Games

Jeffrey Lease and Jeff Chen take their chances in a first-time collaboration for The New York Times.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — As Kenny Rogers once said, “Every gambler knows that the secret to survivin’ is knowin’ what to throw away and knowing what to keep.” I’ve never been much of a gambler, but I knew enough not to throw away today’s crossword, constructed by Jeffrey Lease and Jeff Chen. It’s a keeper.This is the constructors’ first puzzle collaboration for The New York Times. That’s a calculated risk: There’s always a chance that constructing styles and senses of humor won’t jell. In this case, I’d say the risk paid off big time. Will I bet on your enjoyment? Yes, so long as the only thing at stake is my ego.Today’s ThemeWhatever the [Big payout potential] is at 53-Across, it doubles as a hint to both the words in the shaded squares and the clue numbers on which they begin.You’ll notice as you solve that certain letters appear repeatedly in the shaded squares (in bold here, for reference). The witty [Court summons?] at 19-Across is an invitation to play on a court: TENNIS, ANYONE? At 27-Across, [Having a benevolent goal in mind] is being WELL-INTENTIONED. And the [Instruments for John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins] at 45-Across are TENOR SAXOPHONES. Do those TENs and ONEs remind you of anything?That payout potential is going to be TEN-TO-ONE ODDS. Not only do these betting odds feature in the shaded squares of each themed entry, they also appear in only odd-numbered clues: 19A, 27A, 45A and 53A.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

Karen Steinberg opens our solving weekend with her first solo themeless puzzle.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — This weekend hundreds of solvers will descend on the Marriott Hotel in Stamford, Conn., to attend the 47th annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, the competition that was immortalized in the 2006 documentary “Wordplay.” The tournament is hosted by Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times Crossword. Many of the constructors whose bylines you see on Times puzzles attend either to compete or help with the judging. I’ve always thought of the A.C.P.T. as a kind of Coachella for puzzle lovers, a place to get your cruciverbal groove on with people who have a similar mind-set.If you are intimidated by the thought of solving against hundreds of other minds, please don’t worry: The weekend includes entertainment, a market displaying all sorts of puzzle paraphernalia and a chance to make new friends. There’s something for everyone.Registration is now closed, but you can still sign up to be part of the virtual tournament. And if you would like to attend next year, the registration page on the A.C.P.T. website will be published in January 2026.Karen Steinberg has had six crosswords published in The Times, three of them collaborations with her son, David Steinberg, and her husband, Paul, who died in 2023. Ms. Steinberg returns today with her first solo themeless puzzle in The Times, and I love her grid design. Constructors call it a “basket weave” because the six grid-spanning entries cross each other at multiple points in the puzzle. That’s not easy to pull off: The constructor has to make sure those long entries cross well and are the liveliest answers in the puzzle, and then to fill around them with interesting entries that are not “junky.”Ms. Steinberg has definitely pulled it off. The 15-letter entries that weave themselves into the basket really floated my boat. No spoilers here, but I think you’ll enjoy them too.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

Hanh Huynh’s puzzle gives main-character energy.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — I like Hanh Huynh’s crosswords. Today’s puzzle is his fifth in The New York Times, and all you have to do is go back to his past grids to see how much he enjoys playing with words.His debut puzzle, from 2023, is my favorite, but I think you’ll like this one, too.Today’s ThemeMr. Huynh’s crossword is a rebus puzzle, and solvers can enter either an asterisk (*) or the word STAR in the appropriate theme squares in order for them to be marked correct. If you are just joining us and solve online, here is how to enter more than one letter in a square.“But, Deb,” I hear you asking, “how can it be a rebus if we can just put a single character, the asterisk, in a square?” Excellent question. There are two kinds of rebuses: those where symbols (such as the asterisk) stand in for words, and crossword rebuses, where more than one letter is packed into a single square. Mr. Huynh’s puzzle does both, but the answers are read differently.There are six squares in which an * or a STAR is to be entered. (Three of them are in the central Down entry alone.) The Across answers are read using the rebus STAR, as in THE (STAR)RY NIGHT at 17A. The Down answers are read using the asterisk, as in Q*BERT (the entry that crosses 17A) at 13D.While you’re solving, take a moment to appreciate that central Down entry, M*A*S*H, and how Mr. Huynh was able to cross three rebuses within it. I marveled at it.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

