CROSSWORDS: Puzzle Sources

Paper | Web Sites | Applications | Which to Use

Paper

Summary

• 1913: crosswords in a newspaper
  -- with 'enabling technologies': paper (140), printing press (1440)
• magazines, puzzle books
• print from Applications; download .pdf from Web Sites [later]
• + some puzzles available only in print, e.g., magazines, NYT Puzzle Mania
• + no training; familiar
• + portable
• + pen or pencil
• + flexible formatting
• + no batteries required
• + recyclable (usually)
• - reading glasses, lamp, pen(cil) and/or eraser may be needed
• - hands dirty from newsprint
• - dead trees, delivery trucks
• References: Paper

Quotes

• Every day, the print edition of The Times is divided into multiple sections...
  For some, though, there are really only two parts: the crossword and everything else.
  ~NYT: More Puzzles to Pass the Time
• "For many years, it seemed as if nothing changed in Norway...
  You could leave the country for three months, travel the world,
  through coups d'etat, assassinations, famines, massacres and tsunamis,
  and come home to find that the only new thing in the newspapers was
  the crossword puzzle." ~Jo Nesbo
• "It's amazing that the amount of news... that happens in the world every day
  always just exactly fits the newspaper." ~Jerry Seinfeld
• "Only on paper... has humanity yet achieved glory, beauty, truth, knowledge, virtue, and abiding love." ~George Bernard Shaw
• "Newspapers:... dead trees with information smeared on them." ~Horizon, "Electronic Frontier"

Web Sites

Summary

• 1990: World Wide Web, first web browser
• 1996: Across Lite .puz format
• web browser with an interactive, embedded player usually JavaScript (avoid earlier Java or Flash plugins)
  -- and/or downloadable files (see Apps)
• + largest number & widest variety of puzzles
• + save or download puzzle for later?
• + print, .pdf files?
• + works on most devices/platforms
• - different user interfaces for sites & embedded players; less customizable than app
• - advertising
• - online connection
• Why do sites provide puzzles (free or $)?
• Benefit for paper subscribers; current, premium or additional puzzles, etc.
  -- puzzles may be same as (or different from) print version
• Advertising/referrals: sell books, custom puzzles, services, tshirts
• Joy of sharing; Fame; ...
• [section: Web Sites]

Collaboration

• Some sites allow collaborative solving, e.g.,
• Collaborative NYT crosswords return to Twitch over the holiday weekend
  commands are formatted like "23d barn" meaning "the answer for 23 down is barn";
  calming soundtrack; Verge; 11/25/2020
• Introducing Partner Mode: Crosswords for the Age of Social Distancing
  virtual togetherness through solving; New Yorker; 4/10/2020
• Crosswords with Friends from Zynga, 2017

Augmented Reality (AR)

• Now You Too Can Look Like a Fool While Trying to Solve the AR NYT Crossword Puzzle Giz; 12/23/2020
• The NYT crossword can now haunt your living room in augmented reality "Shattered Crosswords"; Verge; 12/22/2020
• See section CROSSWORDS: Future: AR

Quotes

• My Mind Is Like My Internet Browser...
  19 tabs open, 3 of them are frozen and I have no idea where the music is coming from.
• "Give a person a fish... and you feed them for a day;
  teach that person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks." ~Anonymous
• "The Internet is the most important single development... in the history of human communication
  since the invention of call waiting." ~Dave Barry
• "A journey of a thousand sites begins... with a single click." ~Anonymous
• "Getting information off the Internet is like... taking a drink from a fire hydrant." ~Mitchell Kapor
• "It's been my policy to view the Internet... not as an 'information highway',
  but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies." ~Mike Royko

Applications

Summary

• 1996: Across Lite format & desktop application
• there are many desktop and mobile apps to access and solve puzzles
• + download, import, sync puzzles from variety of sources (usually)
• + offline use, save progress
• + consistent, customizable user interface (vs. multiple web sites)
• + grid size/layout, font size?
• + linked clues, e.g., see n-Across
• + timers; social integration; fastest solvers?
• + pen/pencil mode
• + hints; dictionary/search integration?
• + printing?
• - something new to learn
• - some apps have limited sources -- NYT or USA Today only;
  no import? use proprietary format?
• - $ for some apps; free: AcrossLite, XWord
• - some apps may not support common features, e.g., rebus, inscribed circles
• - some special formatting, , e.g., gray squares, extra lines, etc., might not be displayed;
  in which case, a publisher's note might recommend using print version instead
• [section: Applications]

Quotes

• "To err is human,... but to really foul things up you need a computer." ~Paul Ehrlich
• "A computer lets you make more... mistakes faster than any other invention in human history,
  with the possible exception of handguns and tequila."~Mitch Radcliffe

Which to Use?

