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5 Questions with Magician and Puzzle Constructor David Kwong

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Welcome to another edition of PuzzleNation Blog’s interview feature, 5 Questions!

We’re reaching out to puzzle constructors, video game writers and designers, writers, filmmakers, and puzzle enthusiasts from all walks of life, talking to people who make puzzles and people who enjoy them in the hopes of exploring the puzzle community as a whole.

And I’m excited to have David Kwong as our latest 5 Questions interviewee!

Puzzlers by nature play with words, but none quite like David Kwong, a top-flight puzzle constructor and magician. Adept at sleight of hand and wielding a flair for puzzle constructing that makes me very jealous, David crafts illusions and puzzle grids with equal deftness, often doing so in front of a live audience!

In addition to his own creative endeavors, David serves as a magic consultant for film and television, and has contributed to The Mindy Project, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, and most notably, the magic-infused heist thriller Now You See Me.

David was gracious enough to take some time out to talk to us, so without further ado, let’s get to the interview!

5 Questions for David Kwong

1.) How did you get started with puzzles?

My mother and I always bonded over being word-nerds. When I was a child, we would play Scrabble and solve crosswords. After college, I began writing crosswords with my friend Kevan Choset (I suppose I was jealous of his James Bond themed puzzle). Our first puzzle was the April Fool’s Day puzzle in 2006. I think we waited three years for it to get published!

[Glenn’s note: The James Bond puzzle refers to one of Choset’s earliest, where “007” not only appeared in the grid, but crossed “SEAN CONNERY.” The April Fool’s Day puzzle refers to a Choset/Kwong collaboration that actually required the solvers to write the word “THINK” outside the box (grid) four times.]

2.) Magic and crosswords might seem like separate enterprises, but they both involve a whimsical sense of playing with your audience’s expectations (magic with misdirection, crosswords with clever cluing and wordplay). What about magic and puzzles so appeals to you?

You nailed it. Magic and crosswords both involve misdirection, surprises and toying with conventions. Take for example if I were to vanish a coin, I would place it in my hand three or four times plainly before secretly feigning its placement on the fifth time. Magicians allow their audiences to become familiar with what is “normal” so that the “abnormal” goes undetected (or rather looks the same).

A crossword that toys with the rules of the puzzle operates much in the same way. The constructor leads solvers down a path of what seemingly looks like a normal puzzle, and then suddenly hits them with a twist.

(Check out this short video, which highlights David’s whimsical fusion of magic and crosswords.)

3.) What types of puzzles and feats of magic are your favorites or have most inspired you?

I love puzzles in which the twist hinges on the everyday words and phrases that we’ve come to expect as solvers. Ashish Vengsarkar had a great puzzle in which “Start of Quote” and “Part 2 of Quote” were revealed to be BRITISH WAITING LINE and SECOND PERSON SINGULAR.

Also, I know it’s been referenced a million times, but the BOB DOLE / CLINTON puzzle is the ultimate example of misdirection in a crossword. There’s no better way to misdirect your audience before the final reveal than to have them think the trick is over!

[Glenn’s note: David is referencing the famous New York Times puzzle that appeared the day before the 1996 presidential election, a puzzle that famously offered either “BOB DOLE ELECTED” OR “CLINTON ELECTED” as an answer depending on how the solver filled in the grid.]

My favorite magic tricks are the ones in which the subterfuge is taking place right under the spectators’ noses. As performers, we call these “bold” moves and take a particular delight in executing them effectively. Often this means no intricate contraptions, no smoke and mirrors — just a strong ability to misdirect. There’s a routine called “card under the glass,” which illustrates this concept. The performer declares, “I will again and again place your card underneath this glass. See if you can catch me.”

And the audience never stands a chance.

4.) What’s next for David Kwong?

“Now You See Me” was such a big hit that we’re making a sequel. There are a number of Houdini projects in the works as well. I’ve also consulted recently on “The Imitation Game,” which is the story of Alan Turing and Bletchley Park cracking the German enigma cipher machine. There’s a great line in that script: “[Alan,] you just defeated Nazism with a crossword puzzle.”

5.) If you could give the readers, writers, puzzle fans, and magic lovers in the audience one piece of advice, what would it be?

Magic and puzzles are both forms of storytelling. If you’re creating magic tricks or constructing puzzles, think about how you can take your audience on a journey, even if just for a few minutes. Play into their expectations and hit them with twists and turns.

Finally, look for fresh combinations of seemingly unrelated things. You might be surprised that their cross-pollination can yield something innovative and original. Who would have thought that magic and puzzles could be synthesized?!

