My first crossword puzzle

Posted byDerek 6 Comments on My first crossword puzzle

Until a couple of weeks ago, I estimate I had only completed around 3 crossword puzzles in my life. I don’t know why, I just never thought I could do them. But then my friend Johnathan, inspired by the movie “Word Play” (a documentary about crossword enthusiasts), decided to make his own crossword. I worked it (with some help from Karianne and my parents) pretty quickly, and since then I’ve worked at least one almost every day.

So tonight I decided to try to make my own. There are many rules for how to properly make a crossword puzzle, and while I didn’t follow them all, I did my best. This puzzle is about 60% letters (it should be around 84%) and not all letters are in both a horizontal and vertical word. But it is mostly symmetrical!

I started with a kid-related theme in mind (hence, the puzzle is called “Child’s Play”), but making squares of interlocking words was hard enough without that, so any theme-related words are purely vestigial at this point.

Here is a link to the puzzle as a Microsoft Word doc. If you decide to work it, please let me know what you think!

***UPDATE*** Johnathan the voracious cruciverbalist pointed out that one of my words was missing its clue! Rather than re-numbering everything, I added it in as 50 Down, and I marked it in red in the file to make it easier to find. Thanks, J!

6 replies on “My first crossword puzzle”

  1. okay, giving this one a shot, I’ll get back to you…I’m having trouble finishing my second one, although once it’s done I’ll let you know (the theme is really fun, but it’s a surprise!)

  2. hey man, there’s an error, four boxes over from 13 across should have a number – does it have a clue? I may figure it out, but just letting you know…

  3. Hey man, that was fun! Nice job – I will share the clues I enjoyed the most, and the ones that made me pull my hair out.

    Favs: 13A, 31D, 42D, 28D – I think I like 31 down the best, I really had to get the others first and then I smiled when I saw what it was…

    Ones that referred to something I’ve never heard of: 23D, 6D, 8D, and 20D – I looked up each of them and got them right, but only due to the others. The answer to 20 down was one I was sure I had wrong, but apparently I’ve learned a new…word?

    Also, for a while I had 10D wrong and it really kept me from getting 12 and 16 across correct – and then I remembered what 12 across was and it opened things up.

    Lastly, that down word that isn’t numbered, I can only assume it’s “just kidding I won’t post it”, but I think there’s really only one letter that fits in that fifth box going downward.

    Thanks man! I’ll send my new one over when I can figure out how to fix this SUPER-ANNOYING PROBLEM that two of the long words are causing.

  4. hey man,

    i wanted to leave three comments in a row that started with “hey man,”

    misson accomplished.

  6. I got it!! And I’m sure now. For a while, 9d was driving me crazy, until I realized the “I” I had typed in was actually an “L.” Then things made sense. I was trying to figure out what kind of lasting relationship ions had with each other. Oops. Also, have you started getting pedicures? I haven’t even paid that much attention to nail polish brands! 41a made me laugh, as did 38a.

    Well done! I’m so impressed by crossword puzzle writers.

    Beware the crossword puzzle bug! I usually solve two day – it’s an addiction. Unless it’s Friday or Saturday. Then I stare at them for a while, then fill them out using the handy-dandy answer key. Some people might call that cheating…

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