This puzzle is inspired by some awesome work that other constructors have done lately in experimenting with grid shapes and symmetry. I want to shout out a few examples before introducing my puzzle: Matthew Stock ( Happy Little Puzzles ) has a recent themeless puzzle with translational symmetry , meaning the black squares consist of a few shapes that have been slid across/down the grid. (In mathematics, these are called "translations" , in contrast to "reflections" and "rotations" .) Check it out here in this link . Brian Thomas ( Puzzles That Need a Home ) has a recent themeless puzzle with diagonal symmetry , meaning the black squares are symmetric across the "main diagonal" of the grid (top-left to bottom-right). Check it out here in this link . (Side note: I actually have a puzzle with diagonal symmetry set for publication later this year! I'll say more about that here on the blog when the time comes...) Brooke Husic ( xwords by a ladee

I'm having a lot of fun making these 10x10 themeless puzzles, so here's another! On the constructor side of things, I am finding these immensely helpful for pruning my word list and gaining experience in filling a grid with decent entries. On the solver side, I hope these "bite-size" puzzles are quick and fun. And just like with the previous puzzle, I've written two sets of clues for this puzzle so you can choose the challenge that is appropriate for your level. This post has the "easier clues"  version of this puzzle. While writing these clues, I honestly had my parents in mind! They've told me my puzzles are tough for them, so I'm hoping this one is... well, maybe not necessarily super easy , but I did try to make sure this one is doable for them :-) (If you're looking for more of a challenge, click this link here for the  "harder clues"  version of this very same puzzle.) Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedba

This post has the "harder clues" version of today's 10x10 themeless puzzle, both in the embedded applet and the download links below. If this proves too challenging, click this link here for the "easier clues" version  of the very same puzzle. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]

This post has the "harder clues" version of today's puzzle, both in the embedded applet and the download links. Click this link here to open a post with more information about this puzzle, as well as the "easier clues" version of it . Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]

I'm continuing to work on themeless puzzles this week, and I'm finding these 10x10 puzzles to be a good size for practicing filling and cluing. They've helped me hone my word list and problem-solving skills while constructing. For this particular puzzle, I wanted to work on cluing and setting an appropriate level of difficulty. To do that, I actually wrote two different sets of clues for the same puzzle. I'm calling them the "easier clues" and the "harder clues" because I'm only certain of how they compare to each other. For y'all out there solving: I'm hoping you might share your thoughts about which version you tried and whether it played to your expectations. Below is the "easier clues" version, both in the embedded applet and the download links. Click this link here to open a post for the "harder clues" version of the same puzzle. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is alway

In the last post , I mentioned a desire to make some 10x10 themeless puzzles using this particular grid. Well, I was still feeling inspired today and put together this fun puzzle with some (hopefully) enjoyable fill and clues. I especially like the combination of 12-Across and 14-Across, as well as the clues for 20-Across and 25-Across. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]

Yes, two new puzzles today! I've been feeling inspired to try making more themeless puzzles because of some recent experiences: 1) participating in the #BOSWORDS  Spring Themeless League (just Choppy clues for me!) and 2) watching a Twitch stream of people collaboratively writing clues for a themeless puzzle. Both of those have completely blown my mind this week. (Before starting Boswords two weeks ago, I didn't even know what Twitch was! 🤷‍♂️) I'm working on some 15x15 themeless puzzles, but none of them are quite ready to share, so I thought I'd start with a smaller grid. I took one of the 10x10 grids I used often in my book of "Mini Math Crosswords" [*] with two length-10 themers, and I just cut out one pair of black squares, so now there are two stacks of two parallel 10s with another pair of 10s running perpendicular to both of those stacks. My plan is to use this grid (and other variations) to practice making good, snappy fill and writing tough clues.

I'm trying out some theme ideas these days, and this is one that screams "fun blog puzzle!" I even posted a question on Twitter about where to submit a puzzle like this, and I want to thank @eliabroadbk and @rafaxword for testing the puzzle, sharing some suggestions, and helping me to eventually realize that I should just post it here for anyone to try. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]

One thing I mentioned in my intro post on this blog  is that I made crosswords with indie rock themes for a music blog back in the day (10ish years ago). Lately, I've been looking through those old puzzles, as well as the digital equivalent of scraps of paper with theme ideas scribbled on them. Today, I took one of those ideas and turned it into a proper puzzle! I doubt this puzzle would work at any crossword publication: the theme is a little loose, and the band names that form that theme are not all widely known. Still, I'm working on making better fill and clues these days, and I think this puzzle will give you a fun, reasonable challenge. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]

I thought of a fun little theme with two 10s yesterday, so I just made a 10x10 to feature those entries. I tried to include some timely fill inspired by "these days," as well. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]