Dead tree solving - eco edition! 
Best of both worlds - paper and pencil/pen solving, but rather than curled up with the newspaper, you're curled up with your tablet/iPad/Android! Write, even draw, in the grid, directly on the screen. 

Perfect for rebus puzzles, like this one from a recent Thursday NYTimes puzzle. Use a stylus, for the feel of really writing, or just use your fingertip - it is remarkably easy and is your real writing... I filled this one out using my finger - the stylus is just there for show. (The rebus was MAN - as in TAXMAN at 54D...) If you would like to try it out, click on "About Me" on this page and send me an email.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Better than paper?

You love doing the puzzle with paper and pencil, so you'll never use an app for solving...?
Me too.  Before.  But now I'm hooked.  For a lots of reasons.  Here's one that's really cool... introducing ScratchPadTM  
Those scribbles in the margins that fire off my "Aha Moments"...

Check out the video to see what I mean.
Hey - even we like to curl up in a comfortable chair with a well-sharpened #2 pencil and a fabulous Puzzle Tablet...  But take
a look -- this just might convince you.


Thanks for watching.

ACPT 2013 - look out!

Does a little bit of one's soul get imparted when autographing something?
If so, bring it on in 2013!

Armed with this newly anointed puzzle tablet, how can I lose?

Thanks to all the good-natured celebrities who stood around and signed autographs.  Be you winners, constructors, editors, hats off to you, and thanks for making crosswords even more fun for the rest of us!

(I even let Dr. Fill sign!!)
See more about ACPT 2013, including some pics, here.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Infographs - why are puzzles hard/easy?

Here is a short demo comparing an easy Monday to a hard Saturday using the Crucimetrics solving app.
Please view it full screen and HD for best quality.
We believe that there are many more factors than simply time that make a puzzle easy or challenging.
And of course, a huge part of that is subject to each solver's "wheelhouse".  
Crucimetrics helps you to  visualize this, which in turn makes you a better solver.  A solving interface that will win over even diehard paper solvers lets you tag and share with your friends, and compare Instant Replays of your solves side-by-side.
 
So what makes a puzzle hard for you? 

NEW Puzzle Boards

My energetic and endlessly creative 88 year old Mom has been making Puzzle Boards for years, and just recently has started making them with puzzle themed fabric in addition to custom-made.
Check out this fabulous over-the-top board I commissioned to match my den!  She can make one more like this with the fabric on hand, or let her skilled eye come up with one that matches your favorite puzzle-solving nook.
(That's me in the pic - can you believe I solved today's puzzle in under 2 minutes because of this new board! ;) 

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Puzzle Boards!

My energetic and endlessly creative 88 year old Mom has been making Puzzle Boards for years, and just recently has started making them with puzzle themed fabric.