Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Twists & Turns #9

Twists & Turns #9 - Standard (PDF) | Harder (PDF) | Standard (JPZ) | Solution (PDF)

Happy Thanksgiving, and keeping with the tradition, here's the annual T-Day Twists & Turns puzzle! As usual, there's a Standard and Harder PDF versions as well as a JPZ file in Standard difficulty only for digital solving. To solve digitally, first download the above file and then head over to Crossword Nexus and upload the file. Hope you enjoy! If you're still hungry for more T&Ts, be sure to check out the T&T puzzle pack that was released last year. 

Check back next week for the November bundle of the Aries Rows Garden puzzles. [11/30/2023 UPDATE: The November bundle is now posted!] A friendly reminder that subscriptions are always open if you don't want to wait for the monthly bundles.

Happy solving!

-Andrew 

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Double or Nothing #5

Double or Nothing #5 - PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution (PDF)

Back with another Double or Nothing puzzle! For the uninitiated, this is another of the many great formats developed by Patrick Berry. I tried a different grid layout than I've attempted in the past with these, including stacked grid-spanners and a higher number of odd-squared entries, which requires the use of longer entries in order to satisfy the rule of needing at least half of the squares used in each entry. PDF only for this format. Hope you enjoy!

One more puzzle to go this month for Aries Rows Garden, which is always open for subscriptions. Check back next week to scoop up the October monthly bundle once that's available. 11/1 UPDATE: The October bundle is now available! 

Happy solving!    

Thursday, September 28, 2023

Section Eight #1

Section Eight #1 - Easier (PDF) | Harder (PDF) | Solution (PDF)

Back this month with a Section Eight puzzle! This is another format developed by the great Patrick Berry, and it might be the most difficult puzzle type that Patrick has ingeniously invented. It turns out that not only are these a great challenge to solve - it probably was the most difficult format I've tried my hand at writing. It took three separate attempts at a grid, with three separate seed entries, before I had success with this one. I would describe it as a brain-busting but ultimately gratifying writing experience, and I hope that you enjoy this challenge as well.

Don't say I didn't warn you! The puzzle is PDF only, and I've got an Easier and a Harder version for you to choose. The Easier version discloses the direction of all Rings and provides enumerations for each answer. The Harder version only discloses the direction and enumerations for Ring 1. The Harder version is the difficulty level that is offered when Patrick writes a Section Eight for the Wall Street Journal. The Easier version is still plenty challenging, and it would be the recommended version for those who haven't tried this format before. 

Also, the September monthly bundle for Aries Rows Garden is also available. And a reminder that a Rows Garden subscription is always available if you don't want to wait for the monthly bundles. 

Happy solving!

Thursday, August 31, 2023

Marching Bands #6

Aries Marching Bands #6 - PDF | JPZ | Solution (PDF)

Back with another Marching Bands puzzle! There's a PDF as well as a JPZ file included; to solve digitally, download the JPZ and then head over to Crossword Nexus and upload the file. Either way you solve, hope you enjoy!

The August bundle for Aries Rows Gardens has been posted. Or if you don't want to wait for the monthly bundles, you can always subscribe to get the puzzles sent straight to your email every week. 

Happy solving!