Double or Nothing #7 - PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution
Back with another Double or Nothing puzzle. These Patrick Berry-invented creations seem to be a big hit with solvers, so happy to run another one here. Whereas Berry Double or Nothings are built around a multi-part quote (typically about gambling), I tend to use the format as a way to get extra-long entries that normally wouldn't fit in a typical 15x15 grid. In this puzzle, the seeds were 17- and 56-Across and 7-Down. As always, hope you enjoy!
Speaking of Patrick Berry, he's just released a new meta-suite of variety puzzles called The Blabyrinth. Anything that Patrick releases is an insta-purchase for me, so be sure to get your hands on this project if you haven't already.
Just one puzzle to go until Aries Rows Garden ceases weekly puzzles. Check back next week to get the December bundle if you aren't currently subscribed. 12/31/2024 UPDATE: Both the December bundle and the 2024 Second Half bundles are now available! The full 2014-2024 bundle, now including all 444 puzzles, has also been updated and is available in the Rows Garden Archive.
As explained in last month's announcement, I'll be certainly releasing original Rows Gardens in 2025, just on a more sporadic basis. And as also mentioned in that post, the monthly variety puzzles will continue apace, so definitely keep stopping by!
Happy solving,
-Andrew
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!
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!
Double or Nothing #4 - PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution (PDF)
Here's another Double or Nothing puzzle. These puzzles are always fun to create and I especially savor the opportunity to fit in entries like 25- and 42-Across. PDF only for this puzzle. Hope you enjoy!
The monthly bundles have been updated through March, so check that out if you're not already subscribing to Aries Rows Garden. Or, even better, you can subscribe to Aries Rows Garden to get a puzzle emailed to you each week.
Good luck to all competitors at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament this weekend! And in other media, I got a quote in this recent Oregonian article on crosswords - give it a read if you're interested.
Happy solving!
Double or Nothing #3 - PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution
Here's another Double or Nothing puzzle for your variety puzzle enjoyment! This Patrick Berry-developed format is a really fun one to write in my experience. While Patrick's Double or Nothing puzzles are built around a multi-part quip, I've preferred to seed one of these puzzles with an extra-long answer that wouldn't be possible to use in a standard crossword grid - in this puzzle, 36-Across. And I liked getting the opportunity to get things like 1-Across, 17-Across, and 42-Across in the grid as well. Hope you enjoy!
The July monthly bundles have been posted, so if you'd like a small taste of what you'd get as a subscriber, be sure to check out those monthly bundles. For bigger bites of subscription puzzles, the 2022 First Half bundles for Aries Rows Garden and Aries Freestyle are also available.
And there's still time to pre-order the upcoming Twists & Turns puzzle pack! The pre-order discount runs through this Sunday, July 31st. The official release is August 1st, and I'm very excited with how this pack has come together. Get in on the fun!
Happy solving,
Andrew
Double or Nothing #2 - PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution PDF
Back with a Double or Nothing puzzle! This is another format developed by the great Patrick Berry. It's a fun twist on a freestyle crossword - each square in the puzzle either contains zero or two letters. There's a bit of logic involved with figuring out how to place the answers which adds a nice extra layer of challenge. PDF only for this format. Hope you enjoy!
A reminder that subscriptions for Aries Rows Garden and Aries Freestyle are always open! Still a bit to go in September so check back in early October for the September monthly bundles. 10/10 UPDATE: September monthly bundles are now posted!
Happy solving!
