Downloads: puz
I just had a blast competing in Crossword Tournament From Your Couch, a replacement of sorts for the ACPT (which is delayed until September for obvious reasons). Although I'd hardly consider myself a speed-solver, I'm very happy to have ranked at #86 out of 1,800+ competitors! (I guess I perform better under a little pressure.) Congrats to everyone who competed, and especially the finalists: Tyler Hinman, Paolo Pasco, and David Plotkin in the Chesterfield division; and Will Nediger, Jason Juang, and Ricky Liu in the Futon division. You can still solve the tournament puzzles, if you haven't yet — and you really should, because they are excellent.
Somehow, during the tournament Paolo Pasco not only led in points, but also released this fantastic puzzle on his website, Grids These Days. It's an instant classic you should solve right now — go on, I'll wait — but I felt it needed a teeny-tiny update for our ever-changing technological world.
Have a great weekend!
- Sid