Puzzle Notes

Dear Friends:

This week's puzzle is by Patrick Blindauer, and edited by Francis Heaney. It's a 21x21 called "What's in a Game?" at 3.5/5 difficulty.

Thanks to the 349 solvers who submitted solutions to the meta from last week's puzzle by Francis. From the correct answer pile, we randomly drew two winners -- Robert Kern and Al Sanders -- who will each receive a prize. The solution to the puzzle and its meta is attached here. Congrats to all who played!

And speaking of both Patrick and Francis, Patrick is a cohost of one of our favorite puzzle tournaments, Lollapuzzoola. LPZ 13 is, humbly, the world's greatest crossword puzzle tournament ever held on a Saturday in August. This year it'll be held in virtual fashion on Saturday, August 15, from 1pm-7pm Eastern Time. Since it's a virtual tournament, you'll be solving from your computer, and will need internet service to participate in real time with the rest of the tournament. There are four divisions to choose from: Express, Local, and Pairs are for tournament competitors; and the "Next Day" division is for solvers who want puzzles but no tournament pressure. Tickets to the live tournament are $20. The "Next Day" Division package is $10. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Color of Change and the Save the Children Coronavirus Response Fund. Constructors this year are Rachel Fabi, Brooke Husic, joon pahk, Sid Sivakumar, Robyn Weintraub, and Stella Zawistowski. There are also -- and this is where Francis comes in -- some bonus games (Francis is emceeing one of them), and the whole day is basically a crossword-themed party.

Visit https://bemoresmarter.com/lollapuzzoola for more info.

Be well,

Ben and the AVCX crew

avxwords.com // @avcxword