Many thanks to David for his time. You can learn more about David and his ever-expanding filmography on his website, DavidKwongMagic.com, and be sure to follow him on Twitter (@davidkwong) and Facebook (facebook.com/dkwongmagic) to see more of his mystifying exploits.

Thanks for visiting the PuzzleNation blog today! You can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, cruise our boards on Pinterest, check out our Classic Word Search iBook (recently featured by Apple in the Made for iBooks category!), play our games at PuzzleNation.com, or contact us here at the blog!

Hmmm… 4 letter word. “Pointers.” .. Oh! “Tips!”

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A few weeks from now, we’ll be celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the crossword puzzle, and in celebration, PuzzleNation Blog will be focusing on crosswords for the entire month of December!

And what better way to start than highlighting some tips for crossword solving?

Whether you’re diving right in with a Sunday New York Times puzzle or just picking up the Monday puzzle in your local paper (or the puzzle on one of those page-a-day calendars), here are some helpful hints to sharpen your solving skills.

–Puzzles in the newspaper tend to get harder as the week goes on. Saturday puzzles are usually the most difficult, so if you’re just starting out, Monday and Tuesday are excellent puzzles to try out.

–Whether you’re solving with pencil or pen, write softly. This will make it easier to erase mistakes or to write over them, depending on your writing implement of choice. Newspapers and puzzle magazines aren’t made from the hardiest paper, and it’s easy to tear a hole with an eraser unintentionally, or fill up a tiny square with one or two false starts.

–Don’t be afraid to use the margin to list possible answers before committing to filling in the grid. Some clues lend themselves to multiple interpretations — “cleave” could be a clue for “cling” or “split,” for instance — and sometimes it helps to keep potential answers nearby to be eliminated later.

–Remember, you don’t have to start at 1 Across and work your way through the list consecutively. Let your eyes jump around the clue list. Look for something you know.

–Look for quotation marks and blank spaces. Quotation marks usually indicate film, movie, or song titles, and blanks often involve completing titles or phrases. (A clue with quotation marks AND a blank is a prime candidate for early gimmes.)

–Similarly, keep your eyes peeled for hints within clues. A foreign word in a clue indicates a foreign word answer. An abbreviation hints at an abbreviated answer.

–Verb tense can be helpful as well. “Broke down” is past tense, so an -ed ending is likely. “Breaking down” implies an -ing ending, while “breaks” could mean an -s ending. (Be careful, though. Craftier constructors may use phrases as answers, so “appends” could have an answer like “tacks on.”)

–Keep an eye out for question marks, since these indicate that a pun, joke, or some form of wordplay is afoot. (For examples of some cunning clues, check out this collection of constructors’ favorite clues.)

From The West Wing:

Jed Bartlet: Three letters. “It may be bitter.” “Tea,” right?
Abbey Bartlet: “It may be bitter?”
Jed: Yeah.
…
Abbey: “End,” you idiot. “Bitter end.”

–Once you’ve placed a word you feel confident about, check the words nearby, especially the clues for words crossing your entry. Just one or two placed letters can make a big difference when figuring out other entries. Similarly, focusing on an individual section instead of the entire grid can make a puzzle less daunting.

–As you grow accustomed to solving crosswords, you’ll probably discover some words you only encounter while puzzle-solving. We refer to these words as “crosswordese,” and while many constructors have made a concentrated effort to eliminate crosswordese entries whenever possible, some invariably slip through the cracks. Familiarizing yourself with the worst offenders is often helpful.

–Keep solving!

It’s easy to get frustrated, especially if two proper nouns are crossing, or if you haven’t been able to suss out the theme of a given puzzle just yet, but don’t give up! Take a break for a few minutes, or invite someone to solve with you. Say a few clues out loud and see if that sparks anything.

Good luck and happy solving to you!

Thanks for visiting the PuzzleNation blog today! Be sure to check out our Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide, featuring dozens of terrific puzzle books, games, and products!

You can also like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, cruise our boards on Pinterest, check out our Classic Word Search iBook (recently featured by Apple in the Made for iBooks category!), play our games at PuzzleNation.com, or contact us here at the blog!

PuzzleNation Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide!

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Happy Holidays and welcome to the PuzzleNation Blog Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide!

We’ve got three different versions of the Gift Guide for your perusal, each of them chock full of all sorts of puzzly goodness and designed to make your puzzle shopping as easy as possible!

You can view the products in the Gift Guide by category, by age group, or randomized in a grab bag format!

So, if you’d like to view products by category (puzzle games, board games, puzzle books, etc.), click the wreath!

