Candy Boxes (Contest)

Candy Boxes - PDF

It's time for another Boxes puzzle, and this time it's a contest! Special for the Halloween season, it's called "Candy Boxes." The instructions are included, and when completed, the letters not used in Boxes entries will suggest the name of a one-word candy brand. Email this candy brand by next Thursday, November 7th. I'll randomly select two solvers from correct submissions, one current subscriber and one current non-subscriber. Winners will win a three-month subscription (or three-month extension, if already subscribed) to Aries Rows Garden. I'll post the solution as well as announce the winners next week after the deadline. Hope you enjoy!

Also, S8: A Section Eight Puzzle Pack has been officially released, so be sure to scoop up a copy if you haven't already. And, the October monthly bundle for Aries Rows Garden is now available. A subscription to Aries Rows Garden is always available if you don't want to wait for the bundles.

Happy solving!

From A to Z #2 ... and Announcing "S8: A Section Eight Puzzle Pack"

From A to Z #2 - PDF | Grayscale PDF | Solution (PDF)

Back with another From A to Z puzzle this month. I hadn't realized it has been a full three years since posting the first of these puzzles. It's a fun and unique format and I'm happy to feature it again. PDF only - hope you enjoy!

Also, the September monthly bundle for Aries Rows Garden is now available, and a reminder that subscriptions are always open if you don't want to wait for the bundle every month. 

Last but not least, I'm thrilled to announce my next puzzle pack: it's called S8: A Section Eight Puzzle Pack! If you're a fan of Section Eight puzzles as much as I am, you'll love this collection of 8 brand-new puzzles. The official release date is October 24th, but if you pre-order before October 24th you'll get an additional two-puzzle bonus bundle immediately upon pre-ordering. 10/24/2024 UPDATE: S8 has been officially released! The Bonus Bundle is still available now as an add-on. For more details and to order, click here.

Happy solving!

Aries Freestyle August 2024

Aries Freestyle August 2024 - PDF | PDF (Grayscale) | PUZ | Solution (PDF)

While a freestyle crossword doesn't count as a variety puzzle, it's definitely a change-up for me. I haven't written a freestyle puzzle since the end of Aries Freestyle in December 2022, so it's definitely been a while. I hope you're okay with the change of pace. I made sure to go extra-hard on the cluing, so don't think you're getting off easy this month. Hope you enjoy!

The monthly bundles for Aries Rows Garden have been updated to include the August puzzles. And if you'd rather not wait for the monthly bundles, subscriptions are always open. The summer special is still available if you are not a current subscriber too. 

Happy solving! Back next month with something more firmly in the "variety puzzle" category.

Section Eight #2

Section Eight #2 - Harder (PDF) | Easier (PDF) | Solution (PDF)

Back this month with another Section Eight puzzle! These Patrick Berry inventions are a sort of current obsession of mine, and what's frustrating about that is that this format is relatively rare, even among Berry creations. I've exhausted the archive of the Berry Section Eights that ran in the Wall Street Journal since they launched their variety puzzle offerings in 2010, but even that well was already fairly dry - there were only five or six total puzzles included in that archive, including a period of eight (!) years where no Section Eight puzzle ran at all in the Journal. Joon Pahk has run a few of these for his variety service (he dubs them "Eight Tracks"), but other than that...I got nothin'. If anyone can point me to some unknown-to-me treasure trove of Section Eight puzzles - please, hit me up; interesting trades considered. 

From a constructing side of things, as I mentioned last year when I first ran a Section Eight puzzle, these are at the top of the list when it comes to "satisfyingly challenging" puzzle-writing experiences. Perhaps to fill the void of being unable to solve more of these puzzles, I've taken to binge-writing them for a new side project, which [hint-hint] you might hear details about soon. So stay tuned.

These are by nature a *hard* puzzle type, so be warned. There are two difficulty levels offered. The Harder version is the version that is offered in the WSJ - only the outermost Ring answers have known placements and letter counts; for all other Rings you must determine the placement and direction of the answers on your own. The Easier version discloses the direction and length of all answers. Still, I imagine the Easier version would play harder than even a Hardest-level Rows Garden, so don't feel like you're cheating by trying the Easier version, especially if this is your introduction to the format. Either version you try, hope you enjoy the challenge!

Speaking of Rows Gardens, there's one more Tuesday in July so stop by next week when the Monthly Bundles will be updated. 8/1/2024 UPDATE: The July monthly bundle is now available! Subscriptions are always open if you don't want to wait for the Monthly Bundles. 

Happy solving!