Q: Are you going to write about your experiences in Prague this year? Did you expect you would ever win the World Puzzle Championship?

Several people have asked if I would write a report on my experiences this year as I finally became World Puzzle Champion. Long ago, before I started this site, I would frequently write live blogs during or shortly after puzzle events, capturing the “heat” of competition. Some wanted to see me write an epilogue, after so many close runner-ups, to conclude a chapter in my life. Many of these championship stories (when posted in the late aughts) were the first ways people learned about me. I now prefer to let my own volume of written and edited puzzles speak more for me.

The live blogs capture my moments of great success and also great failure, as someone writing with full transparency and passion about what it is like to compete. I shared photos of “dirty laundry” — the stupid mistakes a competitor can make. I gave complaints earned and unearned against event organizers (the “So yeah, [insert event] happened” posts). I wrote an open letter that led to disqualifying a cheater and another that unfortunately did not lead to any WSC competition changes and continuing questions about what a Sudoku is almost 10 years later, ….

I stopped posting on that blog in 2013, with a primary focus on my own scientific career and a secondary focus on growing GMPuzzles. The reconnecting with science jobs was a major reason I stopped going to competitions from 2014 until 2017, “retired” from competitive puzzling in a sense. I never fully explained that choice, and I’ve never explained a few things that have had the most impact on my adult life. I’ve separated my very public “puzzle life” from my private life.

This time it is hard for me to answer questions like “did you expect you could win this year?” or “how does it feel?” without starting from a more private angle.

For the very private and introspective angle, continue here (note: some sadness/personal loss covered).

To go straight to the competition report, click here.

The Playoff story and video annotation is here.

Our most recent variety mix of WPC practice puzzles from Palmer Mebane can be found in this PDF.

This coming week features Spiral Galaxies, a region division style that focuses on symmetry. We have several classic Galaxies and a few variations during the week. We are close to finishing an e-book (part of The Art of Puzzles 2) featuring Spiral Galaxies; be on the watch for this before the new year.

This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles and images of the puzzle solutions. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus Spiral Galaxies and a Double Spiral Galaxies both by Thomas Snyder. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

Our most recent week of Nurikabe puzzles can be found in this PDF.

This coming week features a variety mix of puzzles by Palmer Mebane, created as practice for the US team before the most recent World Puzzle Championship. There are several Skyscrapers (with Mirrors) puzzles, as well as other variations — 9 puzzles in total. Note: these puzzles can have high variance in solving time partially due to the genres being less familiar to solvers at this site, so expect some of the “days of the week” to be out of order for you.

This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles, images of the puzzle solutions, and video talkthroughs of two of the less common puzzles. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus Gaps Between Battleships puzzle and a Pyramid puzzle by Palmer Mebane. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

PS: Also look towards the end of the week for a competition report from the World Puzzle Championship, telling my story of an unexpected world title win.

PPS: The answer checker (maintained by thegriddle.net) is undergoing end of year maintenance; please be patient as it may be missing from posts or not accepting solutions this week.

Our most recent week of TomTom puzzles can be found in this PDF.

Our next week of puzzles features Nurikabe, including a few variations. Two of the puzzles come from Ashish Kumar who recently completed a new Nurikabe e-book that we are releasing today. The book contains 35 classic Nurikabe, 5 Nurikabe (Cipher), 5 Nurikabe (Skyscrapers), and 5 Nurikabe (Borders) puzzles

This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles, images of the puzzle solutions, and video talkthroughs of the Wednesday and Saturday puzzles. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus Nurikabe by Serkan Yürekli and another by Murat Can Tonta. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

PS: We just got back from the World Puzzle Championship, and will have some practice puzzles and a report on the events (including my first WPC title) in the coming weeks.

Our most recent week of variety puzzles can be found in this PDF.

Our next week of puzzles features a set of TomTom puzzles including a few variations.

This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles as well as images of the puzzle solutions. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus TomTom by Thomas Snyder and another by Murat Can Tonta. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

Our next week of puzzles features a variety mix of puzzles from many authors.

This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles as well as images of the puzzle solutions. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus Slitherlink by Tom Collyer and a bonus Star Battle by Serkan Yürekli. Our Grandmaster subscribers also received an early release of an e-book of Nurikabe puzzles by Ashish Kumar which we will be released here later this month. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

Our most recent week of Battleships puzzles can be found in this PDF.

This is another “off week” for the site, but we just added a new book to our e-store, Castle Wall by Serkan Yürekli, which offers a fresh take on this interesting loop puzzle genre. If you enjoyed our Castle Wall puzzles from two weeks ago, please check out 58 more challenges in this collection.

Our most recent week of Castle Wall puzzles can be found in this PDF. We’re still putting the finishing touched on a Castle Wall e-book which will be released here soon.

Our next week of puzzles features the first puzzle style I was ever addicted to: Battleships. We will have several classic Battleships and some variations.

This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles as well as images of the puzzle solutions. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus Yajilin-Battleships by Thomas Snyder and a bonus Battleships by Murat Can Tonta. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

Our most recent week of sudoku puzzles can be found in this PDF.

Our next week of puzzles features Castle Wall; we will soon have a new e-book from Serkan Yürekli if you are interested in solving more Castle Wall puzzles.

This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles as well as images of the puzzle solutions. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus Castle Wall by Murat Can Tonta and a bonus Castle Wall by Serkan Yürekli. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.

Our most recent variety week of puzzles can be found in this PDF.

We are now entering test-solving and final layout for The Art of Sudoku 2, a collection of classic Sudoku, the main variations Tight Fit, Even/Odd, Arrow, Thermo, and Consecutive Pairs, and some other variations. Our next week of puzzles contains some great Sudoku that almost made this book, spread across all the main styles that are included.

This week, our subscribers are getting early access to the full week of puzzles as well as images of the puzzle solutions and a video walkthrough of the Friday puzzle. Master+ subscribers to the site are getting a bonus Even/Odd Sudoku by Serkan Yürekli and a bonus Classic Sudoku by Serkan Yürekli. If you want to become a subscriber and get access to bonus puzzles, solutions, e-books, and other rewards, check out this page.