PuzzleBuzz

Crossword Puzzles in Arabic, and more

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Crossword Puzzles in Arabic, and more..
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Dear Reader,

Here’s what we have in store for you this month:

  • The Washington Post’s mini-meta game format keeps solvers hooked through the week

  • This is a first: Saudi Research and Media Group launches online Arabic crosswords

  • What’s KenKen, and why does veteran editor Will Shortz love it?

Happy puzzling!

To keep you puzzling through this newsletter, what’s a 4-letter word for “Language of poetry and romance”? Keep reading to find out.

The Mini-Meta Game Format

The Mini-Meta Crossword puzzle picker and one grid as seen on The Washington Post.

Daily mini crosswords are a great way to keep solvers coming back for more. They quickly become part of a daily routine, allowing users a quick, snackable solve for a couple of minutes every day. But what if the mini crosswords were all connected? What if you uncovered one part of the puzzle every day, for a big reveal on Saturday? Now we’re talking.

The Washington Post’s Mini Meta, developed by Pete Muller and Andrew White, does exactly this. Each mini crossword from Monday to Friday must be solved in order to get one word of a five-word clue. The clue itself leads to a word hidden in the sixth mini-crossword, which you must find by snaking your way through the grid, like in a word search puzzle. This makes for a thrilling reveal on the weekend puzzle, where you solve two puzzles at once.

Amuse Labs has developed a custom interface for this new game format in PuzzleMe. If you have a unique game format in mind, just email us.

Crosswords in

right-to-left languages

Saudi Research and Media Group's logo
Sudoku and Crossword puzzle pickers on the puzzle section of Saudi Research and Media Group's website.

At Amuse Labs, we’ve always had a fondness for the languages of the world. When we’re able to combine that with our love for games, there’s nothing to beat it.

That’s why we’re thrilled about this daily Arabic crossword launched by the Saudi Research and Media Group. Since Arabic is written right-to-left, so go the Across words (Down words are the same, thankfully!) Enabling right-to-left languages like Arabic, Hebrew etc. to thrive in the form of crosswords is the kind of challenge we love tackling. You can also use word search and other games in PuzzleMe with right-to-left scripts.

(Still working on the answer to “Language of poetry and romance”? Hint: it also goes right to left. Scroll down for the right answer.)

Logo of KenKen
Screenshot of the KenKen puzzle on the website of KenKen. The puzzle iframe is powered by PuzzleMe.

Veteran NYT puzzle editor Will Shortz said this about KenKen “I was addicted from the start. I solved one puzzle, I asked for another, then I asked for a whole book of ‘em… I love this puzzle.” KenKen is a logic-based game that’ll keep you puzzled for a while.

One way to describe this game: it’s like sudoku, but much more math-y. The idea is to fill the grid with numbers such that the numbers in a cage match the math operation and result for that cage. Try this puzzle and see what the fuss is about. Amuse Labs partners with the kind folks at KenKen, and would be happy to help you integrate this puzzle to your site or app.

From the Crossworld

What’s new in PuzzleMe?

Here are some cool new features we’ve added to PuzzleMe:

Sub-section title "Picker design updates"
Creative design of the end modal screen as part of the "Picker design updates" in PuzzleMe. The end modal screen shows player performance in the form of daily streaks, their score and the time taken to complete the puzzle.

PuzzleMe has a new feature to enable streaks and habit formation. The end message can now show other puzzles in the series and whether the user has completed them. Contact us if you'd like us to turn this feature on for your games.

Sub-section title "Full screen mode"

Empower your readers with a large-screen experience for puzzles. PuzzleMe now supports Full Screen Mode. Publishers wishing to enable this experience, please write to us and we can turn it on for you.

Sub-section title "WordPress Plugin"
Screenshot of PuzzleMe's WordPress Plugin as seen on the Plugin search. The screenshot contains the title "PuzzleMe for WordPress", Amuse Labs logo, 5 star rating, supporting text and other details necessary to WordPress users.

Indie constructors and puzzle enthusiasts publishing smart games on their blogs and websites can benefit with the PuzzleMe plugin for WordPress. The plugin makes embedding a game in a Wordpress site even easier. What’s more, you can even let users register and participate in contests using a WordPress login.

Did you know?

