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🧩 “Grab Them. Then Stump Them.”
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Nishant Kauntia
🧩 Pride Month x Crosswords
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🧩 AI Crosswords Are Here!
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5 Virtual Team Games To Bring Your Team Closer
Nearly half of all remote workers surveyed by Slack said that working remotely affected their sense of belonging negatively. While remote work has its pros, a big con can be the lack of camaraderie and team-spirit.
This is where virtual team games enter the picture. Teams that play together stick together. Here’s a complete guide to hosting a virtual team games event at your workplace.
General Guidelines for Virtual Team Games
From our own experiments with virtual team-building activities, here’s what we’ve learned:
- Break the group up: To host a team game with 10 or more people, break the group up into teams of two or three. This helps team members collaborate and get to know each other. Bonus points if you keep the teams cross-functional so that people from different departments interact with each other.
- Have a scoring system: Keeping score is a great way to engage your employees and make sure they give their best in the competition. Virtual team games with scoring can be more fun and inspire some healthy competition.
5 Ideas for Virtual Team Games
1. Know Your Colleague Quiz
A “Know Your Colleague Quiz” is an excellent way to break the ice and help team members learn more about each other. Create a quiz with fun and interesting questions about each team member’s hobbies, interests, and unique facts. Use PuzzleMe to host the quiz online, and add more details about each employee as an explanation. This game encourages interaction and helps build a stronger sense of community within the team.
2. Multiplayer Crosswords
Multiplayer crosswords are a fantastic way to promote teamwork and problem-solving skills. PuzzleMe allows you to create custom crosswords that up to four team members can solve together in real-time. Consider incorporating clues related to your industry or company culture to make it more relevant and engaging. This game not only challenges participants intellectually but also fosters collaboration as they work together to complete the puzzle.
3. Word Search with Company Lingo
A word search featuring company-specific terminology can be both fun and educational. Create a word search puzzle that includes key terms and phrases related to your company’s products, services, or internal jargon. Platforms like PuzzleMe make it easy to design and share these puzzles with your team. This activity helps reinforce company knowledge while providing a light-hearted break from daily tasks.
4. Sudoku Competition
For a more competitive and mentally stimulating game, consider organizing a Sudoku competition. Sudoku puzzles are great for enhancing logical thinking and concentration. With PuzzleMe, up to four players can solve sudokus together in a team. Offer small prizes or recognition for the top performers to add an extra layer of motivation and excitement.
5. Multiplayer Jigsaws
Multiplayer jigsaws are perfect for encouraging teamwork and communication. Create an online jigsaw with a picture of your team, and have team members work together to assemble it. This game can be particularly effective for team-building, as it requires participants to coordinate their efforts and strategize together. PuzzleMe offers various multiplayer options that can be easily integrated into your virtual team activities.
Educational Games for Students: 5 Ideas for Your Next Class
Integrating educational games into the classroom is a proven way to engage students, foster collaboration, and enhance learning. Educational games for students can transform the experience, making lessons more dynamic and enjoyable. Here are five creative ideas for using games like crosswords, jigsaws, word searches, and Wordle in your classroom.
1. Crosswords for Language Learning
Crosswords are excellent tools for enhancing language skills. With PuzzleMe, educators can create customized crossword puzzles in different languages, catering to the specific vocabulary and grammar needs of their students. For instance, you can design a crossword in Spanish, French, or any other language you’re teaching, incorporating words relevant to the current lesson. This not only aids in vocabulary retention but also makes language learning interactive and fun.
2. Jigsaws of Maps and Graphs
Jigsaw puzzles can be used to teach various subjects by incorporating educational content such as maps and graphs. Imagine a jigsaw of the periodic table, where students piece together elements while learning their symbols and properties. Similarly, geography lessons can be enhanced with jigsaw puzzles of world maps or specific regions, helping students visualize and memorize geographical locations more effectively.
3. Word Search with Images
Word searches are a fantastic way to reinforce vocabulary and spelling, especially for younger students. To add an extra layer of engagement, create word searches with accompanying images. For example, a word search featuring images of fruits where students have to find and identify the names of the fruits hidden in the grid. This visual association aids in memory retention and makes the activity more interactive.
