This weekend, the 36th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is being held in Brooklyn, New York. It's the nation's largest crossword competition, and also the oldest, with players competing to solve eight puzzles that are created especially for the competition.
The tournament is directed by Will Shortz, the New York Times Crossword Puzzle Editor. Scoring is based on speed and accuracy, and prizes are given out in over 20 categories. (The grand prize is $5,000.) Evening events include extra games, guest speakers, and a wine and cheese reception, where players can meet and get to know one another in a non-competative atmosphere.
Although they haven't been long in existence, crossword puzzles are thought to be the most widespread word game in the world -- and certainly the most popular. They appear to have derived from "word squares," which appeared in England during the 19th century, primarily in children's puzzle books. In America, however, the new puzzle quickly developed into a serious adult pastime.
A word square -- reading alike vertically and horizontally.
Arthur Wynne is credited as the inventor of the crossword as we know it today, with the first-ever puzzle appearing in a Sunday newspaper, the New York World, on December 21, 1913. (Try the world's first crossword puzzle here.) By the 1920s, other newspapers were beginning to carry crosswords -- and within a decade, they were commonplace in almost every American newspaper.
To this day, crossword puzzles remain a popular and much-loved game that is played the world over. So in honor of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, try your hand at a puzzle yourself!
Online Crossword Puzzles:
Boston Globe Puzzle -- bills itself as having "the web's most popular crossword."
Ink Well -- free printable crossword puzzles. Updated every Tuesday. (Download Across Lite software to play online.)
Jonesin' Crosswords -- free printable crossword puzzles. Updated every Monday. (Download Across Lite software to play online.)
USA Today Crossword -- play their featured puzzles.
Washington Post Puzzles -- daily and Sunday puzzle editions available.
WSJ Puzzles -- play online or download and print.
Brendan Emmett Quigley's Crosswords -- designed by, of course, Brendan Emmett Quigley (who designs custom-made puzzles for a living!), this site includes puzzles archived by difficulty (Easy, Medium, Hard), plus puzzle news, interviews, and announcements!
Crosswords from the Chronicle of Higher Education -- updated weekly. Download Across Lite software to play.
Mike Gaffney's Weekly Crossword Contest -- compete online!
Merl Reagle's Crossword -- play online or download and print. Updated weekly.
New York Times -- daily puzzle. Must be a subscriber to play.
From the Library Collection:
-- Crosstalk: Letters to America's Foremost Crossword Puzzle Authority by Eugene T. Maleska.
A crossword puzzle creator responds to dozens of letters he's received from players across the world, revealing the skill and fun it takes to create crosswords -- and the unique aspects of language that make crossword puzzles such a challenge.
-- The Crossword Obsession: The History and Lore of the World's Most Popular Pastime by Coral Amende.
Find out more about the history of the crossword puzzle!
-- Crossworld: One Man's Journey into America's Crossword Obsession by Marc Romano.
The adventures and memoirs of one crossword puzzle devotee.
-- From Square One: A Meditation, With Digressions, on Crosswords by Dean Olsher.
Explores the history, psychology, and a little of the metaphysics involved in crossword puzzles.
-- How to Solve Crossword Puzzles by Norman Hill.
Pick up some tips here!
-- Four-Letter Words: And Other Secrets of a Crossword Insider by Michelle Arnot.
A manual of facts, trivia, and tips.
-- The Crossword Mysteries by Nero Blanc.
A series of mystery novels ... starring a crossword editor!
-- Wordplay [DVD]
A look into the world of crossword aficionados -- which include in their ranks Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, and Jon Stewart.
-- Stanley Newman's Crossword Shortcuts: The 1,001 Most Common Crossword Answers by Stanley Newman.
-- The Everything Crossword and Puzzle Book: Hours of Brain-Teasing Fun: Crossword Puzzles, Acrostics, Hidden Words and More, for Puzzlers at All Ages by Harold Cordry.
-- The Puzzlemaster Presents 200 Mind-Bending Challenges: from NPR by Will Shortz.
-- Post by Ms. B
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