Puzzle Notes

Dear friends,

Kareem Ayas brings us "Remarkable Colors" at 2/5 difficulty this week. The digital version is perfectly solvable, but we strongly recommend completing this one in the PDF version if you're able. There is no Inksaver version included, for reasons. Enjoy!

Kareem Ayas is a writer and teacher living in Harlem, NY with his dog Kane. He has published crosswords for the New York Times, USA Today and Puzzmo, among many others. He is also part of the 2026 Lil AVCX editing team.

Finally, a plug for some friends of ours: Cryptic Crossweird puts out 2 midsize cryptics per month from new and veteran constructors, with occasional bonus 15x15 puzzles. They put an emphasis on in-language wording, fresh entries, and evocative surfaces. For a sample of their stuff, check out their introductory 4-pack or the recent puzzle they made for the Westwords tournament. And submissions are open! They pay $100 per puzzle, and newer constructors are encouraged to apply.
Yrs,
Ben and the expanded AVCX crew


avxwords.com // @avcx.bsky.social' // @lilavcx.bsky.social' // @avcxtrivia.bsky.social'

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