If you’d like to view products by age group, click the penguin!

And if you’ve got a puzzle lover on your list and you’re not sure what to get them, you can scroll through a wonderful mixed bag of products by clicking the crossword tree!

A lot of terrific companies and puzzle constructors are taking part in our gift guide this year, and we’re sure you’ll find something for every puzzle lover on your list this year! Happy browsing and happy puzzling to you and yours!

Let’s Make a Deal!

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It’s a scenario every game show fan knows well. You’ve got three doors to choose from, and one of those doors will open to reveal a fabulous prize.

After you’ve made your choice (let’s say Door #2), our affable host Monty Hall plays Devil’s Advocate by opening one of the doors you didn’t choose (let’s say Door #1), revealing a goat or other lackluster result.

And then, Monty offers you a chance to change your mind. Will you stick with the door you initially chose, or will you switch to the other unopened door (Door #3)?

The average player sees two choices, Door #2 and Door #3, which on the surface sounds like a 50/50 shot, a coin flip. So would it surprise you to learn that people who switched from one door to the other doubled their chances to win the fabulous prize?

This is known as the Monty Hall Problem, an example of how statistics aren’t always what they seem, and it has puzzled people for decades.

It’s counterintuitive, isn’t it? I mean, you have two choices, so the odds should be 50/50. But you’re forgetting that third door that Monty eliminated. That third door makes all the difference, statistically speaking.

Let’s break it down. Your initial choice is between 3 doors, meaning you have a 1 in 3 chance of picking the correct door, and a 2 in 3 chance of picking the wrong one.

When Monty opens that other door, the odds haven’t changed. Only the number of options available has changed. Your door is still a 1 in 3 chance of being correct and a 2 in 3 chance of being wrong. But the remaining door now has a 2 in 3 chance of being correct!

So what appeared to be a coin flip between sticking with your choice and switching is now heavily weighted toward switching!

There have been several real-world tests of the Monty Hall Problem, and all of them have consistently shown that the people who switch were twice as likely to open the winning door!

The real puzzle here is how we fool ourselves. We take the numbers at face value — 3 doors become 2 doors, so a 1 in 3 chance becomes a 1 in 2 chance — and actually hurt our chances with those seemingly simple assumptions.

Being able to reconsider your assumptions is a major tool in the puzzler’s solving kit. Plenty of tricky crossword clues depend on you associating the clue with one thing, when the answer is something quite different.

After all, if you saw the clue “Unlocked” for a four-letter entry, you’d probably try OPEN before you tried BALD. Clever constructors are counting on that.

So be sure to remember Monty Hall and his three-door conundrum the next time you’re stumped on a puzzle. Maybe the answer is as simple as trying another door.

Thanks for visiting the PuzzleNation blog today! You can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, cruise our boards on Pinterest, check out our Classic Word Search iBook (recently featured by Apple in the Made for iBooks category!), play our games at PuzzleNation.com, or contact us here at the blog!

PuzzleNation Product Review: The Walk-By Scrabble Board

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Hammacher Schlemmer is perhaps best known for its library of high-end products, from massage chairs and high-tech toys to outlandishly marvelous devices like a jetpack that propels you into the air on columns of water.

But they’re also home of some unexpectedly delightful puzzle products, like the latest edition to my cubicle space, the Walk-By Scrabble Board.

Lightweight, durable, and easy to mount around the home or office, the Walk-By Scrabble Board is designed for puzzlers who don’t mind taking some time between moves to accomplish other tasks.

The magnetic letters adhere well to both the board and the player tags that conceal your tiles from others, and the dry-erase board scoreboard doesn’t stain easily. It’s perfect for repeated, regular play.

But the Walk-By Scrabble Board has another terrific facet: the casual nature of its layout infuses your gameplay. There isn’t the tension and gravitas of having several players watch you as you make your move, feeling seconds tick away as you scramble to anagram in your head. 

You can play at your leisure, offering a similar playing experience to electronic versions of the game like Words with Friends and Lexulous, but without sacrificing the more social, familial spirit of playing a game with your family. 

That combination of the best of the electronic and board game versions makes for a much more congenial playing experience overall.

As you can see, it’s a hit here at the PuzzleNation office.

Well-made and affordable, the Walk-By Scrabble Board is a great way to reignite the puzzly spirit of your household in a fun, casual way.

[This product and many others will be featured in our Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide, going live on PuzzleNation Blog next Wednesday!]

Thanks for visiting the PuzzleNation blog today! You can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, cruise our boards on Pinterest, check out our Classic Word Search iBook (recently featured by Apple in the Made for iBooks category!), play our games at PuzzleNation.com, or contact us here at the blog!