The most important metric for reader-supported newsrooms is not page-views or time spent. Can you guess what it is? Reader regularity, according to the Medill Subscriber Engagement Index. It’s better for subscriber retention if your readers visit regularly instead of diving deep only once in a while. More details here.

P.S. If you want to chat about how smart games could boost your subscription offering by aiding reader regularity, book a demo with us here.

About us

Amuse Labs is the creator of PuzzleMe™, the leading digital platform for Smart Games. It is a B2B SaaS company trusted globally by brands and publishers, powering Crosswords, Sudokus, Jigsaws, Quizzes, Word Searches and more. Explore opportunities to partner by sending a note or applying if you’re interested in working with us!

Oh, and to the journalists on our mailing list, if you’d like to cover any highlight from this newsletter or about Amuse Labs, then write to us.

A Photo Finish and an April Fool’s Surprise

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A Photo Finish and an April Fool's Surprise.
Amuse Labs logo
PuzzleBuzz Unit

Issue 13, April 2023

Dear Reader,

We’re still on a high from last weekend’s American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT), but we’re not taking a break because neither are puzzle lovers. In this month’s newsletter, we bring you some updates from ACPT, a new Schrödinger grid, a visual twist to the classic Sudoku and new features on PuzzleMe™ for you to explore.

Happy puzzling!

The 45th ACPT

A collage of pictures from the 45th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Pictures by Don Christensen.

Copyright © American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Pictures by Don Christensen

Whew! The 45th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament ended in a photo-finish. Dan Feyer edged out Paolo Pasco by milliseconds to become the only person to win the ACPT 9 times. The participants’ age this year ranged from 17 to 97, and there were 255 first-timers. Everyone enjoyed the eight fabulous puzzles that had been edited by Will Shortz for the tournament. If you missed the action, you can still watch it on ACPT’s YouTube channel.

The ACPT virtual tournament, which has been running for three years now and is powered by PuzzleMe, was won by Andy Kravis (who is also part of the editorial team for the New Yorker’s puzzles).

The tournament kicked off with a special April fool’s day puzzle written by the (ahem) inimitable Filip Starr. (Get it? If not, scroll below to the Did You Know section.)

View Don Christensen's Pictures of the 2023 ACPT Tournament here.

A topical Schrödinger puzzle

The Atlantic's logo.
Screenshot of the Schrödinger crossword puzzle grid published on The Atlantic by Paolo Pasco.

Schrödinger puzzles are special crossword puzzles that can have 2 solutions at once. They are carefully constructed to have a word that can be filled with either of two options with the same number of letters – the intersecting clues are craftily clued so that either option would work. For example, the clue “Black Halloween animal” would fit both answers BAT and RAT.

One such puzzle, playing on the name of the recent Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All at Once, was written by Paolo Pasco (yes, the same one as above) for the Atlantic on March 17. Can you guess which words might make up the Schrödinger? If not, click here to try the puzzle yourself.

Perhaps the best-known example of this type of puzzle is the one that ran in the New York Times on U.S. election day in 1996. Both the answers CLINTON and BOBDOLE fit all the intersecting clues.

Picdoku

Morning Brew's Logo
Three different Picdoku grids as seen on Morning Brew.

Morning Brew is a delightful newsletter that engages readers with fun and quirky games. One of the games that is popular with their users is called Picdoku. It is a variant of Sudoku and follows the same rules as sudoku (no number can repeat in a row, column or sub-grid), but it uses images instead of numbers. For example, the images could be of food emojis, wildflowers or the solar system.

Picdoku can make a puzzle visually appealing and memorable. It can also be used to engage with an audience on a focused topic.

Which images would you choose for your Picdoku? To get your creative juices flowing, start with some examples from our demo page.

What’s new in PuzzleMe?

Here are a couple of cool new features in PuzzleMe.

Sudoku Undo/Redo

Screenshot showing the "undo" and "redo" features available to Sudoku players of PuzzleMe. Clicking on "Assist" returns a drop-down list from which players can select these options.

PuzzleMe now has an undo and redo feature in its sudoku player. The feature is useful for users to recover from typos and to explore different paths to the solution. Go ahead and try everything everywhere, just not all at once.

