puzzle 106: "short waves"

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warning: this puzzle's grid contains elements that cannot be reproduced electronically. i strongly recommend solving on paper for the best experience. at the very least, look at the pdf or read the notepad before solving the puz file.

next: if you want a real challenge, solve this puzzle downs only; i've even provided puz and pdf files with across clues missing for your convenience, if for some reason you enjoy solving puzzles like that.

otherwise, as always, enjoy!

puzzle 105: "counting stars (freestyle 75)"

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not much to say except that i hope y'all are having a great easter / passover / 420 weekend / whatever you're celebrating, even if (like me) it's just (finally) really good, warm, sunny weather. and, of course, as always, enjoy.

puzzle 104: "game breakers"

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always fun to try to work in some longer down answers with a straightforward theme, and always fun to try to work in some fresher entries. there was also the aim to, as usual, use as few three letter words as possible; predictably, there's now a lot of four letter words, and i'm finding that the more i do this, the more four becomes the new three. i doubt i'll see myself shunning three and four letter words as much as possible, though, but the balance and feel of it is something to keep in mind for future constructions, i think.

puzzle 103: "beer money (freestyle 108)"

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was not intending to end up with the giant three by three blocks in the middle of this grid; that's just what happened. a fill existed with fewer squares in those blocks, but i didn't like it as much, and it was much less aesthetically pleasing than this grid.

in any case, some interesting ones in this, including the two seed in opposite corners. as always, enjoy!

puzzle 102: "jestin' time (freestyle 102)"

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this puzzle's seeds were a pair of entries that were cut (and replaced with equally interesting, though slightly less niche answers) from today's universal crossword, which is a collaboration with dallas fletcher as part of the ucerp project. many thanks to david steinberg for starting this project and having me on board; i had a lot of fun collaborating with dallas, and i'm hoping that the project continues to be a thing. i'd certainly love to help out again, and i'd certainly love to collaborate with y'all if you have ideas. in fact, i'd say that some of the best puzzles i've worked on in the last month or so have been collaborations—not just this puzzle, but a collab for queer qrosswords 2, as well as a couple of puzzles that (fingers crossed) will appear in dead tree media in the not too distant future.