Solving a crossword is typically a pretty relaxing pastime. Puzzlers can linger over clues while sipping coffee at the breakfast table, maybe even walking away with the game half complete, just to come back to a particular clue when an answer comes to them hours later.
But for crossword enthusiasts looking to add some intensity and competition to the ritual, there are crossword tournaments.
At the Midwest Crossword Tournament in Chicago Saturday, hardcore puzzlers will sit alongside each other in a big ballroom and race to complete their puzzles.
“We say, ‘begin,’ and everybody solves the puzzles at the same time. It's a little bit like watching everybody take the SAT,” said Sally Hoelscher, co-organizer of the event.
This is the second annual Midwest Crossword Tournament, inspired by American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. All the puzzle constructors and editors either grew up in or currently live in the Midwest, including several Iowans.
Sally Hoelscher, who lives in Iowa City, started thinking about constructing puzzles in 2018 when she was considering a change from her job as a freelance writer.
“I was sitting in my kitchen solving the New York Times crossword when all of the sudden I thought, I wonder who makes these? I wonder if I could make these,” Hoelscher said.
“And it turns out the answer is yes. And so I started looking into how to make crossword puzzles, taught myself how to make crossword puzzles and then started submitting.”
She discovered a thriving and welcoming crossword community. Her friend and fellow crossword-smith Shannon Rapp had long wished there was a tournament in the Midwest, and she enlisted Hoelscher to co-organize it with her.
Last year there were 180 solvers. This year there up to 228 registrants.
“I have likened it to a nerdy family reunion,” Hoelscher said.
Individual solvers compete in different divisions, based on difficulty. The Chicago Fire division is for the most advanced solvers, while Minnesota Nice is for the rest of the individual solvers. There's also a division for people competing in pairs. Everyone competing solves five puzzles, then the top three solvers in each division complete the last puzzle.
There's also an online version of the competition held on Twitch, where virtual participants can compete at the same time as the in-person solvers.
Christina Iverson, a constructor and puzzle editor for The New York Times living in Ames, is one of the editors for the event’s puzzles. She gave some behind the scenes insight to how she and her co-editor work with the constructors to get the puzzles ready for the competitions.
"Once we approved of the theme, then we would have them make the grid, and we would kind of go back and forth with them a little bit to make sure we liked the grid and then they'd write clues,” Iverson said. “And so all summer, we've been working on editing the puzzles.”
Iverson said she and the constructors have fun with the puzzles, letting their own personality shine in the clues more than usual.
“With the Midwest tournaments, there's more playfulness. I think we allow constructors to have their voice a little bit more in puzzles than we would at the Times," she said. "And so people like to kind of squeeze in Midwest references.”
For example, last year the “40 degrees in Minnesota” was the clue for “shorts weather.” Though this year’s clues are top secret, of course.
