Tag Archives: tournament

Delving into the Lollapuzzoola 19 Puzzles!

Posted on by
Reply
lolla-logo

The nineteenth edition of Lollapuzzoola, as is tradition, arrived on a Saturday in August. Last Saturday, in fact. (I was not in attendance, but I did purchase the Solve at Home puzzle pack.)

I had a chance to sit down and try my hands at this year’s tournament puzzles, and I was certainly not disappointed.

This year’s theme was “Around the World.” Every puzzle had something to do with travel or geography, and the constructors were clearly inspired in all sorts of ways. Let’s take a look at what they came up with.

Warmup Puzzle A: Twinlets by Brian Cimmet

A traditional Cimmet Twinlets (Cimlets? CimTwins?) puzzle begins the day’s proceedings and boy, did he hit the ground running! He presented the solver with two identical grids and two sets of clues, and you have to figure out which grid each answer applies to.

This was complicated by the fact that EIGHT of the answers across both grids had the same clue: “European country.” But I started filling in answers to establish the first grid, then worked back and forth as the answers continued to populate and reveal which clues fit which grid.

I really dig Twin Crosswords or Twinlets puzzles, and Brian has a knack for putting just enough common letters in the same spaces in both grids to keep you guessing. (And for writing several long clues that never disappoint.) I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle.

Interesting grid entries included LOST ART, SILENT O, and O, CANADA, and my favorite clues were “Three-syllable berry that’s great for both health and crossword construction” for ACAI and the 39-Across pairing of “____ on the Roof” for FIDDLER and “The other 39-Across, for one” for MUSICAL.

Warmup Puzzle B: Up in the Air by Brooke Husic

With a grid layout that feels like a moth or butterfly in flight, Husic clearly had flying on the brain, and her travel-centric apt pair — JETLAGGED and FLIGHT DELAYED — stacked together nicely. (Heck, having a grid that was short in one direction and long in the other FELT like travel, the trip there and the trip home.)

Brooke is a master at maximizing smaller grids, and she paired fun grid fill with longer, trivia- and opinion-focused clues, many of which continued the travel theme. (Also, she shouted out the board game Sky Team, which is a blast.)

Interesting grid entries included ALT LIT and JINX, and my favorite clues were “…—…” for SOS and “Plucked bass?” for ANGLED. (Though I didn’t know that pets can ride on Amtrak if they’re under 20 pounds. I love learning things from puzzles!)

There was also a contest puzzle featuring locations from famous musicals, which definitely tested my theatrical knowledge.

I’m sure there was frantic Googling during the breaks between puzzles for solvers to complete this one before the Puzzle 5 deadline!

Puzzle #1: Screen Sharing by Ada Nicolle

Kicking off a day of tournament solving is a daunting challenge — balancing accessibility, difficulty, style, flavor, skill, and playfulness, all while ably representing that event’s energy or that year’s theme — and I’m always impressed by the constructors who tackle that challenge.

Fortunately, solvers and tournament organizers were in the capable hands of Ada Nicolle, who created a great opening puzzle. It was a smooth solving experience with engaging cluing and tons of personality (as one should expect from Nicolle).

The theme was impressive, featuring compound words or phrases where both parts of the answer could be placed in front of the word CHECK to form a common phrase (RAIN check and COAT check for RAINCOAT, for instance), ably showing off the PRE-CHECK promised by the revealer.

Interesting grid entries included NU METAL, HO-HOS, TONSIL, and BAGUETTE, and my favorite clues were “What it might take to ask out a crush” for COURAGE and “Wide-brimmed accessory for Carmen Sandiego” for HAT.

Puzzle #2: Wherever the Wind Takes You… by Carina da Rosa

This year, the ORCAS crowned Carina as an Emerging Constructor to watch, and I think she’s proven everyone who voted for her correct.

The eye-catching shape of a hot-air balloon grid was just the tip of the iceberg with this puzzle, as solvers would discover that one letter from each theme answer had floated up, up, and away from the main entry, appearing in a circle above as part of the balloon’s design. The capper was each letter spelling out HOT AIR.

