puzzle 30: "happy new year"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

so this is the new year. thank you all for staying with me through thirty (!) puzzles. honestly this is more than i thought i would get to when i started this. and yet i don't think i'll be done any time soon, knock on wood.

goal for 2018: more puzzles in dead tree media.

puzzle 29: "brick"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

reminder to check out the puzzles from the last few days, in case you missed any. this is the last holiday related puzzle of the year, but there will probably be one more puzzle before 2017 is over. depends on how well construction goes while i'm on break (read: trying to do things other than construct puzzles).

in any case, definitely watch the below video after solving. or before. or both. just not during--you're definitely going to want to pay attention, because it is incredibly hilarious.

puzzle 28: "present day"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

as with yesterday's puzzle, you should listen to all the songs in this puzzle after solving it. enjoy!

puzzle 27: "here we come a-caroling"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

bit of an interesting grid, but that's what happens when your theme answers are 12/9/15/9/12 and you decide to go down to 72 words. as always, hope you enjoy it!

(oh, and you should listen to all the songs in this puzzle after solving it)

puzzle 26: "cover song"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

happy winter solstice, everybody.

(p.s. if you print this puzzle off you can use it for some 6D after solving)

puzzle 25: "i'm dreaming of a white christmas"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

alright, back to christmas music themed puzzles. the below music link has nothing to do with this puzzle (i think), but i was reminded this exists yesterday, and it should definitely be shared.

new puzzle sometime at the end of next week, and then puzzles on the 24th, 25th, and 26th, because i kinda got carried away. although now that i think about it, i could've done puzzles for each of the twelve days of christmas. next year, maybe. make it a meta suite or something. twelve months to make twelve puzzles? i can probably do that.

puzzle 24: "lights, camera, action"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

puzzle three of...wait, this isn't about music. it's about two movies i saw recently that both hit me in the feels and had a nice coincidence between them that fit nicely in a grid. it's also about how much i'm procrastinating doing anything remotely related to the last of my exams and such. anyway, enjoy this bonus puzzle, and go see both of these movies if you haven't already.

puzzle 23: "checklist"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

puzzle two of what will pretty much be a month of puzzles about christmas, music, or christmas music. enjoy!

puzzle 22: "there's no place like our house for the holidays"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

puzzle one of what will pretty much be a month of puzzles about christmas, music, or christmas music. enjoy!

puzzle 21: "gobble gobble gobble (freestyle 4)"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

happy thanksgiving, everybody. here's a slightly oversized (17x17) freestyle for y'all to enjoy while you recover from a food coma. it has nothing to do with food (i think).

if that's not enough for you, rex parker has a nice and easy baseball puzzle, also 17x17, called fan duel, that came out yesterday. puz here, pdf here.

(more text after the jump)



so as you can probably tell from the fact that it's a freestyle, i did not in fact finish the thanksgiving themed puzzle. part of this is because i left my constructing computer at home. but even if i hadn't, not sure it would've been done: i still haven't figured out any good way to implement the theme idea. maybe i'll figure it out by next thanksgiving.

that being said, even though i don't have my computer, it's been a very productive break. i've been coming up with a long list of theme ideas instead, and honestly i've come up with a lot more than i thought i would. in some ways, it's like constructing puzzles for this site: started off a bit slow and hesitant, and then i got into the swing of things, and now things are easier and faster than before.

anyhow, there's an excellent chance that december will be entirely themed around christmas / winter stuff. at the very least, three or four puzzles next month will be. there's also a pretty good chance that i'll have a month of metas somewhere in the next few months, perhaps even with an overarching mega-meta for the month. and there's a decent chance that you'll see my name more in coming months. first up: an identical twins puzzle for joon pahk's outside the box puzzles, coming december 4th.

so thank you for solving these puzzles, and for providing impetus to keep constructing and keep improving. it's much appreciated, and i'm very thankful for that--not just now, but all through the year.

puzzle 20: "pow pow"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

since it's almost thanksgiving, thanks to all of you who solve these puzzles and offer feedback and support and all that jazz. really appreciated.

as for thanksgiving--might have a semi-holiday themed puzzle ready by then, although it's not cooperated so far, and i don't know how much time i'll have to try to make it work between now and then. so, uh, this is just to say that you shouldn't be surprised when a thanksgiving themed puzzle drops in middle march or something.

puzzle 19: "happy interdependence day (freestyle 8)"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

first of all, happy interdependence day.

