Mental Judo: A Cryptic Blog (11)

A little over a week ago, I attended the first annual Midwest Crossword Tournament (aka  Midwest Gridfest ) in Chicago. It was my first time in Chicago, and first time meeting a bunch of amazing crossword friends in person. Hope to see you (and many more) next year! I'm posting because I brought a puzzle to the tournament to share, as is custom. It's a cryptic activity placemat, featuring a maze that's also a cryptic crossword (a format I'd like to explore further in the future). Given the nature of the puzzle, I have it available only in pdf. Please enjoy, (and solve in crayon if possible, just for fun). Special thanks to Kelsey for the amazing design work, Dob for logistical support, and juff and skald for the test solves! [ pdf ]

You know Dob; you've seen his fantastic stream with Momes , you've solved one of his many great cryptic or noncryptic puzzles —maybe even one we've made together ! Well, he had a great idea for a collab, so we're back with another!  Here's what Dob has to say: When Joe first begged me to make a Guess Who with him back in the late 90s, I was hesitant. Like, really hesitant. For a long time. Why, you ask? You know the old saying "never do a cryptic collab with your heroes"? That. However, in a shocking turn of events, it was a joy from start to finish. I genuinely love this puzzle and its subject and hope you enjoy solving it. Are you also a fan of [redacted]? If so, I'd love to know your favorite [redacted] or [redacted] of theirs. Thanks Joe for this opportunity. < 3 This puzzle relates to a specific someone—can you use the nine themed answers to figure out who before the grid spells out their name in the circled squares? Many thanks to our test so...

How it started: How it's going:  [solve online]  amuselabs  (for clue images that convey our original intent) Crossweird  (for a more aesthetic overall experience) Gwen and Lila , thanks for letting me make this with you!  Gwen says: Yey my first crossword! Thanks to Lila and Joe for letting me hang and share my ideas but mostly just spam them with stupid emojis that had no relevance to our puzzle. I hope you enjoy 😁 Lila says: what fun it was to make this with two of the most amazing people ever!! and props to gwen for making her first crossword!! couldn’t be prouder of her Thanks to Ruby for the vibe check and Dob for the support!

Some cryptics I’ve constructed have had very lengthy or complicated instructions, so for this one, I’ve decided the instructions are not included. Thanks to Brad , liari , and skaldskaparmal for testing! [ online ]  [ pdf ]  [ puz ]

This past Sunday was Westwords ! I had a fantastic time meeting online friends (and some new folks!) and solving a bunch of really great non-cryptic crosswords. I brought this little puzzle along with me and thought I'd post it here for those who didn't get a chance to go this year (or grab one while there). [ online ] [ pdf ] [ puz ]

Well, herzwesten and I are back on our bs (bud stuff), this time with a murder mystery, so don your deerstalkers and pack your pipes, gumshoes! Here's herzy:  "I'm very excited for people to crack this case! It takes me back to a time when I used to edit logic puzzles professionally and in every issue we'd have a linked series of them all around a central mystery. The name of our fictional detective was Ivan Inkling, though sometimes his niece Anita Clew would take center stage. But don't worry, this puzzle doesn't contain nearly as many groan-inducing puns!" Thanks as ever to the stalwart skaldskaparmal for his very helpful test. (As with our text adventure cryptic, this puzzle makes use of the magic of spreadsheets.) [ solve online ]