This is beautiful design and execution, especially with a packed grid like this. The page itself was equally packed with longer clues which made it a little difficult to read and solve (a pattern that would continue with the next puzzle… or maybe I need to revisit my prescription with my eye doctor). Nonetheless, this was a highlight of the day.

Interesting grid entries included RAW OYSTER, UNSUNG, COLBERT, and ADROIT, and my favorite clues were “Place to park your butt?” for ASHTRAY, “Hoffman whose FBI file was 13,262 pages long” for ABBIE, and “Portuguese greeting formed by dropping one letter from a Spanish greeting” for OLA.

Puzzle #3: What to Know Before You Travel by Amie Walker

Intend your puns indeed, as Amie Walker has some doozies for you in this one! The clues take traditional travel terms (“Baggage claim,” “Carry-on item,” “Domestic carrier,” etc.) and deliver tongue-in-cheek responses as answers (I’VE GOT TRUST ISSUES, TEMPER TANTRUM, BABY STROLLER).

Packing seven answers into this grid was no small feat, but Walker managed to stack the grid with charming fill as well, offering the densest and most ambitious puzzle design of the day. My puzzly mind definitely appreciated this one, even if my eyes didn’t.

Interesting grid entries included BLITHERING, ICE CAVES, EGG CUP, and COBBLE, and my favorite clues were “Word ____ (you, maybe)” for NERD and “Enjoy a Manhattan tour, say?” for BARHOP.

Puzzle #4: Crossing the Line by Adam Wagner

Much like the dreaded Puzzle #5 at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, Puzzle #4 at Lollapuzzoola is usually a super-heavyweight challenge, and this might be the toughest I can remember from any previous event.

It took me a LONG time to realize the trick of this one. The revealer DAY OFF pointed me towards some sort of time shift, but I kept staring at the entries that crossed the dotted line down the middle of the grid and coming up empty. Seven of the clues simply refused to match their entries, until I finally noticed that each of those seven clues started with same letter as a day of the week (“Mob target” for Monday, “Tutor coaches” for Tuesday, etc.)

And when you shift the first two letters of each clue back a day, the clues suddenly make sense. “Mob target” becomes “Sub target,” which makes total sense for DESTROYER.

Tough clues, TOUGH gimmick, but a well-constructed puzzle. Although I easily completed it within the 40 minutes allowed, I don’t know that I understood it during that 40 minutes.

Interesting grid entries included RUH-ROH, U-HAULS, SAMURAI, and FROYO, and my favorite clues were “Beat generation?” for PULSE, “Breakfast accompaniment?” for BED, and “Construction term that becomes a meteorological term if SO is added after the first letter” for IBAR.

Puzzle #5: Every Second Counts by Will Nediger

Nediger closed out the pre-championship puzzles with this grid that feels like one long, snaky journey from the upper left to the lower right, meandering like a river.

Solvers found a very cool theme waiting for them where the theme answer was one location, but another location was circled in alternating spaces within the theme answer, like ALGERIA (AGRA within ALGERIA). Will packed six of these pairings into the grid, plus the revealer ALTERNATE PLANS. (And I quite liked SIDE TRIP as sort of a bonus revealer.)

All in all, a very impressive bit of construction, research, and theme execution. A terrific closer before the big finale.

Interesting grid entries included IDEOGRAMS, PIPING HOT, TRIMARAN, CLARISSA, and Wario, and my favorite clues were “Like plants that produce little to no chlorophyll” for ALBINO and “Punishment from a Discord moderator” for BAN.

Puzzle #6: Championship Final by Trenton Charlson

As always, there were two sets of clues for the Finals puzzle, the Local and the more difficult Express clues. No matter which clues you were working with, you were in for an excellent tournament finale.

This grid had clean stacks of 8-letter entries and 9-letter entries in the corners, and some unforgiving crossings that really reminded me of how much skill and creativity it takes to construct a great themeless puzzle.