4. Collaborative Wordle-style Games
Wordle, the popular word puzzle game, can be adapted for collaborative classroom play. In this version, the entire class works together to guess the word. Students can take turns suggesting letters or words, fostering teamwork and collective problem-solving skills. This collaborative approach makes the game more inclusive and enhances students’ critical thinking and vocabulary.
You can create a custom Wordle with PuzzleMe to make the answer personalized to your classroom. See, for example, this video of a teacher playing Wordle with her students:
5. Classic Quizzes
Quizzes are a staple in education, but they can be made more engaging by incorporating multimedia elements. With tools like PuzzleMe, teachers can create quizzes that include text, images, and even audio or video clips. For instance, a history quiz might include audio snippets of famous speeches or video clips of historical events, making the learning experience more immersive and interactive.
Conclusion
Incorporating educational games into the classroom can significantly enhance the learning experience. Games like crosswords, jigsaws, word searches, and Wordle not only make lessons more engaging but also promote critical thinking, collaboration, and retention of information. With tools like PuzzleMe, creating customized, interactive puzzles is easier than ever, allowing educators to tailor games to their specific educational goals and the needs of their students. So, why not try out these ideas in your next class and see the difference they can make in student engagement and learning outcomes?
What Can Games Do for The Boston Globe? A Conversation with Daniel King
The Boston Globe launched a brand-new games hub in April 2024. We spoke with Daniel King, Director of Games at The Boston Globe, about his experience setting up the games hub and his long-term plans for games on Boston Globe Media. Here’s a lightly edited transcript of our conversation:
I want to start by asking you a bit about your journey with games. How did you get started in this space and what’s your current mandate at the Boston Globe?
I started by making amateur board games myself when I was in college – I thought making board games was a faster way to start game design than video games. It’s a little easier to get started because you don’t have to program anything. I made some board games and entered into competitions and did pretty well. Then I was able to build a career off of that.
And of course, now I’m working at a news organization on their games. Newspaper games are their own niche. It is a very particular type of game design that comes with some real restrictions and some real challenges, but also a lot of freedom because you’re making pen-and-paper games where the human being is the computer in a lot of ways.
As the Director of Games, my job is to explore what games and gamification can do for the Globe, on Boston.com, or anything else in the Boston Globe Media Partners sphere. Right now, the focus is on The Boston Globe’s games page – these six games on this one page – making that as good as possible, and then we’ll go from there.
Can you provide us with some context on how this decision to invest in games came about at the Boston Globe? It’s a crowded market – how is the Globe trying to find its place in it?
The big thing is it’s all about engagement, right? People return to games daily. Hopefully, people will come to the Globe for the news, but we also understand that news fatigue is real, and that audiences can appreciate a diversion. Creating a habit-building daily game experience is a great way to get people to come back to the paper every day even if they’re just coming back to solve the Mini Crossword. They come in, they open the Globe website, and maybe while they’re there, they’ll look at the front page. It gives people something to check in on every day.
“They come in, they open the Globe website, and maybe while they’re there, they’ll look at the front page. It gives people something to check in on every day.”
If I’m thinking about grander ambitions for it, games have the potential to be cultural touchstones. Something that you have in common with people and can talk about over the water cooler, “Wow, I did the Mini in less than a minute today”. Creating a tiny little cultural touchstone for New England.
Could you give me some insight into your day-to-day operations as Director of Games at The Boston Globe?
My responsibility is to own our current games page, and in the future to own whatever games are in the world of Boston Globe Media. I am curating the jigsaw puzzles. I create and schedule for WordroW. There is some puzzle-design work I do, but I’m not a professional crossword editor.
My biggest job is to evaluate how things are going and to look for new game opportunities. Should we take this game out? Should we change this game based on feedback? Can we add a full-screen mode? I read all the emails, and get feedback from players.
What does it look like to create a games offering specifically for The Boston Globe audience?
We know a lot about The Boston Globe audience. We get a lot of feedback, and we know what they like. We knew people wanted access to more crosswords. People asked us, “How can I find the old crosswords?” So we have the archive now. We publish Sudoku in the newspaper, so it was a natural decision to also offer an online version.