Try your hand at Daniel Bodily’s puzzle — it’ll all work out.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — I’m tempted to characterize this as Daniel Bodily’s “opening day” of the New York Times Crossword season. Mr. Bodily constructs puzzles regularly for The Times, but this is the first appearance he has made in 2025.A little fanfare is fitting, anyway, because today’s crossword contains eight — eight! — themed entries, including a split revealer. Let’s get a few reps in, shall we?Today’s ThemeWhat happens when you [go out with a bang]? You get a [hint to 16-, 21-, 29-, 34-, 46- and 54-Across]. The answer to this revealer clue is FINISH STRONG — split between 1D and 44D — and refers wittily to the fact that each of the cited themed entries finishes with a synonym for “strong.”At 16-Across, for instance, [Frame, apron, molding, etc.] are examples of WINDOW TRIM. (If you’re wondering whether “trim” is really a synonym for “strong,” see Mr. Bodily’s constructor notes below.) [Like some photos of yesteryear], pictures may be SEPIA-TONED (21A). One who [Collected hot wheels?] has CARJACKED someone, as “hot” is slang for “stolen” (29A).Now that I’ve personally trained you (eh?), see if you can crack the remaining entries on your own.Tricky Clues5A. I thought that the clue [Threat to a king, maybe] referred to a usurpation of royal titles. This king happens to be a chess piece; he can be threatened by a PAWN.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

Sande Milton makes his Crossword solo debut in The New York Times.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — Let me guess: You’re staring at the scribbles in today’s crossword, wondering how someone could have started it before you did. I sympathize. Then again, it is April Fools’ Day — and I have a feeling that Sande Milton, who constructed the puzzle, is celebrating the occasion.Those penciled-in letters aren’t entirely trustworthy. In fact, some of them are plain wrong. But I encourage you to think of these less as mistakes than as points of departure. They add to the satisfaction you’ll feel when Mr. Milton’s brilliant joke finally lands.Today’s ThemeAs I mentioned above, only some of the filled-in squares are correct. [“___ Misérables”] (22A) is LES, just as the existing letters suggest. But [Declare openly] (17A) can’t be “aver,” because that would leave us with a Nobel Prize winner named “Teni” Morrison. (It’s Toni.) There’s also a problem with 44-Down: If [___ power] solved to “horse,” as is written in the grid, then to [See red] (54A) would be to “get M.S.D.,” which sounds more like an off-brand psychedelic.Our suspicions of sabotage are confirmed at 49-Across: There’s a [Person who may have ruined your puzzle experience]. In order to identify the vandal, though, we’ll need answers to 18-, 29- and 61-Across. These clues are “partners,” so to speak, because each one relies on another’s solution. In general, the best way to break into such clue sets is to use crossing entries to figure out one answer, and then use that solution to crack the other clues.As far as which one to begin with, your mileage may vary. I found 18A — [Publication where this puzzle might be found] — easiest to fill in using my crossings: IN-FLIGHT MAGAZINE. This gave away 29A: [Where the 18-Across is commonly found] is a SEAT BACK POCKET. Finally, we’re on the same plane (yuk, yuk) as the puzzle.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