The cluing was surprisingly accessible for a championship final (across both the Local and Express clues), and I can imagine many of the solvers in attendance performing well on this solve.

I don’t know Charlson’s work, but I’ll definitely be looking for their byline in the future.

Interesting grid entries included JUMBO JET, SEE STARS, YTTRIUM, and DON QUIXOTE. Both the Local and Express sets of clues had some gems, so I’ll list them separately below:

Local clues:

  • “Farm animal follower” for EIEIO
  • “Festival celebrating the arrival of spring” for TET
  • “Starter starter?” for NON

Express clues:

  • “Agrarian refrain” for EIEIO
  • “Something a guitarist often has on hand?” for CALLUS
  • “One who dreams knightly?” for DON QUIXOTE
  • “Palms or pockets” for STEALS
  • “Start to sense” for NON
  • “9 to 5, e.g.” for ODDS

There was also a tiebreaker themeless midi by Laura Braunstein, which was an excellent, quick solve. The playful cluing and great flow made it an enjoyable interlude before the championship, and the apt pair of FIRST SIGHT and LAST RESORT really encapsulated the travel theme of the event nicely.

Interesting grid entries included WIGGLE ROOM and DARK HORSES, and my favorite clues were “Place for a pawdicure” for PET SPA and “General of the Resistance” for LEIA (put some respect on her name!).

There were ALSO two bonus puzzle suites — a variety one by Scott Weiss and a meta crossword one by Crossword Gentleman Doug Peterson — which I did not have an opportunity to solve before posting.

Another year, another parade of bangers from the Lollapuzzoola team. There were visually impressive grids, devious acts of cluing chicanery and cruciverbalism, and many many MANY trivia-loaded clues (a personal favorite of mine).

Every puzzle was well-constructed, smartly filled, and clued with love, personality, snark, and enthusiasm. It’s hard to precisely put a finger on what makes a crossword feel like a Lollapuzzoola puzzle — a unique blend of rock n’ roll and Tom Lehrer, maybe — but the LPZ spirit is alive (and often kicking) in each of these entries.

I can only imagine what they’ve got in store for us next year to mark the 20th edition of the tournament. Sadly, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

On the plus side, I’ve got puzzle suites to solve while I wait! Happy puzzling, everyone!

Did you tackle this year’s Lollapuzzoola crossword tournament, fellow puzzlers, either from home or live in person? Let me know in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you!

Delving into the 2026 Boswords Summer Tournament Puzzles!

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday I had a chance to sit down and test my cruciverbalist 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. To no one’s surprise, they managed to meet and occasionally exceed those lofty expectations!

Let’s put those puzzles under the PuzzCulture microscope and see what Boswords had in store for solvers this year!

Warmup Puzzles: Minis by Andrew Kingsley and John Lieb

Instead of practice puzzles or a midi, solvers warmed up for this year’s tournament with three mini crosswords from The Boston Globe.

They were a quick little series of icebreakers to knock the ring rust off of solvers, replete with homophones and Boston references, and the third of the trio was a delight. A C-shaped grid with a Coco Chanel quote in the cluing and SCENTS, SMELLY, and PERFUME as entries, this was a great little puzzle that really made the most of a tight grid.

Puzzle #1: Standing Trial by Emily Biegas & Sala Wanetick

The tournament proper kicked off with this 15×17 puzzle loaded with fun and accessible themed entries and a nice catch-all revealer with STATUS SYMBOLS (whether that status meant verified, engaged/married, action in progress, or importance on a team depended on the answer word).

A very breezy solve, this was the perfect intro puzzle for a day of competitive solving. I was immediately considering alternate ways to read clues and interpret wordplay after seeing the flexibility of STATUS SYMBOLS, which is a terrific mindset for tournament play.

(It was also interesting to note that this was my first of two Biegas/Wanetick puzzles of the day, as I later solved their Wednesday NYT puzzle the same night. This is a duo to keep your eyes on, solvers!)

