[AcrossLite][PDF][Solution] ★💜💎🟢🆘

You know what? Let’s keep it light this week.

I’m feeling the warm puzzle fuzzies. Why? Because I just signed up for my fourth ACPT, the epicenter of an IRL puzzling community that never fails to buoy my spirits and reaffirm my faith in humanity. You really should go, fellow puzz nerd, whether or not you consider yourself “good” or “fast” at solving crosswords. The point is mainly to meet the other members of your tribe, a tribe which, so far as I can tell, is among the warmest you’re apt to find.

One such tribeswoman is Adrienne Raphel–whom I met at ACPT 2017–author of the forthcoming “Thinking Inside the Box.” She’ll be there next March, presumably hawking her excellent book, and *you* shouldn’t miss the opportunity to befriend her. Or me!

Anyway, Adrienne’s book is a smooth read, with relatable themes, and some fun insights and interesting trivia. Which, incidentally, are some of the hallmarks of a good crossword puzzle.

So to honor the essence of crosswording–fun, intellectual fulfillment, having something to chat to your nerdy tribe about–I’m posting a light n’ easy puzzle this week.

See you at ACPT (?!?!).

[PDF][AcrossLite][Solution] 🍺🍺🍺🍺

A fun thing happened a few weeks ago.

I was puzzling at my regular spot at the bar at Lamplighter Brewery, when exceptionally handsome operations manager Jack asked me if I’d be down to make them a custom puzzle for the label of their new brown ale, Word Play.

Why yes, Jack. Y-E-S.

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I’m calling the puzzle “Last Call” here, but the beer is called Word Play, and it’s delightful. Try to get over to the Lamplighter taproom in Cambridge to enjoy the best puzzling environment this side of the Charles. (And stay for the Pepita coffee and breakfast tacos.)

[PDF][AcrossLite][Solution] 👻🎃

I’m posting this week’s rossword puzz from the Artisan Boutique hotel in Las Vegas. Each room is *covered* in reproductions of a different painter, and I’m in the Gustav Klimt suit. “The Kiss” is missing, but “Woman in Black Feather Hat” is staring down at me from above the desk. (Down in the lobby, the theme breaks down and just becomes, well, “Art”: Picasso next to Munch next to Warhol. Motif!)

ANYway, ’tis the season, so this week’s puzzle is pumpkin spiced and pre-TP’d for your solving pleasure…

What a performance this kid put on back in, Jesus, 1999. That’s right! We’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of a classic thriller, straight-up, with a twist. (N.B.: Haley Joel Osment was cast as a plucky reporter in Alpha House, written by my dear old dad.)

*SPOILER ALERT*

I think hidden word puzzles can be a fun solve if there’s an, ahem, *solid* raison d’être for the concealment. Hopefully the reveal on this way feels like an, ahem, *substantive* aha-moment. Happy solving, thrillnerds!

[PDF] [Across Lite] [Solution] 🎬💣😴

Movie buffs are going to enjoy this week’s solve more than… that one friend you have who “doesn’t watch movies,” because… TRIBUTE PUZZLE ALERT!

Tomorrow night I’m going to see a live recording of The Flop House, my favorite podcast, here in Boston. Simple premise: three irrepressibly nerdy comedians watch a bad movie, then they talk about it. Highly recommend, 10/10.

*SPOILER ALERT*

BOX OFFICE BOMB is a revealer I’ve been messing with for a couple of years now, specifically connected to HOLY HAND GRENADE (15). Most of the iterations of this puzzle have come out trivia-heavy, with PROTON TORPEDO being a stretch unless you’re a “Star Wars” geek (check), and EXPLODING GUM being *maybe* inferable if you’ve never seen “Mission: Impossible.”

And if you just don’t like (or know) movies (or podcasts), tune back in a couple Sundays hence for a new puzzle that will alienate an entirely different subset of solvers!