5 Questions with Puzzle Creator (and Jumble Master) David L. Hoyt

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Welcome to the tenth edition of PuzzleNation Blog’s interview feature, 5 Questions!

We’re reaching out to puzzle constructors, video game writers and designers, writers, filmmakers, and puzzle enthusiasts from all walks of life, talking to people who make puzzles and people who enjoy them in the hopes of exploring the puzzle community as a whole.

And I’m excited to have David L. Hoyt as our latest 5 Questions interviewee!

Even if you don’t know David’s name, you’ve probably solved one of his puzzles. Whether it’s the illustrated Jumble puzzle syndicated in newspapers across America or one of his numerous puzzles and games, David Hoyt is a puzzle-creation dynamo. Seamlessly transitioning from print to electronic media, David also has a number of apps and websites featuring his work, cultivating terrific relationships with Pat Sajak and USA Today among many other brands.

And it’s worth mentioning that in addition to being the most syndicated man in puzzles, he’s also my mother’s favorite puzzler (leaving me a distant second). *laughs*

David was gracious enough to take some time out to talk to us, so without further ado, let’s get to the interview!

5 Questions for David L. Hoyt

1.) You’ve been recognized nationally and internationally as a leading name in puzzles for decades now. What, in your estimation, separates a great puzzle from an average one?

I specialize in very fast-playing daily puzzles so my answer may be a different from other puzzle creators. When it comes to fast-playing daily puzzles, I feel that a great puzzle is one that gives the solver a chance to feel smart and to feel that he or she has just barely beaten me. The puzzle needs to give to player a fair chance to “win.”

It can’t be too easy, nor can it be too hard. It’s a balancing act. You want the solver to come back to play on a daily basis, so a great fast-playing daily puzzle will need to give the solver enough satisfaction and entertainment to get the solver back the next day.

(Here’s a brief video profiling David’s ongoing puzzle projects.)

2.) The internationally syndicated Jumble puzzle is probably the most well-known in your ever-expanding stable of puzzles. How many do you make in a year, and what does the creative process entail?

I create the classic daily Jumble in partnership with cartoonist Jeff Knurek. I took over the reins from Mike Argirion three years ago. It’s in about 650 newspapers. It’s a seven-days-a-week puzzle. I also create Jumble Crosswords, TV Jumble and a few other Jumble-branded puzzles so the answer to how many I make is lots and lots!

I really love making the classic Jumble. Coming up with the “punny” answer is so fun for me. I have found that I come up with the best ones when I’m running so quite often I’ll go for a run in downtown Chicago and just look around and listen for ideas. I love seeing how far I can run and how many Jumble ideas I can come up with during the run. The city of Chicago is my assistant when it comes to new puzzle ideas.

3.) The hundredth anniversary of the crossword is fast approaching. Given your familiarity with puzzles, what does the hundredth anniversary mean to you? Do you think puzzles as we know them will still be around a hundred years from now?

I’m very excited about the 100th anniversary of the crossword puzzle! I feel very confident that puzzles as we know them will be around 100 years from now. I see enough young people playing puzzles on the trains, subways and buses here in Chicago that it makes me think that puzzles will be around for as long as humans are around.

4.) What’s next for David L. Hoyt?

I have two things going on right now that have me super excited and that are laying the groundwork for a very busy 2014. I have a new hit game (app) called Just 2 Words and we are working on a series of new versions of this game for 2014.

Also, I am working with teachers and students to get the Word Winder Giant Game into schools, libraries, etc. I love working with teachers and students. It looks like I’ll be spending a lot of time in schools in 2014 which I’m really looking forward to.

5.) If you could give the readers, writers, and puzzle fans in the audience one piece of advice, what would it be?

I feel that an important key to success is to pay very close attention to the things that don’t work out the way you expect them to. I feel there’s much more to learn from things that don’t work out as expected compared to what you can learn from the things that do work out as expected.

It’s ok to be wrong. It’s ok to have bad ideas. That’s just a part of being human. They key is to not let your human nature mask what really happened. There’s so much that can be learned from the non-successes that can lay a very strong foundation for success over the long-term.

Many thanks to David for his time. You can check out his library of puzzles and games on his website, and keep your eyes peeled for his Word Winder game, as I suspect it’ll be finding its way into school curricula very soon!

Thanks for visiting the PuzzleNation blog today! You can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, cruise our boards on Pinterest, check out our Classic Word Search iBook (recently featured by Apple in the Made for iBooks category!), play our games at PuzzleNation.com, or contact us here at the blog!