Crosswords LA online/at-home tournament now open!

Elissa Grossman, the founder of the Crosswords LA tournament, has just launched this year’s outing as an online/at-home event. Here’s the scoop:

Trick-or-puzzle … As the Halloween clock struck midnight, we opened Crosswords LA 2016 — an online “tournament,” entirely for charity. For a small fee, you can purchase a puzzle pack, solve the competitive puzzles within, and submit your times and scores (honor system!) for friendly comparison. Even if you choose not to submit your scores, you can purchase eleven fun puzzles — and know that all profits will be donated to our regular beneficiary (and the source of many of our volunteers over the years): Reading to Kids.

What? Five brand new competition puzzles, plus six bonus puzzles.

Why? 100% of all puzzle profits will be given to Reading to Kids, our friends in puzzle completion and fellow believers in the positive power of reading.

Who? A group of crossword-constructing superstars: Alex Boisvert, Pete Muller, Rich Norris, Doug Peterson, Patti Varol, Matt Gaffney, Joon Pahk, David Steinberg, and Brendan Emmett Quigley. All are well known to any who regularly solve puzzles in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and other major outlets. Many have their own websites; click on their name links to visit!

How? These puzzles are available this year because Alex Boisvert (and Crossword Nexus) chose to volunteer the idea and the effort. A huge thank you to him for the passion, the work, and the final product. A related thank you to Dave Grossman (a.k.a. Dad), who also put in many hours on the web/tech side.

Anything else? Please consider buying the puzzle packs, scoring them, and then submitting your times for friendly comparison — knowing that you’re helping children get books in the process!