week, scored based on your accuracy and how fast you complete the grid.
Each week’s puzzle only has one grid, but there are three sets of clues, each representing a different difficulty level for solvers. Smooth is the least challenging, Choppy is the middle ground, and Stormy is the most challenging. (When you register to participate, you choose the difficulty level that suits you best.)
Each week’s puzzle is accompanied by a one-hour broadcast on Twitch, starting with a preseason puzzle and broadcast on Monday, September 29th at 9 PM Eastern.
The Fall Themeless League then runs the next nine Monday nights starting at 9 PM.
Don’t worry if you can’t attend the Monday night broadcasts. Solvers will have until the end of the day Sunday each solving week to complete that week’s puzzles!
As for the puzzles themselves, each year the Boswords team assembles a lineup of top-flight constructors, and this year is no exception.
This year’s constructors are Carina da Rosa, Barbara Lin, Ryan Mathiason, Sophia Maymudes, Paolo Pasco, David Quarfoot, Brendan Emmett Quigley, Jeremy Venook, Emily Yi and Wayne Zhao.
I’ve participated in the Spring and Fall Themeless Leagues in years past, and it always sparks a renewed appreciation for what talented constructors can do outside the traditional themed structures of a grid. The grid work, the fill, the cluing… these are all given greater focus.
Consider checking it out, you won’t be disappointed!
Will you be participating in this year’s Fall Themeless League, fellow solvers? Let me know in the comments section below, I’d love to hear from you!
I had a chance to sit down and test my puzzly mettle with this year’s puzzles from the Boswords Summer Crossword Tournament. I look forward to Boswords every year, so I had high expectations going in.
But, of course, they knocked it out of the park.
Let’s put those puzzles under the PuzzCulture microscope and see what Boswords had in store for solvers this year!
Warmup Puzzle: Boswords, Inc.by John Lieb
Starting off with a smaller grid is a great idea for a warmup to a long day of puzzling, and this 12×9 symmetrical grid delivered a clever apt pair (as the Puzzmo crew would call it) with GREEN MONSTER and MIKE WAZOWSKI, but also tied in some bonus Boston trivia with the cluing.
It was super-accessible and the perfect intro for the tournament. I very much enjoyed!
The tournament proper kicked off with this 15x puzzle featuring a quartet of phrases with letters from the word YARN jumbled up inside (luNARYear, for instance). The revealer SPIN A YARN completed the set nicely.
A tight grid and fun theme made for a quick solve and a solid opener to the tournament.
Interesting grid entries included BASE JUMPS, CINCY, GOMEZ, and HYDRA, and my favorite clues were “Those disdaining bottles with screwcaps, maybe” for WINE SNOBS and “Great Caesar’s ghost!” for EGAD.
Puzzle #2: Life’s Little Ups and Downsby Ross Trudeau
We get a nice example of horizontal symmetry in puzzle #2, offering some lovely left-to-right flow and subconsciously pushing solvers in the right direction to unravel the puzzle’s actual hook.
There were rising geographical features like DOME and HILL hidden among the across entries (where one letter was above the others, using a black square to visually create a hill inside the circles in the grid).
But Trudeau didn’t stop there, as each geographical feature was contained inside a longer entry combining two across entries in that row, using that geographical feature to “climb” over the black square in the middle! (For example, 24A was LING and clued as such, but 22A was SPINECHI, but using HILL to connect them, you get the actual word clued as 22A, SPINECHILLING).
This was diabolical construction and my favorite puzzle of the tournament.
Interesting grid entries included YUPPIES, TRUE THAT, KINKSHAME, and THE SMURF, and my favorite clues were “4% of an Olympic 10k” for ONE LAP and “Apt way to get to a wine tasting?” for CAB.
Puzzle #3: The Sty’s the Limitby Quiara Vasquez
Quiara Vasquez never disappoints, and puzzle #3 was another terrific example. This puzzle had tons of clever cluing, all built around an interesting hook with animal answers in the grid that had to be inserted into the starred to turn them into more common phrases. (For example, when PIG is added into PASSENGEREONS, you get PASSENGER PIGEONS.)
And given that all of the animals were PIG, HOG, SOW, and BOAR, the center revealer BRING HOME THE BACON tied the whole puzzle together with style. The cluing, which was conversational and treated all the animals like escapees, was a delight.