Interesting grid entries included TOUGH LOVE, RAYA, REAL ID, and RIB MEAT, and my favorite clues were “Number of cards dealt in Go Fish” for SEVEN and “Hotel chain whose name anagrams to a naval force” for RAMADA.

Puzzle #2: Getting Off-Track by Chandi Deitmer

It’s rare that my favorite puzzle of the tournament appears so early in the proceedings, but this 15×14 puzzle was gamesome, tightly constructed, and a terrific solve, an absolute highlight for the day. The gimmick wasn’t flatly apparent at the start, but made total sense upon unraveling the first two themed entries. Balancing sharp and simple is a tricky task, and Deitmer absolutely nailed it here.

This puzzle had names of train systems — “L” for Chicago, “Metro” for Paris, etc. — added to the clue answers to fill in each themed space. (For example, SIDESHOW + Chicago’s L made SLIDESHOW.) The revealer TAKE THE TRAIN explained the themed clues neatly and was the cherry on top of the solve.

Interesting grid entries included LATE GREAT, WITCHCRAFT, and BRITA, and my favorite clues were “Where old minor-league teams called the ‘Spuds’ and ‘Russets’ played” for IDAHO and “Response to Brute force?” for ET TU.

Puzzle #3: Going Greener by Damon Gulczynski

This 19×16 grid has a lot going on — a chain of connected overlapping clues, symmetrical color-shaded entries, and a dollar sign dominating the grid’s black-square design — and all of it comes together neatly as Puzzle #3 begins ratcheting up the difficulty for competitors.

The solver goes on a journey from POVERTY to FORTUNE — a RAGS TO RICHES journey, as the revealer explains — with entry spaces growing greener as the solver follows the chain of connected clues. “Need” clues POVERTY, but then both “Need” and “It might be served by a sheriff” clue WARRANT. Each clue applies to the next entry in turn as we word-associate our way to greener pastures.

It’s a cool concept for a puzzle, one that I don’t think I’ve seen before, and coupled with a tight grid and interesting fill, it’s another strong showing for Boswords.

Interesting grid entries included CORONADO, FINAGLED, EASY WAY OUT, and IN-CROWD, and my favorite clues were “Measure of weight (not purity; that’s with a ‘K’!) for CARAT and “Father Keith Mars and daughter Veronica Mars, e.g., on TV” for PIS (nice fakeout with DUO there).

Puzzle #4: Pay Up by Joon Pahk

This 17×17 puzzle was the most devious of the day, presenting theme entries that seem unconnected, except for the country in parentheses listed after each clue. Realizing that the answers were too long for their given spaces, I started looking for the trick of each entry, and it was a good one.

That “Pay Up” in the title indicated that a unit of currency was not only lurking in each theme entry, but literally “up” from the horizontal answer, reading out in the crossing entry downward as a unit of currency, but upward as the missing letters from the answer. For instance, in PARTS UNKNOWN, WON read out in the crossing entry WONKA, but also served as the “NOW” missing from UNK-NOW-N. (The revealer, RAISING MONEY, also fit the pattern, with YEN reading down as part of MO-NEY.)

It’s a terrific bit of constructing. (And as a professional wrestling fan, seeing PARTS UNKNOWN in a grid was a treat.)

Interesting grid entries included NOPES OUT, OLE ELO, PYRITE, BOP-IT, and ORKNEY, and my favorite clues were “Something that’s beside the point?” in ONES COLUMN and “The planets, e.g.” for OCTAD.

Puzzle #5: Back Packs by Kathleen Duncan

The tournament concluded for most solvers with this 17×15 puzzle, a pleasant solve after the back-to-back challenge of Puzzles 3 and 4. It can be tough to stick the landing in a tournament setting like this, but Duncan deftly mixed strong construction and fill with playful cluing to wrap up the day in style.

Five groups (the BACK PACKS of the title) were concealed backwards in larger theme entries, like WERC (CREW) lurking in POWER COUPLE. But like I said earlier, the real highlight here was the engaging fill throughout the grid.

