NYT untimed (pannonica) 
(2.95 avg; 21 ratings)
LAT 3:24 (pannonica) 
(3.59 avg; 11 ratings)
CS 10:17 (Ade) (2.95 avg; 10 ratings)
BEQ 8:58 (Amy) 
(4.13 avg; 4 ratings)
Continue reading
NYT 10:01 (Amy) (3.88 avg; 29 ratings)
Reagle 9:28 (Amy) (3.05 avg; 10 ratings)
LAT 7:40 (Amy) (3.14 avg; 7 ratings)
Hex/Hook untimed (pannonica) 
(2.63 avg; 4 ratings)
WaPo 6:26 (Gareth, I think) 
(4.37 avg; 15 ratings)
CS 18:46 (Ade) (3.60 avg; 10 ratings)
Continue reading
Newsday 8:30 (Amy) (4.17 avg; 6 ratings)
NYT 5:45 + 5 minutes meta (Amy) (3.56 avg; 18 ratings)
LAT 3:35 (Andy) (4.00 avg; 16 ratings)
CS 11:48 (Ade) (3.00 avg; 7 ratings)
Continue reading
NYT 5:11 (Amy) (3.59 avg; 17 ratings)
LAT 5:02 (Gareth) (4.03 avg; 17 ratings)
CS 11:36 (Ade) (3.36 avg; 7 ratings)
CHE untimed (pannonica) (3.82 avg; 11 ratings)
WSJ (Friday) untimed (pannonica) (3.25 avg; 6 ratings)
Continue reading
People! You can buy the crosswords from the Crosswords LA tournament for a mere $5. I curated these puzzles myself and was excited to get to work with these constructors. There are tough puzzles by David Quarfoot (themeless) and Byron Walden (meta!), and more approachable puzzles by Merl Reagle, Trip Payne, Patti Varol, and Melanie Miller—plus a pair of warm-up puzzles (by Andrea Carla Michaels and Susan Gelfand) and a puzzle suite that was a team event at the tournament. Every one of the constructors named here is from California, except for Merl (who remains an honorary Californian because he used to live there and has puzzles in L.A. and San Francisco newspapers).
The profits go to Reading to Kids, and the crosswords are provided in .puz and PDF formats (the puzzle suite is PDF only).
Fireball 6:16 (Amy) (4.54 avg; 25 ratings)
NYT 4:20 (Amy) (3.75 avg; 22 ratings)
LAT 6:36 (Matt) (3.50 avg; 11 ratings)
CS 9:34 (Ade) (2.75 avg; 6 ratings)
BEQ 5:45 (Matt) (3.38 avg; 8 ratings)
If you’re curious to see the scores and standings for the Crosswords LA tournament, they’re here. I’m particularly fond of the histograms showing the distribution of puzzle submissions by minutes remaining on the clock. Data!
Continue reading
AV Club 5:19 (Amy) (3.06 avg; 8 ratings)
NYT 3:51 (Amy) (2.81 avg; 26 ratings)
LAT 3:20 (Gareth) (3.50 avg; 14 ratings)
CS 12:11 (Ade) (3.57 avg; 7 ratings)
Continue reading
crossword 4:10
meta a few minutes (3.45 avg; 11 ratings)
Continue reading
NYT 3:44 (Amy) (3.12 avg; 17 ratings)
Jonesin' 3:06 (Amy) (3.50 avg; 1 rating)
LAT 2:47 (Amy) (3.45 avg; 10 ratings)
CS 24:41 (Ade) (3.07 avg; 7 ratings)
Xword Nation untimed (Janie) (4.50 avg; 1 rating)
Continue reading
NYT 3:21 (pannonica) (3.53 avg; 16 ratings)
LAT 3:15 (pannonica) (4.00 avg; 14 ratings)
CS 9:56 (Ade) (3.50 avg; 9 ratings)
BEQ 7:35, 1 Google (Amy) (4.15 avg; 13 ratings)
The New York Times note:
All the puzzles this week, from Monday to Saturday, have been created by one person, Patrick Blindauer. Keep your solutions handy, because the Saturday puzzle conceals a meta-challenge involving the solution grids of all six. When you have the answer to the meta-challenge, send it to [email protected]. Twenty correct solvers, chosen at random, whose entries are received by 6:00 p.m. E.T. Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014, will win one-year online subscriptions to the New York Times crossword. Only one entry per person, please. The answer and winners’ names will appear on Friday, Oct. 31, at www.nytimes.com/wordplay.