Games

Jeffrey Lease doubles down.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — At the beginning of your crossword journey (because what else would I call it?), the goal is just to solve the puzzle. Once you can comfortably reach that goal, you might start to challenge yourself not to ask anyone for help or look things up. You may even compete against your own solving speed. (You’ll often see solvers in the comments referring to a “PB,” short for their personal best on a given day.)I can’t say what my goal was when I started solving Jeffrey Lease’s puzzle. All I know is that I was flooded with a sense of accomplishment when the last letter (a correction of a previous guess, I’m not ashamed to admit) fell into place. I hope that you emerge from this puzzle a winner, too — whatever that means to you right now.Today’s ThemeWithout a revealer entry to make it obvious, we have to identify the puzzle’s pattern ourselves. What repeats itself throughout Mr. Lease’s grid? A couple of things, actually.The [Cry from someone who has finally had it] (16A) is ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! A [Sarcastic non-apology] (26A) is SORRY NOT SORRY. Is there an echo in here? Kidding. These entries are just common expressions that use word repetition. The pattern continues with the [Perennial optimist’s motto] (48A) NEVER SAY NEVER, and a [Way to make incremental progress] (63A) — LITTLE BY LITTLE.Tricky Clues4A. When something is [Impressively done], we might refer to it as a BANG-UP job. But why? The word “bang” began as pure onomatopoeia in the 16th century to describe the pounding of a hammer. In the 19th century, it came to be used as an adverb — soon with the addition of “-up” — denoting a standard of precision or excellence. The new usage makes sense given the word’s original meaning: You’ve got to bang a nail right on its head if you don’t want to lose a thumb.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Andy Kravis returns after a two-year absence with a lively puzzle.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — I’ve missed Andy Kravis: His most recent crossword in The New York Times was published a little more than two years ago.Maybe he has just been busy as an associate editor of puzzles and games at The New Yorker, but it’s nice to see his byline again. You can always count on Mr. Kravis to pack his puzzles with exciting fill and mind-bending clues.Let’s dig in.Tricky Clues1A. The coverage in the clue [Letters of coverage] is sunblock, and the letters we associate with sunblock are SPF. I also appreciate the pun on the phrase “letters of courage.”22A. I particularly enjoyed the clue [French buns] for DERRIÈRE, because I, like the puzzle editors, am 12 years old.36A. The [Jam session?] in this puzzle is not a musical one. It’s a SLAM-DUNK CONTEST, in which basketball players compete to see who can jam the ball into the basket within certain time constraints.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Damon Gulczynski’s crossword packs a wallop.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — The column you are reading was named Wordplay when it began in 2008, partly as a nod to the 2006 documentary of the same name and partly as a reminder to crossword solvers that there are myriad ways to have fun with the English language.The creativity that we encounter in these puzzles on a daily basis never fails to impress me, and Damon Gulczynski’s crossword is no different.If you are still solving, please don’t forget to read the top of the theme section for additional instructions on how to complete this puzzle.Today’s ThemeIf you are just joining us on Thursdays and are not sure how to enter a rebus into a square on your device, here are instructions for doing just that.Well, this is an exciting puzzle! No, I mean it! Mr. Gulczynski’s theme is all about exclamations! Are you beginning to see what’s happening here?We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Shaun Phillips makes his New York Times Crossword debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Some solvers may refer to the arcade game hiding in the theme of today’s crossword, constructed by Shaun Phillips, with words from another recent puzzle’s theme: “What a racket!” If you are one of those people, I share your skepticism. The game is almost certainly rigged against us.But for the purpose of solving Mr. Phillips’s crossword — his first for The New York Times — I recommend leaving your suspicions at the door. I can assure you that this grid is every bit as delightful as it presents itself to be, and that solving it is within your grasp.Today’s ThemeYou’ve heard of the long arm of the law. How about the long arm of the crossword? That’s what you’ll find in this puzzle, if you look closely: the arm of a CLAW MACHINE GAME (35A), reaching from the top of the grid to grasp a little cluster of black squares below it. A synonym for [“Wait!”] is HOLD ON A MINUTE (5D), a hopeful directive to the claw as it grasps a prize, maybe for long enough to reach the deposit slot. Oh, and as for a [Professional who might expect to do well with a 35-Across?], that would be a CRANE OPERATOR (10D).I can proudly state that I have won prizes from at least two CLAW MACHINE GAMEs. Granted, I have lost countless more to their pits, but I choose to focus on the claw-sitive. And is the [Setting for a 35-Across] really called an AMUSEMENT ARCADE (54A)? That seems redundant. But maybe there are plenty of serious arcades where business is conducted. “Step into my claw-ffice,” and so on.Tricky Clues8A. [Some experts on viruses] of a computer nature are TECHIES — not to be confused with experts on a certain sci-fi series, known as Trekkies.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Sarah Sinclair and Amie Walker have put together a charming Tuesday crossword with a lot of breadth.