The future of crosswords
Location: at home
Date Played: December 13, 2024
Team size: we recommend 1-2
Duration: variable based on player experience levels; approximately 4-8 hours of puzzling
Price: $24.99 for a pack of 2 identical books
A More Human Puzzle Platform
In October 2023, the puzzle world was abuzz with excitement around the launch of a new website called Puzzmo. I gained early access by being amongst the first to solve a word puzzle online; others encountered bright yellow news bins advertising Puzzmo scattered around New York City. I was delighted to receive my early access key via snail mail, embodying Puzzmo’s playfully modern branding both on and off the screen.
With an ever-expanding selection of subtly innovative puzzle types, Puzzmo instantly won me over, and I quickly purchased a lifetime membership. Over the past year, Puzzmo has grown to become one of my primary sources for daily puzzles. Their puzzles are bite-sized and welcoming while also consistently interesting and engaging for novice and experienced puzzlers alike.
Particularly when it comes to crosswords, Puzzmo breaks the rules in some notable ways: looser restrictions on grid dimensions and symmetry than most mainstream outlets, a genuine commitment to diversity and modern cluing, and a built-in hint system that doesn’t just give away the answer. I never quite know what to expect each day, apart from sky-high editorial standards and the likelihood to learn something new about the constructor’s interests and culture. These personal touches are further supplemented by notes from both the constructor and editor that appear immediately after solving.
A More Human Puzzle Book
Puzzmo Crossword Puzzles: Vol 1 is Puzzmo’s first substantial non-digital offering. The field of crossword books is a crowded one, often competing more on quantity than quality, yet Puzzmo’s debut book manages to stand out by translating the crux of their online appeal into a well-curated volume of cruciverbalist mind candy. The physical book itself is slim and attractive, with a silky matte cover that feels instantly premium.
This book contains 3 puzzle types: midi-sized crosswords (30 curated favorites from online + 10 originals for the book), a clever paper adaptation of Puzzmo’s Flipart logic puzzle, and an equally clever paper adaptation of Really Bad Chess. For me, there’s something special about solving puzzles on paper, and while I think Puzzmo’s primary appeal still lies in their digital product, books like this will undoubtedly help them to win over new audiences. Plus, it’s nice to have access to Puzzmo’s style in a product that’s 100% solvable offline.
Whereas Puzzmo’s online format encourages solving a crossword a day, Puzzmo Crossword Puzzles: Vol 1 was more of a page-turner, and I found myself binging 5-10 crosswords at a time. With medium-sized grids and NYT Monday or Tuesday difficulty, these crosswords generally skewed on the easy side, but they were never boring or repetitive. If you’re truly looking for a challenge, this may not be the book for you, but difficulty was not the point overall. That said, there were some rather tricky clues in the mix, and a QR code led to a webpage with hints (i.e. alternate easier cluing) for each crossword. These hints were well written, though they were less elegant than in online solving given the clunky transition between paper and screen.
In her introduction to the book, editor Brooke Husic writes: “When I mentor a new constructor, I have them imagine coming across a crossword clue with an answer they deeply relate to — something that feels like it was written especially for them. Then, we get started on making that puzzle ourselves.” This ethos shone through strongly throughout the book, and like online, I enjoyed exploring a tapestry of distinct individual voices.
More Than Just Crosswords
I appreciated that Puzzmo Crossword Puzzles: Vol 1 contained more than just crosswords.
Flipart, which serves as a satisfyingly clicky daily warmup puzzle online, was translated into an elegant grid division logic puzzle for the book. I don’t think I’ve seen this exact logic puzzle type elsewhere, though it felt like a distant cousin of a Fillonino and an even more obscure logic puzzle type called Curve Data. Puzzmo’s paper-and-pencil Flipart was distinctly more “logic-y” than anything currently offered online on Puzzmo, and I’d love to see them offer even more logic puzzles like this.
As a complete chess noob who is pretty bad at both actual chess and Puzzmo’s online chess games, I found the chess puzzles in this book to be remarkably approachable, clever, and fun.
“Volume 1” implies that there are more books to come, and I hope Puzzmo continues to adapt other puzzle formats from their varied online canon for paper-and-pencil solving. Regardless of your puzzle-solving proclivities, I wholeheartedly recommend checking out the Puzzmo-verse, and Puzzmo Crossword Puzzles: Vol 1 provides a joyful digital respite and excellent introduction to Puzzmo’s style.
P.S. I go by enigmida on Puzzmo — give me a follow!
Tips For Players
- Space Requirements: Minimal. It’s a slim book.
- Required Gear: A pencil and your noggin.
Buy your copy of Puzzmo’s Crossword Puzzles: Vol. 1, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Puzzmo provided a complimentary pack of books.
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