🧩 Chicago-Style Crosswords, Coming Right Up

Dear Reader, 

You’re reading the monthly newsletter from Amuse Labs, covering the world of puzzles, publishing, and updates to PuzzleMe™, the most advanced digital platform for smart games. 

Scientific American Celebrates 180 Years with Historic Puzzles

This August, Scientific American is marking its 180th anniversary, and they’re inviting everyone to celebrate with a journey through their historic archives. The first edition was published on August 28, 1845, before the U.S. even had postage stamps! To commemorate this milestone, they’re using PuzzleMe to publish jigsaw puzzles featuring stunning covers from their past.

But that’s not all. They’re also launching special Wordle-style Wordology puzzles with obscure terms from old magazine issues, offering a fascinating glimpse into the language of the past. For instance, a recent puzzle challenged players to guess the word “AUTOIST,” a term used in a 1925 issue to describe a car driver. It’s a fun way to engage with the magazine’s history and see how much has changed over the last 180 years.

Chicago Public Media Adds Local Flavor to Crosswords

Chicago Public Media has launched a new series of puzzles that are quintessentially Chicago. Their “Chicago-Style” crosswords, published with PuzzleMe in the Chicago Sun-Times, are designed to test local knowledge with clues that “only true Chicagoans” would know. It’s a brilliant way to connect with the community.

The latest puzzle in the series was crafted by constructor Kelsey Dixon. This initiative is a great reminder that puzzles can be a celebration of local culture and a way to bring people together over a shared sense of place. Check it out and see how well you know the Windy City.

biocrates Uses Puzzles and Prizes For Booth Engagement

biocrates, a global leader in mass spectrometry-based quantitative metabolite analysis, used PuzzleMe in a creative way to engage attendees at the Annual International Conference of the Metabolomics Society in Prague. They used jigsaw puzzles in contest mode as a central part of their booth, turning a simple game into an exciting competition that promoted their new MxP® Quant 1000 kit. 

By turning on name and email collection, the company got valuable leads from the event by pointing attendees towards the PuzzleMe jigsaw. By hosting a competition, Biocrates not only drew a crowd but also captured the attention of potential customers in a fun and meaningful way. The top five winners of the online jigsaw puzzle competition walked away with physical jigsaw puzzle of the MxP® Quant 1000 pathway, and everyone left with a lasting impression of the brand.

From the Crossworld

PuzzleMe Spotlight

A selection of updates from PuzzleMe, the most advanced digital platform for games

1. Celebrate with Completion Animations

Solving a puzzle is a moment of triumph, and now you can make it even more satisfying. We’ve added a new feature that allows you to enable completion animations for your games. When a player successfully finishes a puzzle, they’ll be rewarded with a burst of confetti, sparkles, or other fun effects. 

This feature is designed to enhance the user experience and add a touch of delight to your puzzles. It’s a small detail that can make a big difference in how rewarding your games feel. Head over to Messaging > Visual Messaging while creating a game to choose a completion animation.

2. Effortless Content with Puzzle Packs

Creating high-quality puzzles on a consistent basis can be a challenge, but we’re here to help. We’re excited to introduce Managed Puzzle Packs, a new service for enterprise publishers who want to provide their audience with fresh and engaging content without the heavy lifting.

When you opt for this service, the Amuse Labs team will take care of the content side of things for you. We’ll provide a steady stream of high-quality puzzles tailored to your needs, so you can focus on what you do best. If you’re looking for a hassle-free way to keep your puzzle calendar full, this is the perfect solution.

3. Now, Add Puzzles to Your Shopify Store

Good news for e-commerce brands! PuzzleMe now integrates with Shopify, making it easier than ever to use puzzles to drive engagement and sales on your site. The new integration allows you to embed puzzles directly into your Shopify store with a simple code snippet from the publish page.

Shopify users can now offer discount codes upon puzzle completion, use quizzes to educate customers about their products, or create themed puzzles that reflect their brand’s identity. It’s a powerful way to connect with your audience, reduce pain points in the customer journey, and make shopping on your site a more interactive experience.

Note: We mentioned in the last edition that PuzzleMe games can be played on Apple News. While the integration remains available, please note that support for PuzzleMe games on the Apple News platform is at Apple’s sole discretion. 

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’d like to work with us!