ACL Grid: 10 mins, Meta: 10 mins 
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G’day from Downunder! Yes, you guessed it: it’s time for another selection from Ariadne’s Crossword Library. This month’s selection is entitled “Don’t Hate the Player” and was constructed by Emma Oxford. The prompt is: The meta answer is a Shakespeare play.
There are 6 entries clued as {It’s played by a certain player}:
- 16A BASEBALL
- 21A POLITICS
- 36A POSSUM
- 37A TRUANT
- 54A PEEKABOO
- 59A THEFIELD
Now what? I’m not sure why the puzzle refers to “hate”. But presumably we need to name the players involved in each activity? And maybe they will be found in the clues?
Ah yes, there’s “out fielder” in 49A! Chasing this idea gives us:
- BASEBALL > 49A {Hand-___ coordination (outfielder‘s asset)} EYE
- POLITICS > 24A {___-ran (losing candidate)} ALSO
- POSSUM > 8A {Streaming service behind 2022’s “Prey” } HULU
- TRUANT > 41A {Hurdle for a student hoping to earn a JD} LSAT
- PEEKABOO > 28D {Baby‘s first word, often} MAMA
- THEFIELD > 66A {Dater‘s preference, so to speak} > TYPE
I had to look up who plays possum (since this is not a common expression in Aussie English). But by then the answer was clear: in grid order these entries spell HAMLET.
The cover to the right is Ryan North’s “To Be or Not To Be” a “chooseable-path adventure” based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Right at the start, you get to choose who you will play as: Hamlet, Ophelia, or the King. It’s a very clever concept and the whole thing is lots of fun… exactly like this meta! Thanks, Emma!
Puzzle: ACL; Rating: 3.5 stars
I saw MAMA in the grid as the PEEKABOO player, but couldn’t find any of the others *in the grid* and got stuck there. It didn’t occur to me 🙄 to look in the clues. Fun and fair meta idea, but I’m taking half a star off for the MAMA misdirection.
oh. i didn’t see the notice that the deadline was moved up. oops.
Thanks Ben! 63 correct answers this month. Interesting the one you had to check was “play possum” – I got a comment from a test solver that they were stymied for a second on “play truant,” the much more common expression in American English being “play hooky.”