A Puzzling Mania

What’s the four letter word uttered by almost everyone who entered Science Center C today for the Boston Crossword Puzzle Tournament?

“Whoa!”

Yeah, that answer surprised us too. The lecture hall was packed almost to capacity with a handful of undergraduates and an overwhelming number of crossword enthusiasts from the Boston area, easily identified by graying hair, thick glasses, and/or crossword paraphernalia. One woman wore a crossword grid scarf. Another carried a crossword grid tote bag. Flyby began to feel a little boxed in by all the black-and-white squares.

Read on after the jump, as we test our vocab and talk to the most puzzling personality in crosswords.

The tournament ran from 1-3 p.m., during which competitors completed four different puzzles, which would be judged based on accuracy and time. Each puzzle had to be completed in under 25 minutes, depending on its difficulty level.

Curious, Flyby picked up the first puzzle but sadly couldn't piece together any of the answers. Our vocabulary was bolstered just by staring at the page, though—did you know that Iditarod and syzygy are actual words?

After the competition, Will Shortz—the New York Times crossword puzzle editor and the man who introduced Sudoku to America—gave a short talk about his favorite crossword puzzle experiences. Flyby slowly realized, as the audience responded to Shortz with roars of laughter and knowing shouts of approval, that we were in the presence of a cruciverbalist god.

After the awards ceremony, Flyby barreled through the crowd to shake Shortz’ hand and ask him what advice he’d give to novice puzzlers.

He said that a good crossword solver had to have a “natural bent” towards puzzles, and that “good crossword puzzlers know a little bit about everything.” Regarding Sudoku and kenken, Shortz’s newest obsession, he said, “I love the simplicity of the instructions and the great depth of techniques to solve them. Each still has a mystery to it and that’s nice.”

At this point, Flyby could sense that the actual cruciverbalists, growing impatient, were closing in. We elected to leave them to their king.