• 'Your mileage may vary' depending on:
• the number, variety and difficulty of puzzles that you'd like to solve;
• convenience, desired features;
• locations where you solve puzzles;
• comfort level with apps and web sites
• preferred device(s): screen size: HDTV, laptop, tablet, phone, watch, ...;
  input methods: keyboard, touch, voice, ...
• Methods Steve uses to access and solve various puzzles: Paper, Web, Apps

Paper

• NYT Archive: Acrostics, other Variety puzzles

• 
  

  NYT 'Puzzle Mania': special annual section, e.g., Super Mega crossword (2016-)

• crosswordmug.com: clues and solutions;
  slogan: "Don't Just Do the Puzzle OVER a Cup of Coffee -- Do It ON Your Cup of Coffee";
  .pdf template: 29 x 11 grid-only -- to avoid writing on/erasing mug
• KenKen, Sudoku, CodeWords and other puzzles

Web

• I usually don't solve puzzles in a browser -- I mostly download and solve offline later;
  also, I prefer a consistent interface across puzzles
• I use Crossword Scraper to convert browser crossword applets [PuzzleMe, Crossword Compiler]
  on some sites to .puz, .jpz or .pdf; e.g., NYT, The Week, Reagle; [image: right];
  free browser extension: Firefox, Chrome; "CS" indicates Crossword Scraper compatible sites below

Apps

• 1a) iPad: automatically download some puzzles in Crosswords (CW): Newsday;
  "CW" tags sources below [image: right] list mostly obsolete
• 1b) Mac: download .puz in browser: LAT, Universal, WaPo, Atlas Obscura;
  convert .puz on a few "Crossword Scraper" (CS) compatible sites: NYT, The Week, Reagle
  and for other sites when .puz server unavailable; email or AirDrop .puz files to iPad
• 1c) iPad (when travelling): download .puz in browser, import into CW
• 2) iPad: open crosswords in Crosswords
• Next section lists many individual sources (and more formats),
  and some aggregator sites which provide daily & other links, e.g.,
• cruciverb.com [image: below, right]
• crosswordfiend.com [image: below, far right]
• Johnston: annual archive: Jonesin', Univ., WaPo, WSJ
• Daily Crossword Links the biggest list of all
• Brendan Emmett Quigley (BEQ): Mon: themeless; Thu: themed; .puz, CS
• Los Angeles Times (LAT): .puz free cruciverb.com account req.; CS
• New York Times (NYT): mini (free), otherwise $; plus archive; CS
• Newsday [Creators]: Mon-Sat, Sun; CW, .pdf
• Reagle, Merl: Sun (4 older puzzles); CS
• Universal (Univ.) [McMeel] : Mon-Sat; Sun: .puz; CS
• Washington Post (WaPo): Sun (daily = LAT); .puz, CS
• Wall Street Journal (WSJ): Mon-Sat (no Sun or holidays); .puz, CS
• The Week: Sat; CS

References: Paper, Print

• ‎Crossword Scanner iOS; scan crossword puzzles from paper or screenshots into interactive format
• Free Daily Crosswords printable
• Simon and Schuster; Dell Crosswords
• The Total Brain Workout: 450 Puzzles to Sharpen Your Mind,
  Improve Your Memory and Keep Your Brain Fit by Marcel Danesi
• Crossword Books For Kids; Easy Crossword Books
• Pop Culture Crosswords; Will Shortz's Favorite Crossword Puzzles
• Challenging Crossword Puzzles; Crossword Puzzle Books from The New York Times
• How to Find the New York Times Crossword Large Print and Other Solving Tools
  large print, ink saver and left-handed solving formats; NYT; 8/24/2021
• Are Crossword Puzzles the Key to Saving Print Media?
  online games are the new frontier of old media, but that didn’t stop "The New Yorker"
  from introducing a print-edition crossword; 2/25/2021
• The New Yorker Crossword Will Now Appear in Every Print Issue of the Magazine NYkr; 2/8/2021
• The Best Crossword Books for Holiday Puzzling DB; 11/30/2020
• The Best, Most Riveting Puzzle Books, From Novice to Expert Slate; 11/19/2020
• What's the Best Way to Crossword: Pen, Pencil, or Digital? DB; 10/26/2020
• Ah, the Simple Joy of Crossword Puzzle Books -- Plus, the Best Ones 9/15/2020
• This Crossword Book Has Kept Me Occupied For the Past 6 Months
  The New York Times Greatest Hits of Monday Crossword Book; DB; 9/12/2020
• Amazon launches Alexa Print, a way to print lists, recipes, games and
  educational content using your voice incl. crosswords; TC; 9/10/2020
• The Crossword Graveyard reviews/images of old crossword puzzle books; 4/30/2020
• Coloring and Crosswords Books for Adults Get Boost 4/28/2020
• More Puzzles to Pass the Time an expanded space for games in our print edition is intended to
  challenge your brain but ease your mind during the pandemic; NYT; 4/20/2020
• The Best Crossword Puzzle Books -- according to Will Shortz and others; 4/2/2020
• Garson Hampfield, Crossword Inker by animator Michael A. Charles;
  how crosswords are built behind the scenes ;-) 6:45
• How Newspapers Can Make Augmented Reality Sexy (and Profitable)
  e.g., paper crossword via Blippar app; 6/11/2013
• Will Shortz's Personal Puzzle Collection video: 2:25; crosswords and others; NYT; 11/8/2012
• Kindle Touch breakthrough: Startup debuts handwriting recognition in puzzle e-book 2/14/2012
• What's an 11-letter word for 'crossword puzzle search'? (puzzle syndication); Since You Asked; MT; 8/1/2009