Aries Throwback - "Culture Club"

Aries Throwback - "Culture Club" - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution

Here's the Throwback puzzle for the month, titled "Culture Club," which was originally published in The Growler in 2019. I found out (secondhand) that The Growler officially ceased publication last month, which means that I'll no longer have any more puzzles there. It was fun while it lasted though! Hope you enjoy this puzzle - it's got a beer theme but it should be accessible for non-beer nerds too. Happy solving!

Aries Throwback - "Deep in the Heart of Texas"

"Deep in the Heart of Texas" - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution

Here's this month's Throwback puzzle, which comes from my 2012 book Texas Crosswords. My old neighbors Hannah and Xavier just moved to Texas so I thought it would be appropriate to post a puzzle from the this book. Though it now seems like a lifetime ago, I specifically remember writing this puzzle, and it's one of my favorites from the book. I did edit a few parts of the grid, which also meant that I had to think a little harder than usual for the new clues - as I'm now more of a cluing minimalist, I think 6-Down is my favorite clue. Hope you enjoy!

I've updated the Monthly Bundles to include the June 2020 puzzles, and I've also added the 2020 First Half puzzles on the archive pages for Aries Rows Garden and Aries Freestyle. If you're not currently a subscriber and want to check out what you're missing, get your hands on a bundle or two!

Aries Throwback - "Super Stars"

Aries Throwback - "Super Stars" - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution

Here's the Throwback puzzle for the month, titled "Super Stars." This easy-medium puzzle was originally published in The Growler in 2017. Hope you enjoy!

Aries Throwback - "Play With Your Food"

Aries Throwback - "Play With Your Food" - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution

Here's this month's Throwback puzzle, titled "Play With Your Food," which was originally published for Aries Xword in 2017. This should play on the easier side. It's nice to have a break from the tougher puzzles once in a while. Hope you enjoy!

Aries Throwback - "That's Debatable"

Aries Throwback - "That's Debatable" - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution

Here's this month's Throwback puzzle, titled "That's Debatable," which was originally published in February 2019 in The Growler magazine. Happy solving!

Aries Throwback - "Giving Back"

Aries Throwback - "Giving Back" - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution

Back with this month's Throwback puzzle! This puzzle, titled "Giving Back," was originally published in 2017 in The Growler magazine. This is a pretty simple theme but fun at the same time. I like that 18-Across is now more personal to me than when I originally wrote the puzzle, as one of my neighbors is from there, and as a result I see lots of that cool trident flag!

Happy solving, and stay safe out there.

Aries Throwback - "Communication Breakdown"

Thanks for all those who submitted an answer to the "First-Class" meta contest from last month! There were 26 correct entries along with 3 incorrect entries. The randomly-selected winner among the correct entries is Brian Hattenbach, who will receive a two-month Aries subscription of his choice! Here's the solution PDF, which includes the explanation of the meta answer:

Aries Meta "First-Class" - Solution

And here is this month's Throwback puzzle, an easyish puzzle originally published in 2015 titled "Communication Breakdown." This one has a basic theme that makes use of some fun theme answers. Hope you enjoy!

Communication Breakdown - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution

Aries Meta - "First-Class"

For the fifth Thursday this month, I've got a meta crossword! Puzzle lovers undoubtedly are familiar with meta crosswords, whose rise to mainstream popularity over the last decade must be primarily attributed to Matt Gaffney, who writes metas for his Matt Gaffney's Weekly Crossword Contest as well as the Wall Street Journal.

This meta, titled "First-Class," is a toughie - let's figure a solid Week 4 on the Gaffney scale. Consider yourself forewarned! The meta answer is a five-letter article of clothing that's missing from the grid. Submit your answer via email by 7 PM on Wednesday, February 12th. One randomly-chosen correct entry will receive a free 2-month Aries Puzzles subscription of their choice! If the winner already is a subscriber, they would receive a 2-month extension to their subscription.

I'm considering adding meta puzzles as a regular feature of the site, so if you enjoyed this puzzle, let me know in the comments or your submission email! I've got ideas for metas involving non-standard crossword formats such as cryptics and Rows Gardens as well, so if this sounds like something you'd like to see more of around here, do let me know!

Happy solving!

Aries Meta "First Class" - PUZ | PDF | Grayscale PDF | Solution (PDF)

Aries Throwback - "Imperial Exit"

Back with this month's Throwback puzzle, titled "Imperial Exit," which is a 78-word, 38-block puzzle. This puzzle originally appeared in 2018 in The Growler magazine, whose puzzle I write along with Victor Barocas. The Growler is a food and drink magazine and specifically a craft beer magazine, and this puzzle is very much at home in a beer-themed publication. Cheers!

Imperial Exit - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution

Aries Throwback - "Fluctuating Temps"

Going back to one of the very last Aries Xword puzzles, a seasonal offering titled "Fluctuating Temps." This is an extra sized 17x16 puzzle, and features some challenging cluing - be prepared for a workout with this one.

Happy solving!

Fluctuating Temps - PUZ | PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | Solution

Aries Throwback - "Land O' Flakes"

This month's Throwback puzzle is a bit of a nostalgic milestone for me - this month marks the ten-year anniversary of Minnesota Crosswords, which was my first major crossword project, and which technically led to the birth of Aries Puzzles as a legal entity.