second, yes, i'm aware that the previous freestyles have been actually numbered in order. but currently, freestyle four is nearly done with revision, five is just a mess, six is a collection of seed entries in search of an accommodating grid, and seven was actually accepted for publication. and this one is eight, and renaming my files would honestly just lead to too much confusion on my end at this point. so numbers are gonna be out of order. apologies in advance, and know this much: it bothers me, too.

puzzle 18: "speaking in tongues"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

meta puzzle this week, shouldn't be too difficult. the meta answer is a country.

in related news, good things have been happening on the puzzle front: people (mostly) liked the fireball from last week, and i've been fortunate enough to get three puzzles accepted recently, including one i'd forgot i'd submitted (or, for that matter, constructed). one thing i've noticed since starting this blog is that it's become a lot easier to come up with ideas and construct puzzles, and that means more submissions than i've had in the past. i'm hoping this continues, and that i can continue to share good puzzles with y'all--not only here, but through other sources as well.

puzzle 17: "folk music"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

early puzzle this week to coincide with this week's fireball crossword. if you're a subscriber, hope you enjoy it; if not, you should be.

idea for the title comes from this paolo pasco puzzle that i enjoyed. idea for the theme...well, let's just say i did it because i can, and because i find it amusing, and i hope you do too.

puzzle 16: "brooms up"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

puzzle released before a tournament this weekend which i'll be playing in--hopefully weather cooperates. also, this is definitely related to this puzzle. lots of sixes in this puzzle--any more, and it automatically becomes a rows garden. or a cricket match. don't ask me how; it just does.

shoutout to @jagoandlitefoot for livestreaming some puzzles last weekend, including last week's freestyle. link is here if you're interested.

puzzle 15: "freestyle 3"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

themeless puzzle this week, mostly because every themed puzzle i have in store isn't quite finished yet--just a little bit of editing and tweaking needed.

puzzle 14: "foreword (grid wars 8)"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

this puzzle's meta answer is a word that aptly describes this puzzle's theme answers.

the puzzle was inspired by the prompt for grid wars 8, which wanted a puzzle with at least ten theme entries (15x15, max of 78 words / 38 black squares).

puzzle 13: "working out isn't working out"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

i actually made this puzzle before needing 63D...tempting fate much?

puzzle 12: "grid wars 7 (freestyle 2.5)"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

aka freestyle 2.5 (because i've already made freestyle 3 and don't feel like renumbering files)

this puzzle is 15x15 and was made in response to grid wars 7, but not submitted, because i'm judging that this week (recap here)

also, can we agree that the punctuation in the star wars prequel trilogy is wack?

puzzle 11: "freestyle 2"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

this puzzle is 15x15 and, despite being a freestyle, has a mini-theme nonetheless

errata: 13A should read "dreamworks", not "disney". thanks to jenna lafleur for pointing this out.

puzzle 10: "iridescence"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

this puzzle is 15x25 and is really three puzzles in one. the bulk of the puzzle was inspired by grid wars 6 (spoilers). i didn't feel like having a lot of black squares, though, and so the six outer sections collectively form the second puzzle, with a somewhat similar idea as the first. as for the center section...well, i guess you'll have to see for yourself.

puzzle 9: "grid wars 6 (oh brother)"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

this puzzle is 15x15 and was designed for grid wars challenge number 6 (spoilers)

puzzle 8: "this is happening"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

this puzzle is 15x14 and released at the same time as 51-across

errata: 16-A should be clued "structure also known as the flavian ampitheatre". mea culpa, and thanks to eric maddy for pointing out this error.

puzzle 7: "muddy waters"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

this puzzle is 5x11 with an appropriately-timed theme (spoilers)

puzzle 6: "freestyle 1"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

many thanks to paolo pasco, howard barkin, and andy kravis for test solving this and/or offering advice on making freestyle (aka themeless) puzzles. it's not something i've really done before this blog, but i've been working on a few (and also some themed puzzles with lower word counts), and i hope you enjoy them.

puzzle 5: "spiral out (keep going)"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

this puzzle's meta answer is a common fear

this puzzle is 15x15 and was first distributed at the 2017 lollapuzzoola tournament

puzzle 4: "cross words"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

this puzzle is 15x15 and was first distributed at the 2017 lollapuzzoola tournament

puzzle 3: "the one with the crossword"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

this puzzle is 19x18 and was first distributed at the 2016 lollapuzzoola tournament

puzzle 2: "everything louder than everything else"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

this puzzle is 17x21 and was first distributed at the 2017 boswords tournament
props to paolo pasco for the clue for 26D

puzzle 1: "17"

pdf
puz
email me
subscribe

this puzzle is 17x19 and was first distributed at the 2017 boswords tournament