Tag Archives: puzzle event

Club Drosselmeyer 1941 is Coming!

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(I know it’s Halloween season, but it’s never too early to look forward to holiday puzzly goodness for later in the year!)

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 5th, 6th, 7th AND December 12th, 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!

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.

The Zcavenger Hunt Was a Huge Success!

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Several friends started sharing this video with me not long after it was posted (and already going viral).

While so much of modern politics is mired in mudslinging, negativity, fearmongering, and hate speech, Zohran Mamdani opted instead to get his fellow New Yorkers moving, excited, and motivated in a healthy, fun, engaging way: a scavenger hunt.

This video got 114,000 views in one day. And as for the actual turnout:

Participants who arrived early received their playing card and their first clue:

So many players documented their adventure across social media, not only excited about taking on this walking-friendly public challenge, but meeting fellow New Yorkers who were similarly buzzing about this fun, educational event!

The cards ran out quickly, but that didn’t stop many intrepid puzzlers from taking on the journey regardless.

They were assisted by many fellow Zcavenger hunters sharing pics of the clues online, as well as offering photos to document their progress!

The tweet above brilliantly summarizes some of the joys that come along with a public event like this. It’s not all about winning or completing the challenge. Sometimes, it’s about discovering something new about a place you thought you knew, or exploring a place that you didn’t know before!

It was an absolute joy to follow all of the posts across Twitter and Bluesky about the event. It gave me flashbacks to The Great Urban Race from years ago!

A recurring motif was all the fresh air and exercise the Zcavenger hunters were enjoying. It was a beautiful day and solvers made the most of it.

By any and all metrics, this was a huge success. THOUSANDS of New Yorkers came out to explore, enjoy the city, meet fellow puzzlers, and revel in a truly rare occurrence: a campaign event that left people smiling at the end.

Feels like all of enby NYC is out here doing the #ZcavengerHunt and that's rad

— Francis Heaney (@francisheaney.bsky.social) 2025-08-24T20:45:36.808Z

When I talk about puzzles bringing people together, this is the energy I mean. Whether it’s a tournament or a scavenger hunt or simply a few people gathered around a kitchen table, puzzles are community builders.

Yes, puzzles can be a solitary endeavor, and a delightful one at that, but so much of the joy of puzzling comes from solving together, sharing the experience.

Here’s hoping we see more of this energy in the future.

A Puzzle Party for Reproductive Justice!

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

And the wonderful team at Frontera Fund are using puzzles to help raise awareness next Thursday, May 8th with their Puzzle Party event!

Cactus Valley Art in Harlingen, Texas, will be hosting the event.

There will be puzzles, community support, and discussions of the modern abortion access landscape and the challenges involved in ensuring that women and those assigned-female-at-birth have the support and resources they need.

This is a wonderful way to help get the word out. I hope that you’ll participate in the event, either by attending in person, by following through social media, or by donating to the cause!

I’d also like to take the opportunity to shout out These Puzzles Fund Abortion 5 . This year marks the fifth edition of the project, collecting 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.

Whether you support Frontera Fund or the five important charities involved in These Puzzles Fund Abortion, I thank you for your time, your donations, and your participation in helping protect and provide healthcare for others.

Together, puzzlers can change the world.

Crossword News Roundup!

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In today’s blog post, we’ve got a trio of crossword-related news items for you!

shortzoffice

Welcome back, Will!

Earlier this week, The New York Times announced that Will Shortz was back at work editing the Times crossword (beginning with the December 30th puzzle).

This is wonderful news, as Will had to step back from his editing work in February to attend to his recovery.

For those who were unaware, Will suffered a stroke that affected his mobility — he offered details on both the stroke and his recovery to Brain & Life magazine — but he is back to editing and playing table tennis.

From the NYT article:

In addition to completing hours of physical therapy and rehab, Will slowly returned to puzzle making and editing throughout the year. He directed the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, returned as the creator of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle in April and resumed choosing puzzles for The Times in May.

We wish Will all the best in his continued recovery and return to puzzling. I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with Will a number of times — mostly at the ACPT, though I did interview him for the blog years ago — and I’m very glad to hear that he’s well enough to enjoy both of his favorite pastimes again.

acptlogo

And speaking of Will Shortz news, registration is open for the 47th edition of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament!

Once again being hosted in Stamford, CT, the ACPT is a weekend-long puzzle extravaganza of solving, puzzle-themed events, fun, and community.

This year’s tournament runs from April 4th through the 6th, and you can click here for more details (and to register for this year’s event, should the spirit move you).

Are you planning on competing this year? Let us know in the comments below! We’d love to hear from you.

Our last bit of crossword news was brought to our attention by friend-of-the-blog DGhandcrafted.

The jewelry crafting supply website Lima Beads has a puzzly promotion going on that might interest the craftier members of the readership.

There is a crisscross grid featured on the site for the entire month of January, and the numbered answers correspond to what’s on sale that particular day!

There’s even a chance to win a bonus prize if you solve the entire puzzle early!

It’s a pretty clever way to bring solvers and crafters back to the site throughout the month, and hopefully it’s a success for both the customers and Lima Beads.

Happy puzzling (and crafting) everyone!

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.