Jigsaw, WordroW, Word Flower – those are experimental. In some ways, I see Crossword, Mini, and Sudoku as classic offerings for a newspaper site. But the other three, I want the players to tell us if they don’t like them. That hasn’t been the case so far. All the games are getting played.
Is there a synergy between the online games at the Globe and what you do in print?
I think right now, our goal is to make logic puzzles and word puzzles and math puzzles that our audience enjoys, regardless of digital or print. All our games are arguably playable on paper. WordroW is a game you could play on paper with another person. Word Flower, too. So for now, I’m very interested in staying in that space of simple logic games that give people a chance to exercise their brain a bit and have some fun.
I think that’s what people come to newspaper games for. They want a digital experience that mimics the traditional habit of opening the paper and playing sudoku or crossword. That’s the habit they’re trying to recreate on their phone, so staying in that world is good for us now. But that could change.
“That’s what people come to newspaper games for. They want a digital experience that mimics the traditional habit of opening the paper and playing sudoku or crossword.”
It’s a tricky choice, whether to make games free or put them behind a paywall. How do you think about it?
We know that we have loyal subscribers and our first priority is to improve the experience for them. We want to give them more to interact with. And just like the paper, parts of our games section are not paywalled to allow folks to sample the content.
Right now my focus is on the thousands of people playing the crossword every day. We want more of our existing readers playing and to have them playing more frequently. The crossword remains, by far, the subscriber favorite. The Mini Crossword is also doing well. It’s very popular. We’re definitely creating a new habit with the mini.
Do you plan to monetize the games, especially those that aren’t behind a paywall, using ads?
I see a lot of possibilities with marketing or ad integration, even though that’s not really my main focus. I do have a grand ambition of selling a sponsored game – it’s at least something I’d like to experiment with.
Who are some organizations you’re inspired by?
It’s always easy to say The New York Times. They invented this industry. I’m sure that’s not entirely fair, though. Other people were influential.
I am very inspired by Puzzmo, just from a messaging perspective. They’ve created a very human product. I can do their puzzle and then read why they wrote it or made the puzzle in a particular way.
The crossword world is also very serious. I’m starting to meet the big players and learn their names. Boswords is a Boston-specific tournament, and I’ve been talking to John Lieb and going to the events. It’s been really great to see the kinds of puzzles people are making and how interesting they are.
I do look at our product and think it could use a personal touch. I love that John Lieb edits our Mini Crossword. That personal touch, I’d love to bring more of that. That’s tough with Sudoku and Word Flower, but the jigsaw, for example, is very special to the Globe. Our Sunday crossword is unique. It’s local and created by crossword celebrities. Solvers know that it’s made by people who care. That we made this because we want to provide something bespoke for our subscribers.
How’s your experience been with Amuse Labs?
It’s been great. There is something to be said for not having to build a bunch of things from scratch. The complexity of the backend and the archive and the dashboard and the analytics, – it would take us so long to make anything like that, and frankly we didn’t have the expertise in-house. Amuse Labs has already figured that out, so when I want to experiment, change something in the sudoku, or make an interesting crossword, all of the technical work is done. It’s just about playing with the tools I’ve been given. That’s amazing.
“There is something to be said for not having to build a bunch of things from scratch. The complexity of the backend and the archive and the dashboard and the analytics, – it would take us so long to make anything like that.”
All of the papers that take this seriously are using Amuse Labs. Their crossword is the industry standard – it’s the best one you can get. It’s nice to feel confident that we have that, that we’re competing with the other big players in this space.
How to make a puzzle out of a picture online with PuzzleMe
Let’s say you are in the realm of trying something new for your loved one’s birthday. You’ve exhausted most of the available options from easy-to-do DIYs to perhaps buying them something from a store.
If this is you, I’m here to introduce you to a new way to relive your cherished memories––picture puzzles. Puzzles have long been a cherished way to leisurely spend your time away from the hustle and bustle of life. Here’s what that could look like:
Here’s how you can make a puzzle out of a picture online just like the one you see above.
Create a Jigsaw Out of Your Picture
Whether you’re near or far, a digital puzzle can bring you and your loved ones closer together. Consider creating a jigsaw puzzle online. Tools like PuzzleMe can help you achieve exactly this.
