Happy 2015, everyone. I’m starting off the new year with an easy one, something I cooked up in only a matter of hours — in fact, I believe it’s my fastest starting-from-scratch-to-completed-puzzle yet. Somewhere in the six-hour range, I think.
SORT-OF-A-SPOILER ALERT: the puzzle isn’t really about Arnold Schwarzenegger or Mr. Freeze, per se. I just wanted a funny picture, as well as a reminder that “Batman and Robin” is still one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. They had Mr. Freeze conduct a frozen ice symphony in one scene, for fuck’s sake. This puzzle is fairly straightforward but it’s better than “Batman and Robin.” That I can promise you.
In other news, here’s yet another reminder to new constructors about submissions to the Indie 500 Crossword Puzzle Tournament! The deadline for sending in your entry to be the sixth puzzle for the tourney is fast approaching on January 15. So get your submission in soon!
Enjoy the puzzle. There will be a new on January 10.
Very mild but fun.
Hi, Evan. Hope you see this and reply.
I was reading Amy’s blog and saw that your group is accepting puzzles for the tournament which reminded me to ask you something I always wondered about. How many constructors use software, to what degree if they do, and how has software changed the construction process?
Thanks.
Puzzled
I don’t know exact percentages, but nowadays I think just about every constructor who’s serious about wanting to build and sell puzzles uses software like Crossword Compiler or Crossfire. I imagine there are some holdouts from a previous generation who still use graph paper and pencils to create crosswords — the great Merl Reagle did that for a long time, though I think he’s switched to computers. Matt Gaffney said in an interview in 2013 that he builds half of his metas by hand (I think he said that he built his meta for the 100th anniversary of the crossword using a Scrabble board and tiles), which is pretty remarkable considering they’re almost always cleanly executed. But he came of puzzle age when constructors didn’t use software, so he still has the chops to do it the old-fashioned way.
Software basically makes it easier to fill a grid. Constructors no longer have to go searching through big crossword dictionaries to find the right entry with certain letters in specific positions — the program can take care of that for you. If I need a corner done fast, Crossword Compiler can fill it in right there, provided I don’t have any impossible crossings to deal with. It’s never a good idea to rely exclusively on auto-fill, however, because even with large, carefully maintained word lists and databases, the software will often still suggest some clunky words that wouldn’t pass muster with most editors. So a constructor still has to use good judgment that a program doesn’t have to determine what makes a puzzle a good one.
As for cluing, I usually look at Matt Ginsberg’s database and Xword Info to give me ideas, but I’m still the one making all the decisions there.
Thanks for answering so fully. Having tried to make a puzzle a few times I found it quite difficult and wondered about the use of software. Hope your tournament is fun and successful.