Rules are made to be broken.
Whenever there are rules, someone is going to try to break them. The Times’s submission guidelines state that crosswords must be symmetrical, that we don’t allow entries shorter than three letters and that there must be all-over grid interlock, with no section of the grid being cut off from any other. We’ve broken all of these rules a few times, though, when the theme calls for it. There have been puzzles with one- and two-letter words, puzzles with black squares that make nonsymmetrical patterns and grids split into distinct sections. When you break a rule, though, there has to be a good reason. Today I want to share a few grids that have strayed far outside the guidelines. One rule is that grids must be 15x15 squares, except on Sundays, which have 21x21 puzzles. Earlier this summer, we published a tall and skinny Sunday puzzle by Hannah Slovut-Einertson that all the editors were completely charmed by. It is 27 squares tall and 17 wide, and when you solve it you can complete a dot-to-dot with the circled letters, creating a giraffe shape. Another rectangular puzzle was made by Patrick Blindauer in 2008. It is 24x9, and it’s one of Will Shortz’s favorite puzzles of all time. Since it’s a Monday, I’ll let you solve it to figure out why the dimensions are so odd! Besides rectangular grids, we’ve also published some oddly shaped ones. Most recently we ran this grid by Paolo Pasco and Sarah Sinclair that was just about as circular as you can make a crossword. After you solve the puzzle online, the grid gets filled in with colors to make it look like a pizza! A few years ago on Valentine’s Day we ran the puzzle below, by Mary Lou Guizzo.
I think that having seldom-broken rules makes puzzles that do break them feel extra special. There’s got to be a fun and creative reason to break the rules, and we want those puzzles to feel unique and be appreciated for pushing the boundaries. Solve Friday’s Crossword on Easy Mode!
For expert hints on today’s puzzle, read the Wordplay column. Were you able to solve the Friday puzzle with Easy Mode? We want your input! Share your experience with us by email. Easy vs. HardIn today’s puzzle, 1-Across is clued as [What suggests that relief is at hand?]. The answer really is something you’d find in your hand. For Easy Mode, I went with [Squishy fidget toy]. Can you guess the answer?
How are we doing? Thanks for playing! Subscribe to New York Times Games. If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up to receive it regularly here. P.S. The answer to Easy vs. Hard is STRESS BALL.
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