Undo is not enabled in contest mode for Sudoku because it makes solving the puzzle somewhat easier by letting people speculate about the number in a cell and then recover by backtracking easily. Without the undo feature, solving a difficult sudoku puzzle is harder because you have to do all the backtracking in your head. Try it here and look under “Assist” for the options.

Magic Fill and AI

PuzzleMe's Magic Fill recommendations with the must-have word "Music" and related suggestions by AI including "Piano", "Album", and "Opera."

PuzzleMe’s Magic Fill feature uses AI technology to suggest words that are related to your theme (highlighted in orange in the image above). For example, you can tell it to create a crossword puzzle which must have the word MUSIC.

Did you know?

The recently concluded 45th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament surprised its participants with a crossword puzzle which had the word BLANK for the entire grid with the last clue being “You could literally solve that in no time at all.” The grid was set by a fictitious constructor named “Filip Starr” whose name is an anagram for “April First”.

About us

Amuse Labs is the creator of PuzzleMe™, the leading digital platform for Smart Games. It is a B2B SaaS company trusted globally by brands and publishers and specializes in digital games, powering Crosswords, Sudokus, Jigsaws, Quizzes, Word Searches and more. Explore opportunities to partner by sending a note. Who knows, we might even be able to help you organize a tournament like the ACPT.

PuzzleBuzz Turns One!

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PuzzleBuzz turns one!

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PuzzleBuzz Unit

Issue 12, March 2023

Dear Reader,

We began the PuzzleBuzz initiative a year ago aiming to bring you the latest news from the world of puzzles and games. Through our monthly issues we’ve brought you updates about events, new publishers launching Smart Games, innovative applications of puzzles, creative crossword grids, puzzle trivia, and more. Thank you for being a PuzzleBuzz reader.

In this month’s newsletter we bring you updates about Spanish crosswords and games, share information about the long-running American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, and introduce some exciting new PuzzleMe™ features that you can use in your Smart Games.

Happy puzzling!

Reminder: The next PuzzleMe webinar is scheduled for March 22nd, at 11 am (EST) and will cover the Word Search and WordroW games. In this session, we’ll discuss the many features of these puzzles in the PuzzleMe platform. We’ll cover fun features like multimedia and crooked letters in your Word Search. And we’ll help you create a WordroW, which is like Wordle on steroids. Reserve your place for the webinar here.

Create your own Wordle-like game!

Juegos in Español

Smart Games on Vocento, a Spanish mass media giant, powered by PuzzleMe.

Vocento, a Spanish mass media giant, publishes daily crucigramas (crosswords), sudokus and sopas de letras (word searches) on all their news sites. The same Smart Games are replicated across eleven of their regional websites and their national title, ABC. The same content is run across all publications (which the PuzzleMe CMS makes it easy to manage), while keeping the design and analytics for each site separate. This is a great example of how the same puzzles can be run across multiple titles owned by the same organization.

American Crossword Puzzle Tournament

The in-person event will be held in Stamford, Connecticut but those who can’t attend in person can still participate from anywhere in the world by registering for the virtual tournament, which is hosted on PuzzleMe. The virtual tournament features the same puzzles and runs concurrently with the in-person tournament. Register here to experience the crossword community’s most anticipated event of the year.

If you wish to create digital tournaments with Smart Games, then write to us. You can focus on the tournament rules and game content, and leave the technical aspects to us.

What’s new in PuzzleMe?

We are introducing a section in this newsletter to share updates on new features and enhancements to PuzzleMe. These features will help make your audience's solving experience even better.

Test Solve puzzles

Test Solve UI on PuzzleMe.

We always recommend that puzzles be solved by a small group of test solvers before they are published. This helps calibrate the puzzle’s difficulty level and gauge users’ reaction to the puzzle, which may help improve the puzzle. It is now easy for constructors and editors to gather feedback on their games before publishing them to your audience. The “Test Solve” feature in PuzzleMe offers a special preview link that can be shared with test solvers who can write comments on the puzzle using a Disqus widget. Constructors and editors can even send comments back to test solvers and have a conversation about the puzzle. The test-solve link is available on the puzzle’s “Publish and Preview” page, which is reachable from the PuzzleMe dashboard.