Interesting grid entries included KING TUT, MEDALISTS, GIGOLO, AD CREEP, CHOREO, CILLIAN, and MEMORANDA, and my favorite clues were “Disney dwarf number” for HEIGH-HO (my favorite clue of the day!) and “Overseers of camera dollies on film sets” for GRIPS.

Puzzle #6: Championship Themeless by Peter Wentz

As always, Boswords closed out with a themeless puzzle for the top solvers to live-solve, and this 15x grid was a suitable challenge. The stack of five 9-letter entries across the middle, plus the longer entries tying the grid together, offered loads of opportunities for good, uncommon vocabulary and solid fill.

There was also great cluing across both puzzles, with an emphasis on kid-lit references, a fun little micro-theme in the clues, particularly in the Sizzling set. (There were two sets of clues available for the championship themeless, the MILD and SIZZLING sets, depending on your preference.)

Interesting grid entries included EMERALD CITY, LATINO USA, EX PARTE, DRY AS DUST, FRENEMY, and MOP UP DUTY.

As for favorite clues, here’s a list:

MILD: “Lassie’s swimming hole” for LOCH
MILD: “Like a melon that ‘pings’ when thumped” for UNRIPE
SIZZLING: “Abbr. preceding Friday” for SGT
SIZZLING: “Obeys flickering lights at intermission, say” for HAS A SEAT
SIZZLING: “Worker focused on the present?” for ELF
SIZZLING: “Creator of the North-Going Zax” for SEUSS

(Plus another wrestling reference with the Iron Sheik getting a shout-out.)

120718_crossword_L

Consistency is king, and Boswords never falters.

Whether it’s their summer tournament, the Winter Wondersolve, or their seasonal themeless leagues, Boswords delivers. I’m a sucker for trivia-filled clues and Boswords constructors never skimp on the details. The grid fill is eye-catching, and the themes, whether deviously tricky or more immediately accessible, are memorable, never feeling overworked or too esoteric.

Maintaining this level of quality, solver-friendliness, and creativity is a tightrope walk… one the Boswords team navigates every single time. Their track record is impeccable.

And with so many exciting puzzly events on the calendar every year, I still think Boswords is the perfect tournament to introduce solvers to tournament-style puzzling.

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!

Upcoming Crossword Tournaments (Plus a Puzzle to Solve!)

Posted on by
Reply

Just a quick post today to remind you of TWO big crossword events coming soon!

Firstly, Boswords is just a few short weeks away, and they recently announced the constructors for this year’s tournament puzzles.

Chandi Deitmer, Kathleen Duncan, Peter Wentz, Joon Pahk, Damon Gulczynski, and the team of Emily Biegas & Sala Wanetick will be constructing this year. With a rogue’s gallery of top-flight constructors like this, the tournament is sure to be a great time!

Also Lollapuzzoola is coming!

Lollapuzzoola will be happening on a Saturday in August — Saturday, August 15th, in fact — and registration is now open!

This year’s event, Lollapuzzoola 19, has been titled “Around the World,” and promises all sorts of puzzly challenges:

Travel the globe with us through crosswords and games — the day includes tournament puzzles, warmup puzzles, a variety puzzle meta suite, a multi-crossword meta suite, and more!

Plus pizza!

There are two solo divisions for competitors: the Local Division (for newer solvers, more casual solvers, or those with less tournament experience) and the Express Division for “hardcore speed solvers with tournament experience.”

For those who solve with a buddy, the Pairs Division is always an option, and of course, the At-Home Division is available for players who can’t make it to NYC. (I’ll be solving from home for sure!)

A great summer of puzzles continues with two back-to-back highlights of the cruciverbalist calendar year.

And since we’re talking crosswords, I’ve got a 13x puzzle for you to solve today.

I tried something a little different this time around, but hopefully you enjoy! (Once you figure out the gimmick, it’ll probably be a pretty quick solve.)

[Click here to download a PDF of the puzzle!]

Will you be participating in either Boswords or Lollapuzzoola this year, fellow puzzler? Let me know in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you!