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — It feels so satisfying when you get a theme that feels particularly relevant to you, especially when the rest of the grid requires a broad base of knowledge. This puzzle, a collaboration by Sarah Sinclair and Amie Walker, will take you from Parliament to the Olympics to Geology 101, and a solid theme makes it feel more manageable.Today’s ThemeI’ve gotten in the habit of solving the way I do when I’m testing: in order from 1A to 63D. This is a good way to be thorough, but not what I would recommend for the most enjoyable solve. By taking a crack at the theme first, you may unlock fill that otherwise would have taken a long time to untangle. (I, for one, was stuck on 32D for way longer than I needed to be).The revealer, CHORAL GROUP (62A), points to the ends of 17-, 31-, 37- and 48-Across. It becomes clear after 17A [Role for which James Gandolfini won three Emmys], which I recognized as TONY SOPRANO, even though I admittedly have never seen an episode of “The Sopranos.”I knew to fill in ALTO, TENOR and BASS in the following theme answers even though I don’t know anything about freshwater fish (48A).Tricky Clues68A [About 90 percent of all volcanic rock on Earth]: I knew it was lava rock, but I couldn’t remember the name for it. Middle school science class was a long time ago. Luckily, the downs in the center of the grid are pretty classic, so I was able to get BASALT once I made my pass through them.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Laura Dershewitz’s first solo puzzle is a musical Monday grid.MONDAY PUZZLE — Laura Dershewitz created her first crossword puzzle for The New York Times with Katherine Baicker in March. Now she is back with a solo puzzle just as clever and challenging as her collaborative debut. This crossword has it all: tricky fill, unconventional clues and a satisfying theme to bring it all together.Joel Fagliano, a puzzle editor for The Times, appreciated the puzzle’s musicality. “Musical note themes are tried and true, but the elegance of this one set it apart,” he said. He added that the theme was executed well and had “a pleasing consistency.”Mr. Fagliano complimented Ms. Dershewitz on her use of “clean Monday vocabulary” that made the puzzle feel “lively and fresh.” I couldn’t agree more — this puzzle pleased my beginner’s heart. I solved it without looking anything up and learned new phrases in the process.Today’s ThemeThe circular overlays in this puzzle tip us off to the theme. Let’s look at the corresponding clues: 21A, [Explain something in steps]; 31A, [Acts like one’s true self, colloquially]; and 41A, [Was understated in one’s description]. The answer to 21A is BREAK IT DOWN, 31A is KEEPS IT REAL and 41A is PUT IT MILDLY.What do these answers all have in common? The revealer at 50A suggests it has something to do with “sticky yellow squares” — POST-IT NOTES. We can look to the circled letters to find our next clue. They’re notes on a scale: DO, RE, MI. The notes come after the letters I and T in all of the answers, so they’re literally “post-IT” notes.Tricky Clues16A. To [get one’s story straight?] is to EDIT. I liked this witty take on an idiom that typically means to communicate clearly and accurately. Editing is one way to achieve that.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Finding your way into Jacob McDermott’s puzzle may be a challenge.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — Here at the Wordplay headquarters, we usually give beginning solvers two pieces of advice: Start with Mondays and solve your “gimmes” first. Gimmes are those entries you definitely know.By the time solvers work their way to the Friday puzzles, finding those gimmes becomes harder because the clues are considerably more opaque.You don’t believe me? Let’s look at an example, RAYON, a fairly common entry in puzzles. (RAYON is a random choice to avoid spoilers; the word is not in Jacob McDermott’s puzzle.)Some early-week clues for RAYON include [Synthetic fabric] and [Synthetic fabric that feels like silk]. With those clues and one or two crossing entries, most people would probably be able to figure it out. When the word has appeared on Fridays, however, some of the clues have included [So-called “laboratory’s first gift to the loom”] and [Chardonnet’s invention]. You can see how finding a way into some late-week puzzles might be difficult.That’s how I felt when I read the clue list for Mr. McDermott’s puzzle. On my first pass, I was able to fill in a bit of the eastern section of the grid, starting with 33A. (Don’t judge, I never said I was classy.) And that was it. I was stuck.My heart sank a little, which I actually consider to be a good sign for a Friday puzzle. It means that there is going to be a hopefully fun tug of war between me and the constructor. But the sinking feeling is also a signal to put the puzzle down and come back to it later. No sense in getting frustrated, right?We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Like the TARDIS in “Doctor Who,” Kareem Ayas’s puzzle travels through time and space.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — A note to those who would like their Thursday crosswords to have no tricks, one letter per square and no pop-culture references: I hear you. I really do. And you are more than welcome to your opinions. But you are not going to convince me that Kareem Ayas’s puzzle isn’t an excellent example of how creative constructors can be within the confines of a 15×15 grid.Mr. Ayas made his New York Times Crossword debut in 2023, and this is his third puzzle to be published.Today’s ThemeYou probably noticed that there were three unchecked squares in Mr. Ayas’s puzzle. If you are not familiar with the term, an unchecked square has no crossing entry or clue. If you are solving online, hyphens take the place of those clues.You also probably noticed that the answers stemming from those unchecked squares are incomplete. There is a good reason for that.Those unchecked squares are the openings of WORMHOLEs (39D). Parts of the answers emerge from those portals, but we need to find their entry points. Fortunately for us, those entry points are represented by circled squares in the first row of the grid.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More