Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Amy Reynaldo

Jonesin' 4:20 (Amy)    (2.88 avg; 4 ratings)
NYT 3:25 (Amy)    (3.65 avg; 24 ratings)
LAT 4:32 (pannonica)    (3.82 avg; 17 ratings)
CS 11:39 (Ade)    (3.90 avg; 10 ratings)
Xword Nation untimed (Janie)    (4.88 avg; 4 ratings)
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Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , , , , | 21 Comments

The 2014 Orca Awards – Best Sunday-Sized Crossword

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Sam Donaldson

orcaThe Orcas continue today with the award for Best Sunday-Sized Crossword, the top honor for crosswords 21×21 and larger. (We thought about calling it the Best 21x Crossword, but we figure lay people would think it honors an extremely obscene puzzle.)

If you’re just joining us, we’re spreading the Orcas out over a one-week period according to this schedule:

  • Sunday, March 1: Best Easy Crossword (won by Lynn Lempel)
  • Monday, March 2: Best Sunday-Sized Crossword
  • Tuesday, March 3: Best Freestyle Crossword
  • Wednesday, March 4: Best Meta/Contest Crossword
  • Thursday, March 5: Best Gimmick Crossword
  • Friday, March 6: Bob Klahn Award for Best Clue and Margaret Farrar Constructor of the Year Award
  • Saturday, March 7: Best Crossword

Today’s award comes after the jump. Continue reading →

Posted in Orca Awards | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Monday, March 2, 2015

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Amy Reynaldo

BEQ 4:58 (Amy)    (3.71 avg; 12 ratings)
Fireball 4:47 puzzle, a couple minutes on the meta (Amy)    (4.50 avg; 10 ratings)
LAT 3:03 (Amy)    (3.22 avg; 16 ratings)
NYT 2:45 (Amy)    (3.59 avg; 23 ratings)
CS 9:19 (Ade)    (3.21 avg; 7 ratings)
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Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

The 2014 Orca Awards – Best Easy Crossword

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Sam Donaldson

orcaIt’s time for the 2014 Orca Awards! For the uninitiated, the Orcas honor outstanding achievement in crossword construction.

This year, unlike years past, the Orcas will be presented over the course of a week. That’s eight awards over seven days! Here’s the award schedule:

  • Sunday, March 1: Best Easy Crossword
  • Monday, March 2: Best Sunday-Sized Crossword
  • Tuesday, March 3: Best Freestyle Crossword
  • Wednesday, March 4: Best Meta/Contest Crossword
  • Thursday, March 5: Best Gimmick Crossword
  • Friday, March 6: Bob Klahn Award for Best Clue and Margaret Farrar Constructor of the Year Award
  • Saturday, March 7: Best Crossword

Keep checking back to see all of this year’s winners and nominees! Today we kick off the festivities with the award for Best Easy Crossword. Continue reading →

Posted in Orca Awards | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Amy Reynaldo

NYT 8:43 (Amy)    (4.16 avg; 34 ratings)
Reagle 8:13 (Amy)    (3.21 avg; 14 ratings)
LAT 6:25 (Andy)    (4.00 avg; 9 ratings)
Hex/Hook tk (pannonica)    (no ratings)
WaPo untimed (Sam)    (4.10 avg; 10 ratings)
CS 25:33 (Ade)    (3.86 avg; 7 ratings)
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Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Amy Reynaldo

Newsday tk (Amy)    (3.55 avg; 10 ratings)
LAT 5:49 (Amy)    (3.88 avg; 16 ratings)
NYT 5:03 (Amy)    (3.80 avg; 25 ratings)
CS 11:01(Ade)    (3.42 avg; 6 ratings)
Continue reading →

Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Friday, February 27, 2015

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Amy Reynaldo

NYT 4:06 (Amy)    (3.78 avg; 32 ratings)
LAT 17:38 (Gareth, paper)    (3.63 avg; 16 ratings)
CS 10:01 (Ade)    (3.38 avg; 4 ratings)
CHE tk (pannonica)    (4.16 avg; 16 ratings)
WSJ (Friday) tk (pannonica)    (3.39 avg; 9 ratings)
Continue reading →

Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , , | 35 Comments

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Amy Reynaldo

NYT 5:27 (Amy)    (3.63 avg; 38 ratings)
LAT 10:49 (Gareth, paper)    (3.75 avg; 14 ratings)
CS 10:32 (Ade)    (3.85 avg; 10 ratings)
BEQ 5:48 (Ben)    (3.50 avg; 9 ratings)

Dave Sullivan’s Fireball puzzle is a contest crossword, with answers due by Sunday evening. Watch for a write-up of the puzzle Sunday night or Monday.
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Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Amy Reynaldo

AV Club 5:01 (Amy)    (3.08 avg; 18 ratings)
NYT 3:49 (Amy)    (3.33 avg; 30 ratings)
LAT 7:52 (Gareth, paper)    (4.17 avg; 15 ratings)
CS 10:52 (Ade)    (3.38 avg; 8 ratings)

People of earth! I have exciting news for you. If you have the slightest interest in learning to construct crossword puzzles of your own, you can now own Patrick Berry’s seminal handbook (which includes 70 puzzles that illustrate his points … and are also lovely Patrick Berry crosswords in their own right) for $10. The out-of-print “Crossword Puzzle Challenges for Dummies” book (such a misleading title!) will set you back you over $100 on Amazon, or you can get the updated PDF edition, now accurately titled Crossword Constructor’s Handbook, directly from Patrick for $10. The puzzles will come in .puz format as well as PDF as a nice bonus. If you know someone who’d like to learn to construct, surprise them with this book. I’m excited to be able to point newbies to Patrick’s fresh edition now!

And if you’re more into solving, Patrick also has a mini-puzzle extravaganza called “Vicious Circle,” a suite of puzzles with a meta contest answer. Contest ends April 25. Puzzle pack costs $10, or $15 if you want his delicious bonus puzzles. Available here.
Continue reading →

Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Ad-free CrosSynergy solving moves to subscription model

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Amy Reynaldo

Fans of the CrosSynergy syndicate’s puzzles that publish in the Washington Post may have noticed a change  in puzzle file availability. The Post’s games web page can no longer be used to download a .jpz (Crossword Solver) file. The publisher prefers to direct solvers to the online game, where solvers view an ad before accessing the puzzle for free. You can still solve the two more recent weeks of puzzles online at the WaPo site, print out the puzzles there, and use their leaderboards.

The CrosSynergy team is now offering email subscriptions for those who prefer ad-free or offline solving on the computer, or who like to support independent distribution of crosswords a la the AV Club and MGWCC. Each evening, the following day’s puzzle is sent to subscribers in .jpz and .pdf formats, plus a .pdf solution page.

The general subscription page is here: $2.99 a month or an introductory offer of $24.99 a year ($15 less than the NYT puzzle subscription, and under 7¢ a day). I’m delighted that they’ve got a special offer for Diary of a Crossword Fiend readers: A free month of CS puzzles. I encourage you to sign up for your free trial here:  http://www.csxword.com/fiend/. Also, if you’re really hankering for the .puz file format, .jpz-to.puz converters are available.

—Amy

Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged | 11 Comments