Twenty Years of the Wordplay Documentary!

Posted on by
4

2026 continues to be a year of big anniversaries in the world of puzzles. Yesterday marked the 155th birthday of Arthur Wynne, the creator of the first modern crossword puzzle in 1913.

And today marks twenty years since the Wordplay documentary first hit theaters.

Wordplaymp

The documentary chronicled the 2005 edition of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, bringing national attention to the tournament (and inspiring a Simpsons episode about crosswords).

Wordplay introduced a wider audience to several famous names in crossword tournament circles, like Ellen Ripstein, Trip Payne, Tyler Hinman, Jon Delfin, and Al Sanders, as well as highlighting many celebrity crossword solvers like Jon Stewart, Ken Burns, Bill Clinton, and more.

And the impact Wordplay had on the tournament itself, and interest in crosswords in general, cannot be overstated.

Wordplay sparked a 40% increase in attendance the year after it aired, and the growing interest in the yearly event caused the tournament to actually change locations from the Stamford Marriott to a larger venue in New York City for 7 years.

And it’s delightfully apropos that this year marked the tournament’s last year in Stamford, once again moving to a larger venue (in Philadelphia this time!) in order to accommodate increased attendance. Synchronicity!

There was even a song for the documentary…

I think my favorite part of the documentary was Will Shortz reading some critical responses (aka hate mail) in good spirits, though getting a glimpse into the creative process of Merl Reagle was also a treat.

Over the last twenty years, Wordplay has gone from introducing many people to crosswords and tournament solving to a time capsule of a particular era in puzzles.

A time when the hundredth anniversary of the crossword hadn’t arrived. A time before crosswords on The Simpsons, before online tournaments and apps like Daily Pop Crosswords or Puzzmo. A time when crosswords were still weirdly considered a niche interest, despite the tens of millions of people solving them every day.

And we can thank Wordplay for helping welcome a new generation of solvers to our puzzly world.

In honor of the anniversary, I’ve got a puzzle for you!

I had the idea for the theme while writing this post and thinking about puzzle history, and I hope you enjoy.

[Click here to download a PDF of the puzzle.]

How did you find your way to crossword solving, fellow puzzlers? Was Wordplay your gateway, or was it a friend or a family member? Or did you simply accept the challenge of a grid in your local paper on a whim one day?

Let me know in the comments section below! I’d love to hear from you.

Delving into the 2026 Westwords Tournament Puzzles!

Posted on by
Reply

It’s time, once again, for me to sit down and try my hand at some tournament-style puzzles. This week, it was the puzzles from this past weekend’s Westwords Crossword Tournament.

Given the talent involved amongst the organizers and constructors, as well as the previous year’s banger crop of puzzles, I had high expectations, and I was not disappointed.

So let’s put those puzzles under the microscope and see what’s what!

Puzzle #1: Western Expansion by Andrea Carla Michaels & Mark Axel

The tournament began with this 15x grid where the word WEST appeared in each theme entry, but the letters were spread further apart with each subsequent answer, offering solvers the Western Expansion promised in the title.

This was a great opener with a fun, accessible theme and a very smooth solve. The vocabulary was playful and the puzzle had great Monday energy. My only quibble was the repetition of YOU in the crossing entries I GOT YOU and WE STILL LOVE YOU, but that’s more of a personal preference than any fault with the construction.

Interesting grid entries included BAD LUCK, HIS LOSS, E-CLASS, and SOBFEST, and my favorite clues were “Duct tape has dozens of these” for USES and “Beatles song about an age that Paul is nearly 20 years past” for WHEN I’M SIXTY-FOUR.

Puzzle #2: Make It Rain by Sophia Maymudes

The second tournament puzzle was a freestyle 15x absolutely loaded with trivia about the West Coast and western cities, as well as two grid-spanning entries about the Pacific Northwest in particular (BIGFOOT SIGHTING and SEATTLE SOUNDERS).