Dark Mode

Dark mode activated on a PuzzleMe picker

Dark Mode can now be activated by default by sites that use PuzzleMe pickers. Enable it by adding the “&darkMode=1” parameter at the end of the URL in the embed code or the direct link. This parameter ensures that dark mode will carry over from the picker to the puzzle. Check out this demo page for a sample. Dark mode works with crosswords, sudokus and WordroWs at present, and is coming to other games soon.

Decipher The Quote

Screenshot of a new Smart Game on PuzzleMe titled "Decipher The Quote."

Quotes are loved for the wisdom they carry. At Amuse Labs, we have a literally new twist on quotes with our latest game. Solvers have to rearrange letters in a grid to reveal a sentence – which could be a quote by a famous personality, the lyrics of a famous song, a heartfelt message for a friend, or anything else. The game only takes a minute to create. Try it out in our Variety Puzzles section. Like to try it out? Write to us for a demo.

Create puzzles in 28 global languages with PuzzleMe

Custom designed creative to represent the many languages available on PuzzleMe.

We love adding new languages to PuzzleMe. You can now create puzzles in 28 languages, with Lithuanian being the latest addition. Select any language from the “Game language” dropdown while creating your puzzle. If you are a puzzle creator and your language is not already in PuzzleMe, please drop us a line.

Transpose your crossword grid

Two grid showing the "before" and "after" using the Transpose feature in PuzzleMe.

A crossword is more inviting if the first clue is intriguing. To help achieve this, you can now easily transpose your crossword while editing your grid with PuzzleMe. This option seamlessly interchanges Down and Across words and their clues and renumbers all the words and clues appropriately. Use this option if your 1-Down clue is more interesting than 1-Across. To use this feature, go to the puzzle editor page, click on “Edit grid & clues”, then select “Transpose grid” from the “Grid” drop-down menu.

Documentation

Screenshot of the Documentation section on PuzzleMe which is available to password-based login partners only.

We’ve created a new documentation page where you can find the answers to your most common questions about puzzle creation, embedding, sharing and analytics. These resources are currently for password-based login partners only. Click on the Documentation link in the navigation bar after you log in to PuzzleMe.

Did you know?

Back in 1978, the marketing manager of Stamford, Connecticut’s newly built Marriott Hotel was exploring ways to bring in business during a slow winter weekend. He decided to tap into the crossword-solving community and was introduced to Will Shortz by Norton Rhoades, a crossword constructor. Will had recently moved to Stamford and was ready to take on the challenge. He organized the first American Crossword Puzzle Tournament at the hotel, and now, 45 years later, still directs and hosts it for hundreds of crossword-solvers across the world. We’re already looking forward to the 50th anniversary of ACPT!

Source: Get to Know the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament

About us

Amuse Labs is the creator of PuzzleMe™, the leading digital platform for Smart Games. It is a B2B SaaS company trusted globally by brands and publishers and specializes in digital games, powering Crosswords, Sudokus, Jigsaws, Quizzes, Word Searches and more. Explore opportunities to partner by sending a note or applying if you’re interested in working with us!

Oh, and to the journalists on our mailing list, if you’d like to cover any highlight from this newsletter or about Amuse Labs, then write to us.

Humanizing Puzzles

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Humanizing puzzles

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PuzzleBuzz Unit

Issue 11, February 2023

Dear Reader,

As the AI-led chatbot storm — the topic of many dinner table conversations — begins to quiet down, we want to highlight the human connection that is at the heart of the puzzle community. While some enthusiasts did experiment with the AI platform to seek answers to cryptic clues or to create a crossword puzzle, only to conclude that it has room to improve, our focus this month is on people.

Happy puzzling!

Note: We will host our monthly PuzzleMe™ webinar on Feb. 22nd, at 11 am (EST) on the topic, “Creating powerful Quizzes and Jigsaws.” In this session, learn about the many features we offer for quizzes and jigsaws, including multiple-choice questions, type-the-answer, adding multimedia and more. Reserve your place here.

p.s.: Guess which country’s resident holds the world record for collecting the most jigsaw puzzles. Find the answer in the “Did You Know?” section.

Logo of "Black Crossword"

Just in time for Black History Month, Juliana Pache — an independent constructor — has launched a series of daily mini puzzles on her site, “Black Crossword.” With clues like “ 'The Fire Next Time' author Baldwin” (Feb. 1, 2023) or “Textile pattern originated in West Africa” (Jan. 28, 2023), the crosswords emphasize knowledge of the Black community. Check out this sleekly designed site by clicking here.

