Banking Deposits #1 - Standard (PDF) | Harder (PDF) | Solution (PDF)
This month's variety puzzle is the exciting debut of a brand-new format called Bank Deposits! Inspired by letter banks, this puzzle type is an interesting twist on the "rows and regions" style of variety crosswords. There is a final answer to arrive at, as fully explained in the instructions. There are two difficulty levels offered: Standard, which discloses enumerations for the Rows answers, and Harder, which only provides notations such as "2 words" and "Hyph." According to test solvers, the Harder version put up a decent amount of resistance, so try the Standard version unless you're looking for an extra-spicy challenge. PDF only for this "maiden voyage" of this format.
When it comes to new formats, solver feedback is especially appreciated. I'd love to hear if you loved this, hated it, or somewhere in between, as that gives me a good idea of whether this format is something worth further exploration. Don't hesitate to leave a comment below or send me an email. Hope you enjoy solving!
[8/2/2026: New versions of the puzzle have been uploaded. No clues have been changed, but the instructions have been clarified and now include a visual sample, and the presentation of the Banks clues have also been tweaked. Thank you to solvers who have suggested these tweaks! -A.R.]
On the Rows Garden front, the first two Six Packs this year have been released to a good response from solvers, and work on the next Six Pack is well underway. If you're late to the Rows Garden party that's been going on here since 2014, now is great time to get caught up. For the first time, I'm running a special on the Full Archive, which includes all 468 subscriber puzzles released since 2014. Save $50 and scoop up the Full Archive for $199, the lowest-ever per-puzzle price that I've offered. This offer will be available for a limited time only, so jump on it now before it goes away!