Here’s how you can get started with your own digital puzzle journey with PuzzleMe.
Step 1: Open the PuzzleMe Dashboard
Once you’re on the PuzzleMe Dashboard, navigate towards the new game button
Step 2: Generating a new game
Once you have selected the button a menu should appear, here, pick jigsaw
Step 3: Creating the jigsaw
Your new game will need a name. Enter a title under new title, follow through to the jigsaw options panel and enter your puzzle details–which includes entering an image URL and the number of rows. Then, click create game and you’re good to go!
If the receiver of your digital puzzle is somewhat of a wordsmith, consider creating a crossword or word search instead. Here are some options you can choose from:
- Crossword: The clues could be centered around some cherished memories you share, needless to say, the creativity with these tools is endless.
- Word Search: Here you could use clues from your life as the target words, therefore making it more personalized.
Going beyond presents: How else you can use puzzles
That being said, puzzles aren’t just for birthdays and anniversaries too. Here are some other ways you could utilize puzzles:
- Games for Hiring: If you run a business, puzzles could be a great way to measure quick problem solving abilities of new hires. Their use is well documented in the industry for hiring purposes.
- Engaging your audience: Perhaps the most useful is their use in the engagement space. It can be a great way to learn more about your audience. Say you run a fashion business, you could use a jigsaw on your platform to promote a new launch or a high-value product.
- Games for Education: Rather than encouraging students to learn the periodic table using dated methods like pneumonics or songs, a teacher could simply convert the grid into a jigsaw puzzle that needs to be put back together. See, for example, this jigsaw puzzle a teacher created on PuzzleMe.
Digital puzzles are adaptable enough to be on a platform of your choice, so regardless of whether your target audience is on mobile or the web, there is a format that could work for them.
So what will you use puzzles for? Let us know! Happy puzzling.
How to Use Games for Lead Generation
In 2024, traditional lead generation techniques are giving way to more dynamic, engaging strategies designed to pique interest and encourage interaction. With PuzzleMe, marketers can create customized puzzles that convert website visitors into leads.
- Customized Engagement: Tailor puzzles such as crosswords, jigsaws, or word searches to reflect the specific interests of your target audience. This personalization enhances engagement by connecting on a level that resonates with users’ preferences.
- Integrated Lead Capture: Utilize PuzzleMe to embed name and email forms within the puzzles. This setup not only entertains but also captures lead information efficiently, as users fill out the form to access the puzzle.
- Incentives and Shareability: Offer incentives for puzzle completion and encourage sharing on social media. This not only increases participation rates but also extends your reach and potential for capturing more leads.
Using Crosswords to Attract Publishers
At Amuse Labs, we leveraged the engaging power of puzzles to enhance our lead generation strategy specifically aimed at the publishing industry. We introduced a ‘Media Industry Crossword’ on our webpage dedicated to publishers. This interactive puzzle was designed to appeal directly to professionals in the media sector, featuring clues and answers related to industry terminology, notable figures, and key events.
The integration of the crossword on our site was strategically implemented with a simple yet effective lead capture form. Participants were required to submit their email addresses to play, ensuring that we captured valuable information from a highly relevant audience. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with a significant number of visitors submitting their emails to engage with the game. This not only provided us with a direct channel to nurture leads but also enhanced user interaction, demonstrating the crossword’s effectiveness as a lead generation tool.
Games for Weddings: 5 Ideas for Wedding Games
Weddings are not just ceremonies and receptions anymore. They are platforms for memorable experiences, and one of the most delightful trends catching on is the use of games. Interactive games like crosswords, jigsaws, word searches, and even Wordle-inspired challenges can significantly enhance the wedding experience for guests and the couple alike. Here’s how you can seamlessly integrate these playful elements into your special day.
1. Custom Crosswords: Sharing Your Love Story
A custom crossword puzzle can be a fantastic way to share the love story between the couple with the wedding guests. Tailor clues to reference significant milestones, inside jokes, and cherished memories that the couple shares. These can be printed on the back of wedding programs or set on tables to encourage guests to collaborate and chat about how they fit into the couple’s story. This not only serves as an icebreaker but also personalizes the wedding in a unique way.
