August FREEstyle

August FREEstyle - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution

Here's the August FREEstyle, which is a 70-word, 30-block puzzle. Happy solving!

July FREEstyle

July 2020 FREEstyle - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution | "Night Moves" Solution

Back with this month's FREEstyle, which is a 64-word, 34-block puzzle. Going with a rectangular shaped 14x16 grid for a change of pace. Hope you enjoy!

Congrats to Patrick Jordan and Richard Allen for winning the "Night Moves" cryptic contest! Thanks to all 116 solvers who submitted a final answer - I was pleasantly surprised by the high number of entrants for this contest. For those interested in the solution to "Night Moves," see above.

Also, I'm happy to plug the freshly released "Grids for Good" puzzle pack, available upon a donation to a charity for Covid relief or racial justice. There's over 40 puzzles written by a wide range of crossword stars, including a few variety puzzles and metapuzzles with prizes for winners. High quality work which goes towards supporting worthy causes - get on it!

June FREEstyle

June 2020 FREEstyle - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution PDF

Here's the FREEstyle for June, which is a 73-word, 34-block puzzle. This puzzle started with the 16-letter entry at 38-Across. I also enjoyed getting in a few long entries especially appropriate for Pride Month. Be well, everybody, and happy solving!

May FREEstyle

May 2020 FREEstyle - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution PDF

Thanks for all the feedback regarding last week's Twists & Turns! Back with a standard Freestyle this week. This puzzle is a 70-word, 28-block puzzle. 7-Down was the seed entry here, and I especially like how the center section feeds into the northeast and southwest sections of the grid.

Happy solving!

March FREEstyle

March 2020 FREEstyle - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution

Got the March FREEstyle this week, but first let's recap the Cryptic contest from last month, "Treasure Hunt." There were 84 correct entries this time around, and the randomly-selected winner is Tim Tebbe. Tim has chosen a two-month Bundle subscription as his prize - congrats Tim! Thanks for all who solved. Here's the solution including the meta explanation:

Aries Cryptic #23 "Treasure Hunt" - Solution (PDF)

Back to the FREEstyle for this month, which is a 70-word, 29-block puzzle. This one started with the entry at 20-Across. With the 40th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice recently commemorated, I had a chance to watch the full game for the first time in many years. It was instructive to watch just how much the US was outmatched in that game, and how terrible first-period Soviet goaltending in particular was the key for the Americans to have any shot of competing. The broadcast certainly is a memorable one, and Al Michaels' play-by-play throughout the game was stellar, not just the famous call at the end of the game. Underappreciated is the color work by the then recently-retired Ken Dryden, whose voice-cracking "Unbelievable!" after Michaels' famous call punctuates the moment. Good stuff!

2019 Orca Awards - Best Freestyle winner!

The ninth annual Orca Awards have been announced! This list of the year's best in puzzling is the brainchild of Sam Donaldson at the Crossword Fiend blog, and is always a treat to read. This year was especially special, as Caitlin Reid took home Best Freestyle for her guest Aries Freestyle puzzle from last October!

One of the highlights of 2019 was working with all six guest constructors for Aries Freestyle - C.C. Burnikel, Peter Wentz, Stella Zawistowski, Neville Fogarty, and Doug Peterson, in addition to Caitlin. In the case of Caitlin's puzzle, I was particularly awed by the smoothness of the grid, but I think the puzzle was elevated even higher by the cleverness of Caitlin's clues. A true masterpiece - congrats Caitlin!

February FREEstyle

Here's the February FREEstyle, which is a 68-word, 34-block puzzle. This puzzle features the classic staggered 11s in the middle, which I don't do too often anymore. Always good to revisit a successful format like this. Hope you enjoy!

The January 2020 monthly bundles are now available! Special attention to the January Freestyle bundle, which includes a 21x21 freestyle that I sent to subscribers last week, if you're interested in a supersized challenge.

Also, still time to send in your answer to the "First-Class" meta crossword that was posted last week. Deadline for entries is next Wednesday, February 12th, at 7 PM PST.

Happy solving!

February FREEstyle - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution

January FREEstyle

Here's the January FREEstyle, which is a 70-word, 30-block puzzle. This puzzle started with the squarish 6x5 chunks in the top left and bottom right. As a keep-it-simple grid challenge, it was a worthwhile exercise. Hope you enjoy!

January FREEstyle - PUZ | PDF | PDF - Grayscale | Solution

December FREEstyle

Here's the December FREEstyle, which is a 68-word, 32-block puzzle.

This puzzle started with the entry at 37-Across. I find this site especially interesting in that it is an attempt to separate the sports page from the newspaper and turn it into a standalone entity. A fancy term for this is "dis-aggregation," according to the Internet, and dis-aggregation is something that the world of independent and online crossword puzzles are also attempting. The history of the crossword puzzle is intrinsically tied to newspapers, and as more and more print versions of newspapers fully transition to online spaces, it is uncertain which print newspaper traditions will also make the jump into a new age of media. I think that crosswords are doing well to make this transition, but there is still a ways to go, and news media will still likely be the primary lifeforce of the crossword puzzle, at least in the near future. However, like the website referenced at 37-Across, independent puzzle sources represent a unique challenge to the traditional model, and I for one am excited to be a part of this still-developing landscape.

A reminder that while subscriptions to Aries Rows Garden and Aries Freestyle are always open, there is a special gift subscription offer running through the holiday season. If you purchase one subscription, you can purchase a second gift subscription for 50% off! For more details, check out the Subscriptions page.

