Archive
Everything we have published
Construction notes, solving technique, puzzle history and the occasional argument about crosswordese. Newest first.
How to Make a Crossword Puzzle
The mindset, the rules and the tips: a complete walk through building a crossword from a blank grid to a finished clue list.
Why the First Twelve Squares of a 15x15 Grid Matter Most
Theme entries, symmetry and the black square budget: a tour of the top-left corner, where most crosswords are won or lost.
Rebus Squares Are Back and Solvers Have Opinions
A look at the divisive trick that packs several letters into one box, and how to clue it so the solver feels clever instead of cheated.
How to Design a Word Search That Is Not Boring
Diagonal density, decoy fragments and the case for hiding a message in the leftover letters.
Nonograms Are Pixel Art You Solve With Arithmetic
How to read the clue numbers, where beginners stall, and three techniques that unlock harder grids.
Fill Quality Versus Theme Ambition
When the theme forces ugly fill, something has to give. Where editors draw the line, and how to tell which side of it you are on.
What Makes a Monday Crossword a Monday
Difficulty curves explained, from clue phrasing to word length, using numbers pulled from 400 published grids.
Sudoku Variants That Are Worth Your Time
Killer, thermo, arrow and sandwich: which twists add real deduction and which just add rules to memorise.
What Actually Makes a Word Search Grid Hard
Grid size is the difficulty dial everyone reaches for first, and it is the weakest one available.
The Case Against the Crosswordese Blacklist
ERNE, OLEO and friends have been banned by convention for decades. It is worth asking what the ban is actually buying.
Logic Grid Puzzles and the Zebra Problem
Five houses, five nationalities, five drinks. The puzzle that taught a generation how to think in constraint tables, and how to build your own.
Why Word Searches for Kids Are Harder to Make
Vocabulary ceilings, letter frequency, reading direction and the accidental swear word problem.
How to Get Your First Crossword Published
Submission guidelines, response times, pay rates and what editors actually reject - with the rejections sorted by frequency.
Cryptic Crosswords for the Rest of Us
Anagrams, containers, hidden words and homophones: a gentle path into the British-style clue, with worked examples.
How a Puzzle Proves It Has Exactly One Solution
Uniqueness is the quiet contract behind every good logic puzzle. Here is how setters actually check it, and what happens when they do not.
The Hidden Message Word Search Explained
The leftover letters are the best part of the format, and almost nobody uses them. How the technique works and how to plan one that fits.
Kakuro Killer and the Arithmetic Puzzles That Are Not Sudoku
A whole family of puzzles runs on sums rather than symbols. The combinations worth memorising, and why they open grids faster than any scanning technique.
The Crossword Constructor Software Stack
Grid editors, word lists, scoring and export formats: what each tool actually does, and which decisions the software cannot make for you.
A Short History of the Crossword from 1913 to Your Phone
One newspaper filler puzzle, a moral panic, a publishing empire and a subscription app. The century that made the format.
Making Word Searches for Classrooms and Care Homes
Two audiences with almost opposite vocabularies and nearly identical design constraints. What changes when the puzzle has a job to do.
One good puzzle a week. No filler.
New articles, constructor notes and a fresh mini crossword every Sunday. Free, and easy to leave.