Here, for example, is a PuzzleMe crossword on Monica and Chandler’s wedding from the show F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
2. Jigsaw Puzzles: Piecing Together Memories
Create a custom jigsaw puzzle using a photo of the couple or a map of a meaningful location, such as where they met or where the proposal occurred. During the wedding, guests can work together to assemble the puzzle. This activity not only engages guests during downtime but also symbolizes the community’s role in supporting and building the couple’s relationship. Displaying the completed puzzle at the reception can add a personal touch to the décor.
3. Word Searches: Discover Hidden Gems
A word search game themed around the wedding can include words that are significant to the couple’s relationship, such as names of shared interests, favorite vacation spots, or important dates. Provide these at each guest’s place setting or in a communal area where guests can gather to solve them. This can spark conversations among guests and serve as a fun, quick activity to keep the energy lively.
4. Wedding Wordle: Guess the Key Word
Inspired by the popular game Wordle, set up a daily or weekly challenge in the lead-up to your wedding on your wedding website or social media. Choose words related to the wedding, such as the honeymoon destination, the bride’s and groom’s names, or the wedding theme. This not only builds anticipation but also keeps your guests engaged with your journey to the aisle.
Leveraging Games for Your Wedding
Games at weddings do more than just entertain; they create lasting memories and encourage interaction among guests. Companies like Amuse Labs offer tools like PuzzleMe, where anyone can create these games for free. Whether you’re crafting a crossword, designing a jigsaw, setting up a word search, or incorporating a digital Wordle game, these activities can be customized to reflect your personal love story and wedding theme.
By integrating these playful puzzles into your wedding day, you not only honor the traditional aspects of a wedding but also add a layer of engagement and fun that reflects the modern couple. Games are a beautiful metaphor for the puzzles of life that the couple will piece together, with each solution building a stronger bond. So why not make your wedding a little more playful? After all, the best parts of life are often filled with joy, laughter, and a bit of playful challenge.
How to Use Games for Alumni Engagement
As universities strive to maintain strong connections with their alumni, many are turning to creative strategies to foster continued engagement. The University of Toronto has found great success in this area by incorporating university-themed games and puzzles into their alumni communications.
The Power of Games for Alumni Engagement Games and interactive content have proven to be highly effective in keeping alumni interested and involved with their alma maters. Much like the example of Morning Brew’s newsletter puzzles, these activities transform routine communications into anticipated and eagerly awaited events.
The key benefits of using games for alumni engagement include:
- Higher Open Rates: Exciting puzzles and trivia keep alumni looking forward to the next university newsletter or email, leading to consistently better open rates.
- Increased Website Traffic: University-themed games encourage alumni to visit the institution’s website to participate, showcasing program offerings and news.
- Deeper Connections: Interactive experiences transform passive readers into active participants, strengthening their bond with the university.
- Audience Insights: Tracking engagement metrics on the games provides valuable data on alumni interests and preferences.
The University of Toronto Uses Crosswords for Alumni Engagement
The University of Toronto has found great success with one particular game-based engagement tactic – a university-themed crossword puzzle. Included periodically in their alumni newsletter, the crossword features clues related to campus history, notable alumni, and current events.
The crossword puzzles not only boost open rates for the university’s alumni communications but also drive traffic to the website as alumni visit to find solutions. For universities interested in replicating the University of Toronto’s success, tools like PuzzleMe offer a seamless solution for creating and embedding custom games.
With PuzzleMe, the University of Toronto was able to:
- Choose a crossword format that aligned with their alumni engagement goals
- Customize the clues and layout to feature university-specific content
- Brand the puzzle to match the university’s visual identity
- Embed the crossword directly on their alumni website for easy access
By providing a university-themed interactive experience, the University of Toronto has been able to keep its alumni community engaged, informed, and enthusiastically connected to their alma mater.
Incorporating games and puzzles into alumni communications is a highly effective strategy for universities looking to foster continued engagement. The University of Toronto’s success with a university-themed crossword puzzle demonstrates the power of interactive content in transforming routine outreach into an anticipated and rewarding experience for alumni. By leveraging tools like PuzzleMe, institutions can easily create custom games that strengthen alumni connections and provide valuable insights into their audience.