Happy solving!

December FREEstyle - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | | Solution

November FREEstyle

Here's the FREEstyle for November, which is a 70-word, 29-block puzzle. I've recently started playing around with quad-stacked corners; this puzzle started with the 8-letter stacks in the northeast and southwest. Even those 6-letter stacks are fun to fill, with a couple of longer across entries intersecting them. Hope you enjoy!

November FREEstyle - PUZ | PDF | Grayscale PDF | Solution

October FREEstyle

Here's this month's FREEstyle, which is a 68-word, 28-block puzzle. If you're an Aries Freestyle subscriber, you know that I've been tinkering with freestyles with low 3-letter word counts. This is another puzzle from that binge of puzzlemaking; just four 3s to speak of in this grid. The seed entry was 18-Across, and my favorite clue might be 27-Down. Hope you enjoy!

If you're not already a Freestyle or Rows Garden subscriber, make that happen! Special pricing going on now - $5 off most subscriptions. I've also updated the Monthly Bundles through September, so if you'd like to try a sample of the puzzles you'd solve as a weekly subscriber, go ahead and buy a bundle or two.

Happy solving!

October FREEstyle: PUZ | PDF | Grayscale PDF | Solution

September FREEstyle

Here's this month's FREEstyle - it's a 68-word, 30-block puzzle. This one started with the clue/entry pair at 33-Across. Hope you enjoy!

You'll notice on the sidebar that I've added labels to the posts for the Thursday puzzles, which will making searching through the archives for specific types of puzzles that much easier.

Happy solving!


September FREEstyle - PUZ

September FREEstyle - PDF

September FREEstyle - PDF (Grayscale)

September FREEstyle - Solution

August FREEstyle

Here's this month's FREEstyle! I started this puzzle with 33-Across, which is a clue/entry pair that had been on ice for a while.

If you're liking these FREEstyles and aren't yet subscribed to Aries Freestyle, please consider it! It's a weekly freestyle that is delivered straight to your email inbox. The monthly bundles for Aries Freestyle and Aries Rows Garden are also updated through July, so if you'd like a small taste of what you'd get as a subscriber, check that out too.

Happy solving!


August FREEstyle - PUZ

August FREEstyle - PDF

August FREEstyle - Grayscale PDF

August FREEstyle - Solution

July FREEstyle

Here's this month's FREEstyle. The clue/entry pair at 31-Across was the seed entry, and I also especially like the clues at 14- and 56-Across. Hope you enjoy!

July FREEstyle - PUZ

July FREEstyle - PDF

July FREEstyle - PDF (Grayscale)

July FREEstyle - Solution

June FREEstyle

Thanks for all the comments about last week's Twists & Turns! This week I'm back with a freestyle, which is a 68-word, 32-block puzzle. I've been playing around with staggered 13s recently, and this layout saves on the black square count with the two 15-letter downs that cut through the center stack at 3- and 11-Down. This puzzle played relatively easyish for the testers - how did it treat you?

Happy solving!

June FREEstyle - PUZ

June FREEstyle - PDF

June FREEstyle - Grayscale PDF

June FREEstyle - Solution

May FREEstyle

This week I've got a 71-word, 33-block freestyle to share. I've really enjoyed exploring freestyle layouts with either left-right or top-bottom symmetry in the last few years; this is an example of the latter. Using atypical symmetry can accommodate some stacks of unusual lengths. I'm fairly certain this is the only 14/12/14 center stack that I've written.

You'll see that I've included a second PDF with a grayscale version of the grid, as an ink-saving option for pencil-and-paper solvers.

Happy solving!


May FREEstyle - PUZ

May FREEstyle - PDF

May FREEstyle - PDF (Grayscale)

May FREEstyle - Solution

April FREEstyle

Kicking off the new free Thursday puzzles with this freestyle offering. It's a 16x15 puzzle with 71 words and 28 blocks. I've included a PUZ file for computer solving and PDFs for paper-and-pencil solving, as well as the solution.

Remember to follow the Aries Puzzles page on Facebook for all updates on new puzzles. Next week I've got a themed throwback puzzle from the Aries Xword days lined up!

Happy solving,

Andrew

April FREEstyle - PUZ

April FREEstyle - PDF

April FREEstyle - SOLUTION

STRETCH - A Crossword EP

It's my pleasure to announce the release of STRETCH, a crossword EP! This collection is comprised of eight oversized freestyles all featuring rectangular grids. With grids ranging from 15x19 to 23x15 and between, these crosswords are designed to be a fun challenge - if you've been enjoying Aries Freestyle so far this year, these puzzles are clued at a similarly challenging difficulty level.

STRETCH is on sale for just $5! For more details and to purchase, click here.

OFFICIAL RELEASE: The Stagger Sessions, a Crossword EP

I'm very happy to announce the release of The Stagger Sessions, a collection of twenty original themeless crosswords I wrote in the spring of 2017. All puzzles feature a staggered central stack, oriented either vertically or horizontally in each grid.

I'm conceptualizing this project as a "crossword EP," and thus the packaging of The Stagger Sessions is more reminiscent of an album of music than a standard crossword book. 

The Stagger Sessions is available for purchase for $10 $8 for the full EP, which includes the 30-page PDF including liner notes, the puzzles, and their solutions, as well as .puz versions of all the puzzles. 

To purchase, please visit the Crossword Archive.