I found the difficulty to be pretty much on par with the first puzzle of the tournament, and I was impressed with Sophia’s clean layout, construction, and delightful grid fill. (The across pairing of MADE PROUD and IMMODESTY was a fun little visual Easter Egg as well.)

Interesting grid entries included LA GEAR, ARMAGEDDON, DIOGENES, and KATNISS, and my favorite clues were ‘Word preceding “dash” or “bracelet”‘ for SLAP and “Quality that’s neither very demure nor very mindful” for IMMODESTY.

Puzzle #3: Pride of Place by Zhou Zhang and Mallory Montgomery

This 18×17 grid was the largest of the tournament (though Puzzle #5 came close), and the theme centered around common phrases where a W was replaced with a B, as explained by the revealer WESTCOASTBESTCOAST (which is a nice nod to both the tournament’s setting and the fantastic URL for the Westwords website, westwordsbestwords.com).

The puckish wordplay (particularly with READ ‘EM AND BEEP) made this midpoint puzzle of the tournament a treat. I also liked the synchronicity of HASTA LA VISTA and LEAVE NO TRACE reading down, continuing the unofficial theme of related fill entries in grids.

Interesting grid entries included DOG DAD, ODAWA, JOIN US, MALORT, and TREBEK, and my favorite clues were “Fairy tale girl who gets a witch baked?” for GRETEL, “Super-duper promise” for VOW, “Lawless heroine?” for XENA, “Hue grant?” for DYE JOB, and “They were celebrated 35 days ago” for MOMS. So many great clues in this one!

Image courtesy of Etsy.

Puzzle #4: Catch My Drift? by Rebecca Goldstein

I predicted last year that Puzzle #4 in Westwords could build a similar reputation to the dreaded Puzzle #5 at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, and this year’s Puzzle #4 understood its instructions perfectly.

This 16×15 grid was the toughest of the tournament. Fault lines ran throughout the grid, causing letters to drop out of many of the down entries. These SHAKEUPS related to the shifting of TECTONIC PLATES — our two revealers in the grid! — not only caused PLATE to be removed from those aforementioned down entries, but they also made the across entry ABOVE each fault line scramble/anagram itself into another word!

There was so much going on with this grid, and despite the fault lines, it all fit together seamlessly. (The down words that lost letters STILL spelled actual words.) It was a diabolical bit of crossword construction, to be sure!

Between the down entries with letters from PLATE removed and the scrambled entries across, there was a lot of “I KNOW this is the right answer, but it doesn’t fit” brain scramble as I was solving, heh. But it was an immensely fun challenge to puzzle out.

Interesting grid entries included PIXIE CUT, ANOMALIES, and DRIP PAN, and my favorite clues were “Not exactly a long look” for PIXIE CUT and “Some docs” for IDS.

Puzzle #5: Play Grounds by Sarah Sinclair

After the deviousness of Puzzle #4, and with the freestyle final puzzle looming, Puzzle #5 was a lighter, breezier solve, but one that still managed to pack this 18×15 grid with five punnily-clued entries tied to West Coast landmarks.

And that “play”-ful aspect continued throughout the cluing. We had pop culture trivia, tongue-in-cheek jabs at pop culture and crosswordese, and more facts and details germane to the tournament’s setting. Sinclair went all out with the cluing in this one.

Interesting grid entries included OH HELL NO, KOOPA, SO LONG, and ADORBS, and my favorite clues were “Concave decagon, more familiarly” for STAR, “Knd f lttr mssng frm ths cl” for VOWEL, and “Something read by a cleric… that becomes something read by a clairvoyant when a letter is removed” for PSALM.

Puzzle #6: Final by Byron Walden

The final puzzle for the tournament boasts a different set of clues for each of the divisions — Beach and Mountain — and Byron constructed a 15x puzzle with smooth fill, cunning cluing, and great variety in vocabulary. This was a Byron Walden special, for sure.

Both the Beach and Mountain versions of the puzzle had kickass clues (including a Reginald VelJohnson reference), and either version would made for a suitable challenge for the tournament’s finalists. I’m glad I didn’t have to try to puzzle this one out in front of a crowd!

