Tag: crossword

Themeless #131

~ Stella ~ 8 Comments

For the folks who replied to my last post with “but I come here for hard puzzles!” — I have no plans to stop making hard themelesses and publishing them here every other week. The only thing that has changed is how I describe myself as a puzzlemaker.

As you may have noticed, the themelesses are offered free of charge. I do that because I like making them, and I know that the market for hard themelesses is not large enough that, were I to charge money for these puzzles, I would make enough to justify the extra work I’d have to put in for a paying audience (i.e., putting the puzzles through a test-solving and editing process).

But I now make a large part of my living making puzzles. In time, my goal is for puzzles and trivia to be the majority of my living, if not all of it. To do that, I need to sell easy puzzles. Which is something I’m good at making, and I enjoy making! Hence the rebrand.

So: Here is a hard puzzle that no longer bears the name “Tough as Nails.” Hope you enjoy it!

Themeless #131 – Across Lite

Themeless #131 – PDFDownload
Themeless #131 – SOLUTIONDownload

New Year’s surprise

~ Stella ~ 6 Comments

Happy New Year! Here’s a puzzle. It is decidedly not Tough as Nails — in fact, the stated reason it was rejected from one venue, and I think the unstated reason it was rejected from another, is that the theme is too easy to figure out. I mean…I think if I were solving it, I’d still have fun? You tell me. (No, seriously! If you hate it, I want to know, because I do trust my own instincts but would like to know when I shouldn’t.)

Say That Again! – Across Lite

Say That Again – PDFDownload
Say That Again – SOLUTIONDownload

Say That Again – Solve Online