This was the toughest puzzle so far, and probably the toughest puzzle of the tournament, save for the championship themeless.
Interesting grid entries included EXHIBIT A, MORPH, and AMAZON ECHO, and my favorite clues (hard to narrow this list down!) were “‘Carmen’ or ‘Elektra'” for OPERA, “Word before ‘Madre’ or ‘Leone’… or ‘Tango'” for SIERRA, and “Skirt length that hides your skinned knee but shows off your gladiator sandals” for MIDI.
Puzzle #4: Let’s Go Togetherby Chandi Deitmer
Chandi pulled double-duty on this 15x offering, loading almost all of the across entries with pairs of overlapping answers (like SLIM/MET overlapping at the M), and all of these overlaps spelled out vehicles or modes of transportation in the corresponding DOWN entries.
The revealer across the center, RIDESHARE, was the icing on this cleverly constructed cake. Really great cluing here and nice construction overall, especially with the symmetrical vehicle entries. It wasn’t as tough as Puzzle #3, but given the packed grid and very few black squares, it was probably an absolute beast to construct. Color me very impressed.
Interesting grid entries included GROUP DATE, I’M BATMAN, SALIERI, and FARSI, and my favorite clues were “Settler of old?” for DUEL and the very apropos pair at 25A of “Wimbledon champ Swiatek” for IGA right beside “Untouchable delivery by Swiatek” for ACE.
Puzzle #5: A Chorus Lineby John Harrington
After the three-puzzle barrage of Trudeau, Vasquez, and Deitmer’s offerings, Harrington offered a gentler cooldown puzzle with this 15×18 music-themed crossword that was all about the lyrics.
Each themed entry was clued as a type of line — “Assembly line? (Billie Eilish)” for WHAT WAS I MADE FOR, for example — prompting the solver to provide the appropriate song chorus. (I’d be curious to hear what prompted the artists and lyrics he chose. Maybe I should reach out and ask!)
This was a fun straightforward puzzle with really enjoyable grid fill, a marvelous way to conclude the tournament for solvers before the championship.
Interesting grid entries included CHOCOHOLIC, ABS OF STEEL, LINDT, SHANDLING, and PICKACARD, and my favorite clues were “One who’s into some pretty dark stuff?” for CHOCOHOLIC and one of his themed clues, “International date line? (Dean Martin)” for THAT’S AMORE.
Puzzle #6: Championship Themelessby Hemant Mehta
As always, Boswords concluded with a themeless puzzle, and this 15x grid was deftly constructed. The multiple long entries at every corner offered a lot of opportunities for good vocabulary, great fill, and a suitable challenge for solvers at either difficulty. (There were two sets of clues available for the championship themeless, the MILD and SIZZLING sets, depending on your preference.)
The grid flowed nicely, and it felt like the perfect sendoff for the whole event, a great set of hurdles to test the top solvers.
Interesting grid entries included OPEN TABLE, VIP PASS, PSY OP, SPIRO AGNEW, and ARE YOU MAD.
As for favorite clues, here’s a list:
MILD: “Engagement that could lead to an engagement?” for FIRST DATE
MILD: “Maximum athletic intensity, in slang” for BEAST MODE
SIZZLING: “If you’re in it, you’re out of it” for COMA
SIZZLING: “Telenovela plot driver” for AMOR
SIZZLING: “Red cap?” for CORK
SIZZLING: “It’ll likely be brought up in self-defense class” for KNEE
Overall, Boswords continues to impress. Between the summer and winter events, plus their seasonal themeless leagues, Boswords steps up their game every year, and as always, I was impressed by the array of puzzles assembled for this year’s tournament.
There were tricky themes, visual challenges, and even a barnyard escape, all of which made great use of both the cluing and the grids themselves. Every puzzle made an impact, and the tournament puzzles as a whole were challenging and creative in their design without being off-putting or getting too esoteric.
With so many terrific puzzly events on the calendar every year, I still think Boswords is the perfect tournament to introduce solvers to tournament-style puzzling, matching levels of difficulty with accessibility, playfulness, and straight-up solid grid construction.
Once again, I cannot wait to see what they cook up for us next year.
Did you attempt this year’s Boswords summer tournament puzzles, fellow solver? If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!
PuzzCulture 