Interesting grid entries included BUDDY SYSTEM, STANDING O, HOG WILD, and DAIKONS.

As for favorite clues, here’s a list:

BEACH: “Company with a Breakout hit?” for ATARI
BEACH: “Unruly way to go” for HOG WILD
BEACH: “Poly relative” for MULTI
BEACH: The Galatea pairing of “Water-dwelling divinity such as Galatea” for SEA NYMPH and “Solar system body such as Galatea” for MOON
MOUNTAIN: “They’re not sold on the Sabbath” for AGNOSTICS
MOUNTAIN: “Alaska is 120 times its size: abbr.” for CONN
MOUNTAIN: “Set of safety matches” for BUDDY SYSTEM
MOUNTAIN: “Past perfect mood?” for NOSTAGIA
MOUNTAIN: “Avon calling?” for BARD

There were genuinely too many to list. Between this one, Puzzle #3, and Puzzle #5, solvers were absolutely spoiled with great cluing this year.

Westwords goes from strength to strength with another standout year of puzzles. The bar is SO HIGH for tournament puzzles these days, and the 2026 Westwords constructors stepped up big time. The creativity was there, the trivia was flowing, and the cluing was fantastic.

We got several different puzzles playing on the Westwords / West Coast branding, and every puzzle felt like it had its own identity and voice, which is not always the case with tournament puzzles as a whole.

If you’ve never tackled tournament-style puzzling before, I would highly recommend giving Westwords a try. It gets you into the flow of solving with the first few puzzles, punches you in the face with a proper challenge, then eases you back into it before the final. It’s a great time.

I can’t wait to see what they cook up for us next year!

Did you attempt this year’s Westwords tournament puzzles, fellow solver? Let me know in the comments section below! I’d love to hear from you.

Crossword News Roundup!

Posted on by
Reply
acptlogo

Crossword tournament season is fully in swing and there’s plenty to keep up on AND look forward to.

The Boswords Spring Themeless League is in week 3 already, and I’ve heard rave reviews of the puzzles so far.

We’re only a few weeks out from the 48th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, which will be the last year the event is held in Stamford, CT, before the move next year to Philadelphia.

Westwords isn’t until June, but registration is open! (And they’ve added in-person pairs solving this year.)

Also, can we talk about crossword website names for a minute? Because https://www.westwordsbestwords.com/ is a great one.

Not only that, but there’s also https://www.midwestgridfest.com/ for the Midwest Crossword Tournament, which is just delightful.

Yes, you can simply type https://www.mwxwt.com/ and get to the same information, but where is the whimsy in that?!

(P.S. The Midwest Crossword Tournament isn’t until October, but registration opens April 6th!)

Crossword Con Returns!

Puzzmo’s Third Annual Crossword Con is being held on Friday, April 10th, in Manhattan, New York (and online as well).

If you’re looking for some fascinating insight into the world of puzzles both present and future, be sure to check it out!

They just announced the panel of presenters and it is stacked: Brooke Husic, Orta Therox, Saman Bemel-Benrud, Ben Zimmer, and Adam Aaronson.

Adam very deservingly won the ORCA for Best Crossword-Related Media for his piece “Square Theory,” so I’m excited to see him revisiting the topic for Crossword Con. It will be a must-watch presentation.

Be sure to get your tickets for either in-person or online attendance. They’re including a one-year subscription to Puzzmo Plus with your purchase!

These Puzzles Fund Abortion 6

Before I wrap up today’s post, I want to remind my fellow puzzlers about the important work behind These Puzzles Fund Abortion.

They’re hoping to raise $50,000 to support safe, affordable, and accessible abortion care with the sixth edition of TPFA. You can make a donation and preorder your puzzle packet right now!

These Puzzles Fund Abortion 6 contains 21 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 five years of TPFA.

With data showing that Republican presidents send maternal deaths soaring when they take office, this is a very worthy cause. I hope your finances allow you to contribute to the health and safety of others.

Happy solving, puzzlers!