Puzzles x Publishing: 2024 Recap

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. 

For the last edition of 2024, we thought we’d look back at some major highlights from our journey this year. We hope you enjoy this special edition of PuzzleBuzz.

Puzzle Construction, Now Enhanced by AI CoPilot

We started this year with a lofty goal: Creators on PuzzleMe should be able to simply enter a topic and have a high-quality puzzle within seconds. Over the past few months, we’ve made significant leaps in that direction.

PuzzleMe’s AI CoPilot has become a critical part of creating crosswords, word searches and quizzes on the platform. Creators have utilized this feature in ways we could never have imagined. A few of our customers who are now utilizing AI CoPilot to create and publish games:

• The Local Scoop Magazine uses the AI CoPilot to create and publish topical crosswords.
  
• Grow Young Fitness creates Word Search puzzles and crosswords using PuzzleMe’s AI CoPilot.

What do Games Editors Do?

The role of the “Director of Games” or “Games Editor” is becoming increasingly important inside newsrooms. To understand this role better, we interviewed two editors who were at the helm of launching games for their respective publications.

Scientific American: SciAm Games was launched this year. Assistant Editor Sarah Lewin Frasier talked to us about the process of selecting the games, how she was pleasantly surprised by the jigsaws and more.

The Boston Globe: The Globe, another major US publication, launched a games hub this year. In an interview with us, Director of Games Daniel King shared his long-term plans for games on Boston Globe Media.

Apple, LinkedIn, Others Join the Puzzles Gold Rush

2024 was the year of new puzzle offerings. We saw publishers and tech giants alike launch new puzzles to engage their user base. Here are some launches that caught our eye:

• Apple News launched daily crosswords for paid subscribers this year, edited by The Puzzle Society.
• LinkedIn brought in constructor Paolo Pasco as the company’s games director and launched four puzzles to engage its user base.
• Netflix is planning to launch a word puzzle called TED Tumblewords in collaboration with TED.

PuzzleMe: Highlights from 2024

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

1. A Revamped Crossword Editor

We went back to the drawing board in 2024 and redesigned the crossword editor from the ground up. This new editor makes it easier for you to edit your crosswords and utilize the most powerful PuzzleMe features.

With the new editor, some of the most powerful features in the PuzzleMe creator are now upfront. You can find more words for your grid or mark circled letters with a single click. Try it today by creating a crossword.

2. New Puzzle Templates and Libraries

We made puzzle creation quicker than ever this year by adding puzzle templates and image libraries. Creating a Sudoku on PuzzleMe, for example, is now as easy as giving it a name and selecting a difficulty level.

With image libraries, Jigsaws and Picdokus can be created without requiring any uploads. Simply select from our library of handpicked images, and get a puzzle you can share within seconds.

3. Self-Serve Onboarding

Getting started with some of the advanced PuzzleMe features got easier than ever in 2024. With PuzzleMe’s new self-serve offering, anyone can access features like name and email collection and media uploads without the need for onboarding help.

If you’re considering PuzzleMe’s Professional plan, we’re running a flat 26% discount on the annual plan through December. Sign up here with the code CYBER2024 to use the discount.

4. Six New Languages on PuzzleMe

We added six new languages to PuzzleMe this year: Greek, Vietnamese, Japanese, Hungarian, Latvian and Romanian. With these new languages, we’re happy to say that PuzzleMe games now support 36 languages from across the world.

We look forward to adding support for even more languages in 2025. See the full list of languages that are currently supported here.

From the Crossworld in 2024

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!