Social Play,
solve crosswords with friends

Custom-creative showing how PuzzleMe's "Social Play" feature works. Press on the "Human+" icon and upto four participants can solve a crossword together, in real-time.

Enhance your users’ participation in the crossword community by informing them how to co-solve puzzles! With PuzzleMe’s Social Play feature, your users can now solve a crossword in real-time with up to three other people. Friends, family or colleagues, anyone can be invited. It helps adoption if you tell your readers about this possibility in your “Start” Message or in promotional materials, directing them to click on the “human+” icon. Partner websites using PuzzleMe, including The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Crossword Club and Morning Brew, are using Social Play.

Puzzles in Norwegian

Logo of "NTB"

NTB — Norway’s leading provider of text, graphics, and videos to the country’s media — creates puzzles, powered by PuzzleMe. NTB produces a suite of daily kryssord (crossword), sudoku, ordsuppe (word search) and ordknute (word flower) for Norwegian publishers. Word Flowers in Norwegian are very popular. These are easy-to-create puzzles in any language and for daily frequency.

Screenshot of the "Series Picker" as seen on NTB. This enables publishing multiple game types together without separate implementation work on your landing page.

When you scroll to the center of their home page, you’ll see integrated pickers of four different games. These “Series Pickers” make it easy to manage and embed different game types by using a single embed code. Different game types can be added or removed without any implementation work on your page. As you click on one series in the Series Picker, a puzzle picker for just that puzzle type opens. Contact us if you wish to create a similar experience for your solvers.

Calling all Bostonians!

Logo of "Boston Magazine"

Boston Magazine covers the local flavor, culture and things to do in the Greater Boston area. The magazine is now publishing monthly crosswords — powered by PuzzleMe — written with a distinct Bostonian perspective by Brendan Emmett Quigley, a renowned constructor.

p.s: Did you know that Boston also has a distinct brand of beer called WordPlay that pays homage to the crossword puzzle? The puzzle is playable by scanning a QR code printed on the beer can.

Burlington Library

The Burlington Library is a community space in Burlington, Massachusetts with engaging programs and a diverse collection of resources. On their website, you'll find weekly crosswords created by Phil Fraas and powered by PuzzleMe. Know a local library that can use such games to engage their community? Put them in touch with us.

Did you know?

Photo of Luiza Figueiredo from Brazil showing her 1047 jigsaw puzzles collection. Credits: Guinness World Records

Luiza Figueiredo from Brazil has been collecting jigsaw puzzles since 1967. In 2010, she achieved her first world record with 238 puzzle sets. After losing the title in 2012 to Georgina Gil-Lacuna from the Philippines, she reclaimed it in July 2017 with a collection of 1047 unique jigsaws.

When you start creating digital jigsaws using PuzzleMe, how many will you make?

Source: Guinness World Records

In case you missed it

Catch up on topics that you may have missed.

  • The financial powerhouse Barron's is now publishing puzzles on its website, including exclusive Sunday crossword and weekdays crossword (from the Wall Street Journal), sudokus in three tiers of difficulty, and weekly jigsaws of their magazine covers. Accessible in the USA.

  • Media24 — the media company in South Africa — has launched crosswords, sudokus, word flowers and quizzes on three of their independent news websites. News24 is in English while Netwerk24 and Landbou are in Afrikaans.

  • Canada’s leading LGBTQ2S+ media organization Pink Triangle Press, which publishes Xtra Magazine, has launched Xword, its monthly queer crossword series constructed by Ada Nicolle and powered by PuzzleMe.

  • The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament will be held from March 31 to April 2, 2023, and is now open for registration.

About us

Amuse Labs is the creator of PuzzleMe™, the leading digital platform for Smart Games. It is a B2B SaaS company trusted globally by brands and publishers and specializes in digital games, powering Crosswords, Sudokus, Jigsaws, Quizzes, Word Searches and more. Explore opportunities to partner by sending a note or applying if you’re interested in working with us!

Oh, and to the journalists on our mailing list, if you’d like to cover any highlight from this newsletter or about Amuse Labs, then write to us.