Section Eight #2

Section Eight #2 - Harder (PDF) | Easier (PDF) | Solution (PDF)

Back this month with another Section Eight puzzle! These Patrick Berry inventions are a sort of current obsession of mine, and what's frustrating about that is that this format is relatively rare, even among Berry creations. I've exhausted the archive of the Berry Section Eights that ran in the Wall Street Journal since they launched their variety puzzle offerings in 2010, but even that well was already fairly dry - there were only five or six total puzzles included in that archive, including a period of eight (!) years where no Section Eight puzzle ran at all in the Journal. Joon Pahk has run a few of these for his variety service (he dubs them "Eight Tracks"), but other than that...I got nothin'. If anyone can point me to some unknown-to-me treasure trove of Section Eight puzzles - please, hit me up; interesting trades considered. 

From a constructing side of things, as I mentioned last year when I first ran a Section Eight puzzle, these are at the top of the list when it comes to "satisfyingly challenging" puzzle-writing experiences. Perhaps to fill the void of being unable to solve more of these puzzles, I've taken to binge-writing them for a new side project, which [hint-hint] you might hear details about soon. So stay tuned.

These are by nature a *hard* puzzle type, so be warned. There are two difficulty levels offered. The Harder version is the version that is offered in the WSJ - only the outermost Ring answers have known placements and letter counts; for all other Rings you must determine the placement and direction of the answers on your own. The Easier version discloses the direction and length of all answers. Still, I imagine the Easier version would play harder than even a Hardest-level Rows Garden, so don't feel like you're cheating by trying the Easier version, especially if this is your introduction to the format. Either version you try, hope you enjoy the challenge!

Speaking of Rows Gardens, there's one more Tuesday in July so stop by next week when the Monthly Bundles will be updated. Subscriptions are always open if you don't want to wait for the Monthly Bundles. 

Happy solving!  

Marching Bands #7

Aries Marching Bands #7 - PDF | JPZ | Solution (PDF) 

Back with another Marching Bands puzzle! These are always fun to make and I hope this one is fun to solve as well. There's a PDF for paper solving and a JPZ for digital solving. To solve online, first download the JPZ and then head over to Crossword Nexus and open the file to use their web interface. 

The archive has been updated: first with the June 2024 monthly bundle; also, the 2024 First Half bundle is now available, and the Full Archive dating from 2014 has been updated with the 2024 First Half puzzles. That full bundle now has over 400 puzzles! Get your hands on a bundle today, and/or subscribe to get weekly puzzles straight to your inbox. The Summer Special is still running for first-time subscribers which can get you some free archive puzzles as a bonus upon subscribing - also makes a great gift for the hardcore puzzler in your life.

Happy solving!  

Twists & Turns #10

Twists & Turns #10 - Standard (PDF) | Harder (PDF) | Standard (JPZ) | Solution (PDF)

Back with another Twists & Turns puzzle! If you've never tried your hand at one of these challenging puzzles, I recommend giving the Standard version a shot. The Harder version lists the Twists clues alphabetically which does ramp up the challenge even more, so fair warning that you're in for a workout. The Standard version is also available in digital JPZ format - first download the JPZ link above, then head over to Crossword Nexus and open the file to solve in their smooth online interface. Either way you solve, hope you enjoy!

If you're interested in more T&Ts, pick up the Twists & Turns puzzle pack from a few years ago - 50% off for a limited time! 

On the Rows Garden front, the May bundle has been posted. Subscriptions are always open for Aries Rows Garden - and if you've been on the fence about subscribing, check out the Summer Special for new subscribers: you'll get three *free* months of archived Rows Gardens if you purchase a 1-Year or 6-Month subscription! For more details and to subscribe, head over to the Subscriptions page.

Happy summer, and happy solving!

Double or Nothing #6

Double or Nothing #6 - PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution (PDF)

Back with another Double or Nothing puzzle! It was fun to build this puzzle around a standard crossword theme. The unique nature of a Double or Nothing puzzle means that you can work with a theme set that doesn't have perfect symmetry in terms of the lengths of the answers. While those answers all occupy 15-letter slots in the grid, not every square in those slots are filled in in a Double or Nothing puzzle. The only real constraint is that every answer in a Double or Nothing puzzle needs to have an even number of letters, and I did luck out in that regard. All in all, I liked how this puzzle came together - hope you enjoy!

Still one more Tuesday to go in the month so check back next week to scoop up the Rows Garden monthly bundle for April. 4/30 UPDATE: The April bundle is now posted! Or if you'd rather not wait, subscriptions are always open so you can get puzzles on a weekly basis rather than needing to wait for the bundles.

Happy solving!

Aries Acrostic #3

Aries Acrostic #3 - PDF | JPZ | Solution (PDF) 

Back with another Acrostic for this month's variety puzzle! While I don't construct acrostics too often, it is a fun challenge to break out the Scrabble tiles and build a word list from the quote letters. It's a different kind of construction challenge that has the effect of making several hours go by very quickly. Brain twisting for sure but satisfying at the same time. Anyway, I've got a PDF and a JPZ version posted. To solve digitally, download the JPZ file and then head over to Crossword Nexus and open the file. Either way you solve, hope you enjoy!

Also, the Monthly Bundles for Aries Rows Garden have been updated through March. Snap up a bundle or two, or even better, save the wait and subscribe to Aries Rows Garden for a weekly fix of puzzly goodness.

Happy solving! 

Aries Cryptic #35 - "Leap Day" (Contest)

Aries Cryptic #35 - "Leap Day" - PDF | Solution (PDF) | Intro to Cryptics (PDF)

Back this February 29th with a variety cryptic appropriately titled "Leap Day" - and it's a contest! PDF only this month, and all the relevant instructions are included in the PDF. Email me the final three-word phrase by Sunday, March 10th for a chance to win a 3-month Aries Rows Garden subscription. Two winners will be chosen - one for a current non-subscriber, and one for a current subscriber who will receive a 3-month extension to their current subscription.

Speaking of Rows Garden subscriptions, a reminder that subscriptions are always available. The February monthly bundle has also been added to the archive as well.

Happy solving!

3/14/2024 UPDATE: The solution has been posted. Thanks for all who solved! 62 solvers submitted a correct answer, and the two randomly selected solvers who received a three-month Aries Rows Garden subscription were Roman Koshykar and Priscilla Olson. Congrats to both Roman and Priscilla! 

Ice Boxes

Ice Boxes - PDF | Solution (PDF)

Back with a second Boxes puzzle for this month's variety puzzle. From a solving perspective, these puzzles are among my favorite of the Patrick Berry-developed variety puzzle types, and they're very enjoyable to create as well. PDF only for this format - hope you enjoy!

Still one Tuesday to go in January so check back next week for the January bundle for Aries Rows Garden puzzles. 1/30/2024 UPDATE: The January monthly bundle is now posted! Of course, you can always subscribe to get the puzzles week-by-week so you don't have to wait for the bundles. 

Happy solving!