Puzzle Notes

Hi friends: 

Attached is the first AVCX puzzle of the year, Byron Walden's "Oh, It Happened All Right," rated 4/5 in difficulty.

Meanwhile, the answers to the recent meta suite, "Variety Is the Spice of Life," will be emailed out later this week (Friday, I think), along with an announcement about the winners. We received nearly 100 complete correct answers -- congratulations to everyone who tried their hand at the set!

Finally, were you aware that most indie crossword editors and constructors know each other, and dare I say mostly like and support each other, too? It's true! And we're always working to grow awareness of good subscription crosswords as something worth paying for. Peter Gordon and I are trading plugs this week -- he's one of the best editors, if not the best in the business. I'll be upping some of my other very favorite independent puzzle venues in the coming weeks, and quality is assured in every case.

Peter edits Fireball Crosswords, a 45-times-a-year crossword. The puzzles are hard. How hard? If you have to ask, too hard for you. The sixth year starts today. Subscribe at http://www.fireballcrosswords.com/subscribe.htm and you'll get a mental workout with themed and themeless puzzles, several metapuzzle contests, and more.

Welcome to 2015!

Ben and the AVCX crew [avxwords.com, @AVCXWord]