The book has been out of print for a while, but it had a nice run, and while my work has vastly improved over these ten years, I still look back fondly at that time when I wrote the book. This puzzle is mostly a fully-revamped version of the original, which appeared in the book - my standards for fill have increased a bit in the last ten years - but the theme answers are all intact, and I even wedged in a couple of extra Minnesota references for nostalgia's sake, which I hope you don't mind. 15-Across didn't need to be in the grid, but hey, a Minnesota-inspired crossword may be the best context to use that answer, so there you go.

Happy solving!

Land O' Flakes - PUZ | PDF | Grayscale PDF | Solution

Aries Throwback: "Filled with Fright"

This month's throwback is titled "Filled with Fright," and it was originally published in the book Creepy Crosswords, which you can order for purchase from the Crossword Archive. This is a timely puzzle, as we're knee deep into autumn and the Halloween season. Hope you enjoy!

"Filled with Fright" - PUZ | PDF | Grayscale PDF | Solution

Aries Throwback - "Making a Deposit"

For this month's Throwback puzzle, we're going all the way back to 2011 for "Making a Deposit," which was originally included in the book Michigan Crosswords. I just got word that that book is now officially out of print, after a strong eight year run, so it was fun going back in memory lane to revisit the book now.

This puzzle is based on a quirky Michigan tradition, one that was immortalized in a rare double-episode of Seinfeld. I've edited most of the Michigan-insider cluing out, so this is solvable for a general audience. Hope you enjoy!


Making a Deposit - PUZ

Making a Deposit - PDF

Making a Deposit - PDF (Grayscale)

Making a Deposit - Solution

Aries Throwback - "Stairing Contest"

For this month's Throwback, we're going back all the way to February 2017 for this easy/medium puzzle. It was originally called "Move Your Feet," but I've retitled it "Stairing Contest." Hope you enjoy!

Aries Throwback - "Stairing Contest" - PUZ

Aries Throwback - "Stairing Contest" - PDF

Aries Throwback - "Stairing Contest" - Grayscale PDF

Aries Throwback - "Stairing Contest" - SOLUTION

Aries Throwback: "Hairy Styles"

For this month's Throwback, we're going back to 2014 for this Medium-difficulty puzzle, titled "Hairy Styles."

This is another puzzle from the Aries Xword archive - if you're interested, check out Maverick Crosswords, which is a compendium of 72 puzzles from the Aries Xword archive that was published by Sterling last year.

Happy solving!

-Andrew

Aries Throwback - Hairy Styles - PUZ

Aries Throwback - Hairy Styles - PDF

Aries Throwback - Hairy Styles - PDF (Grayscale)

Aries Throwback - Hairy Styles - Solution

Aries Throwback - "On Cloud Nine"

Going back to 2015 for this month's Throwback. This puzzle is a medium-difficulty puzzle titled "On Cloud Nine." There was some light editing of the grid and substantial editing of the clues, including most of the theme clues. One thing I'm noticing is how my cluing style has evolved over the years - back in 2015, I was more willing to use wordier clues. These days, brevity is much more important to me. Hope you enjoy!

-Andrew

Aries Throwback - "On Cloud Nine" - PUZ

Aries Throwback - "On Cloud Nine" - PDF

Aries Throwback - "On Cloud Nine" - PDF (Grayscale)

Aries Throwback - "On Cloud Nine - Solution

Aries Throwback - "Comeback Kids"

Aries Throwback this week! Going back to 2015 for this puzzle, titled "Comeback Kids." I made a slight revision, mostly in the northwest corner, which included changing part of the first theme entry. Looking back on this puzzle, one thing I really like was the non-theme long fill, particularly 11- and 34-Down. I always made interesting non-theme fill a priority for Aries Xword puzzles; this is a good example of that effort.

If you're interested in solving more Aries Xword puzzles, be sure to check out Maverick Crosswords, which was published last year by Sterling Publishing. It's essentially a greatest hits mixtape of Aries Xword puzzles, which were originally published 2014-2017. It seems like eons have passed since I've written those puzzles, and it's always fun to look back on that early work. Hope you enjoy today's throwback!

Comeback Kids - PUZ

Comeback Kids - PDF

Comeback Kids - PDF (Grayscale)

Comeback Kids - Solution

Aries Throwback - "Double Threats"

For the first Aries Throwback puzzle, I've got a themed puzzle from the Aries Xword archives. Only going back to 2017 for this one, but I thought this was an appropriate puzzle to post as the NHL playoffs started on Wednesday. The first round of the NHL playoffs in particular are always great - four games a night, intense action, overtimes galore. There are no upsets come playoff time, either, evidenced by wild cards Columbus and Dallas notching road wins over division champions in Wednesday's action. I have no dog in the fight this year, so I'm adopting the Flames and the Islanders as my teams (my apologies, Flames and Islanders fans).

As for the puzzle, I did edit both the grid and the clues, so even if you solved a couple of years ago on its original release, there will be some new stuff in here for you. Hope you enjoy!

Aries Throwback - "Double Threats" - PUZ

Aries Throwback - "Double Threats" - PDF

Solution - PDF