Ryan Mathiason makes his New York Times Crossword debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — This is Ryan Mathiason’s first puzzle for The New York Times and, in keeping with today’s theme, I’m already starting to like what I see. Today’s crossword has some wonderfully original fill, but it all jells. Or gels, you might say. In any case, I hope we’ll see more of Mr. Mathiason soon. Shall we comb-over the puzzle together?Today’s ThemeAs soon as I figured out what was going on, I thought to myself, [“I’m starting to like this”… or a hint to the starts of 16-, 24-, 47- and 58-Across, in order] — in other words, “IT’S GROWING ON ME!”Each of today’s themed entries begins with a kind of hairstyle (or lack thereof, in the case of 16A), arranged so as to be “growing” as they move down the grid, from BALD to BUZZ to FADE to AFRO. And while I can never tell whether certain entries are intentional winks on top of the theme, I appreciated the mention of HATS at 1-Across, because that’s what one would use to cover a bad haircut.Tricky Clues13A/14A/15A. I’m bundling the entire second row of this puzzle into one tricky clue, because all three of its entries are proper names, which are generally pure trivia (i.e., you know it or you don’t). It’s lucky that none of these entries cross with other proper names — I’m not counting CHEEZ-Its (8D), mind you — because otherwise we might be looking at a Natick. Here are the row’s answers, from left to right: OPIE (13A), LEAH (14A) and AMON (15A).52A. [U-turn from WSW] gives us a lot of information in relatively few letters. WSW is short for a compass direction, west by southwest. To make a “U-turn” from that direction would mean moving toward its inverse: ENE, or east by northeast.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

Zhouqin Burnikel returns to deliver a Friday puzzle that is packed with misdirected clues.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — It’s been nearly five months since we’ve seen a puzzle from Zhouqin Burnikel, and I, for one, am very glad she’s back. Ms. Burnikel has a way of filling her puzzles with lively entries and — for her late-in-the-week puzzles, where the high-wire walks happen — packing the clues with all sorts of twisty misdirection. In fact, I enjoyed the cluing in today’s puzzle so much that I’m going to address a larger-than-normal selection of the hints. I hope you admire them as much as I do.And don’t forget to enjoy the triple stacks, both vertical and horizontal. All 12 entries are winners, and there is no junk in the grid at all.This is Ms. Burnikel’s 81st crossword in The New York Times. I highly recommend savoring it.Tricky Clues11A. This [Story of a lifetime?] really encompasses an entire lifetime: It’s an OBIT.15A. When a business is going down, it’s bad news for the owner. Not in this case, though. The [Sort whose business is going way down?] is a SCUBA DIVER, because divers make it their business to go way down into the sea.25A. [Sinks one’s teeth into?] sounds as if we were supposed to be thinking about eating something delicious, but these teeth are those on a saw. The answer is SAWS UP.28A. The worker in [Worker’s performance that informs the colony of a nearby nectar source] is not human, but a bee. And it performs a wiggly dance called a BEE DANCE, or waggle dance, that essentially says, “This way to the nectar.”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

Psst: Brad Lively is playing Ping-Pong with parts of the theme entries. Pass it on.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — Brad Lively, an aerospace engineer who lives in Connecticut, makes his New York Times Crossword debut today with a nod to a game some of us played in childhood.Today’s ThemeThe first thing I’d like to say about this theme is that I think it’s very clever. The second thing I’d like to say is that my brain apparently works backward, and this puzzle proves it.We are passing the word IT back and forth throughout Mr. Lively’s theme, hence the direction at the end of the theme clues: Each one concludes with either “pass it on” or “pass it back.” Our job is to figure out where the IT goes.There are two reasons not to worry about this. First, the passing is done within the same row, so you don’t have to search the whole puzzle for a place to leave the IT. And second, you will figure out pretty quickly that something needs to be done about the entries that don’t match their clues. Once the theme crystallizes for you, the rest is smooth sailing.Let’s look at 17A and 19A as an example. The clue at 19A — [Minty Cuban cocktail … Pass it back] — asks us to “pass it back.” When read another way, the instruction is “pass the letters I and T back.” The answers as we need to write them in the grid are CIRCUITS for 17A and MOJO for 19A.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