PuzzleNation

...a home for puzzles. What more could you ask for?

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Puzzles in Pop Culture: The Simpsons (revisited!)

In previous editions of Puzzles in Pop Culture, I’ve recapped a classic episode of M*A*S*H and delved into the rich puzzling history of MacGyver. Today, however, I’m returning to the ever-giving well of puzzly goodness provided by that unstoppable animated juggernaut, The Simpsons. In an earlier blog post, I discussed the show’s hilarious ventures in the worlds of brain-teasers and crosswords,…

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The Results from the 14th ORCAS Awards!

The ORCAS are the Oscars of the crossword community, dedicated to celebrating excellence in crosswords, and that was certainly the case during last night’s awards ceremony! Clocking in at just under an hour, this was an event at breakneck speed, opening as all online award shows should: with technical difficulties. David Kwong offered some anagram suggestions for other award shows and then…

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Such a Lyrical Tease, This Fresh Crosswordese

Ah, crosswordese. The double-edged sword of cruciverbalism. Crosswordese is the catch-all term for those words that appear frequently in puzzles, and for the most part, only in puzzles. That’s not to say they can’t also be in common use, or part of everyday pop culture. But they definitely show up more often in crosswords than casual conversation. In the past, we’ve featured rhyming works that…

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A Hidden Message Word Search, with Musical Accompaniment by im sad alex!

Who doesn’t love stumbling upon a puzzle where you didn’t expect one? I’m sure many of us do. I certainly do! So when musician and YouTuber im sad alex dropped a new song that included a word search in the video, you know I had to jump on that! Alex claims all of their exes’ names are concealed in this grid, and if you find all of them, you’ll get a secret message. Here’s a screenshot of the…

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Valentine's Framework For You to Solve!

Hello fellow puzzlers! Happy Valentine’s Day! Or Happy Day After Friday the 13th! Or Happy whatever else you might be celebrating today! To commemorate the day, I’ve constructed a little romance-tinged puzzly treat for you to solve. It’s a heart-shaped Framework puzzle with a themed word list loaded with all sorts of shmoopy- and otherwise holiday-appropriate vocabulary! [Click this link to…

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Puzzly Suggestions for Valentine's Day!

Valentine’s Day is only a few days away, but there’s still plenty of time to whip up a puzzly treat for the special someone in your life! And naturally we’ve got a few suggestions… Jigsaw puzzles are the perfect metaphor for relationships, as they require separate pieces working together to complete the picture. There are do-it-yourself jigsaw patterns you can utilize at most every art store…

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The "No ICE in Minnesota" Charity Bundle!

Fuck ICE. Hi! You might not have known my feelings, either morally or politically from reading this blog, so please allow me to get my stance out of the way bluntly and clearly. Fuck ICE. I’ve written about this corrupt administration’s policies in the past, discussing how they’ve affected the puzzle and game industry as it regards to tariffs, manufacturing, and so on. And I’ve happily tried…

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Delving into the 2026 Boswords Winter Wondersolve Puzzles!

Tuesday night was my first chance to sit down and try my hand at the puzzles from this year’s Winter Wondersolve event. Given the talent involved amongst the organizers and constructors — as well as the always-reliable puzzles featured in previous Boswords-hosted events — I had high expectations, and I was not disappointed. So let’s put those puzzles under the microscope and see what’s…

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Open Submission Contest for the Boswords Spring Themeless League!

The Winter Wondersolve has come and gone, but the team at Boswords is already looking ahead to their 2026 Spring Themeless League. The Spring Themeless League spreads out a tournament-style solving experience over nine weeks, with one themeless crossword per week. Each puzzle is scored based on your answer accuracy (incorrect letters, empty squares, etc.) and how quickly you complete the…

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The Great Rebus Debate

I love Reddit. You can find a subreddit to discuss practically any topic. You can share memes, share thoughts, share opinions, and debate other users for eternity there. I’ve learned a lot, laughed a lot, and been baffled quite a few times during my Reddit journeys. So you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled across a post about crosswords in the subreddit r/mildlyinfuriating, a subreddit…

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Happy (Inter)National Puzzle Day!

It’s National Puzzle Day, also known as International Puzzle Day, depending on where you are and whether your puzzly activities extend across borders. Hopefully you’ve managed to dig yourselves out of all that snow across the US, and you’ve got a jigsaw, a crossword, a logic puzzle, a brain teaser, or some other puzzly activity set aside to enjoy today. We’re delighted to be celebrating this…

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The Trevor Project and the ORCAS: A Wonderful Cause and Some Wonderful Puzzles

Just a quick post today, but a very important one. The ORCAS, the Oscars of the crossword puzzle world, have put together a packet of this year’s nominated puzzles, and they’re yours to solve when you make a donation to The Trevor Project. Please check out their full statement below, and if you can, please give to this amazing organization, offering crisis support services to the LQBTQIA+…

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Ways to Choose Who Goes First in a Board Game (Part 3: The Grand Finale!)

Every tabletop game starts somewhere. Once the box is opened, the pieces distributed, and the board set up, all that’s left is figuring out who goes first. After two days buried in board game rule books, you might think you’ve seen everything the industry has to offer, especially when it comes to starting prompts. But I assure you, friend, I’ve saved the best for last. Please enjoy the most…

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Ways to Choose Who Goes First in a Board Game (Part 2)

Every tabletop game starts somewhere. Once the box is opened, the pieces distributed, and the board set up, all that’s left is figuring out who goes first. As you could tell from yesterday’s post, there are literally hundreds of ways to choose Who Starts. But yesterday’s options were centered mostly around the players on that given day of play. Their age, physical characteristics, recent…

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Ways to Choose Who Goes First in a Board Game (Part 1)

Every tabletop game starts somewhere. Once the box is opened, the pieces distributed, and the board set up, all that’s left is figuring out who goes first. There are a few traditional ways to sort this out. Sometimes, the oldest person at the table goes first, showing the younger players how to proceed. Sometimes, the youngest player goes first, getting a chance to dive right in. Sometimes, a…

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A Puzzle in Honor of Claudette Colvin

Claudette Colvin passed away this week. On March 2nd, 1955, she refused to give up her bus seat. This was nine months before Rosa Parks would become synonymous with the civil rights movement, sparking the first large-scale demonstration against segregation in the United States. Claudette is part of a proud history of defiance and resistance, but was unfairly pushed aside by black leaders for…

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A Rubik Kerfuffle on World Logic Day?

Yesterday was World Logic Day, a holiday that I must confess I didn’t realize was a holiday until yesterday. It was started by UNESCO in 2019 as a way to get people invested in logical concepts and their practical applications to the world at large, celebrating humanity’s great successes through reason, knowledge, and logic. Of course, as a puzzle guy, I’m all for a celebration of logic. I…

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