Tournament Time: Part One

I arrived at the Brooklyn Marriott for the 32nd Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament tired and wet (I'd been working all day ... and it was raining).

I hadn't intended to ... and didn't ... attend the opening night festivities, interested though I was to hear what the more famous crossword bloggers (they have been at it for quite some time, after all, and I have only just begun) had to say about online experiences. To do that, I'd have to: 1) stay awake; 2) either eat a very late dinner indeed or go without; and 3) arrive home in the wee hours of the morning. So, alas, I missed the blogger talk, the appearance of KenKen inventor Tetsuya Miyamoto and the "Pick Your Poison" contest (I probably would have chosen the cryptic in Round 2).

Never fear, however: I have my spy, who has orders to report back.

I picked up my registration packet, however, gathered up the puzzle goodies on the goody-table, and found my friend, rookie tournament attendee Ellen, happily chatting with others at a table near the registration desk. After registering (there were constructors put to work manning the table), I joined the group at Ellen's table for some pleasant anticipatory chit-chat. Indeed, the atmosphere was, as usual, one of cheerful anticipation. And, of course, we were surrounded by the truly great joy of this tournament: the world's nicest, friendliest people.

So I startled a couple of folks by taking my leave. Once home and properly fed, I looked over the goodies in the registration packet with the ones I'd grabbed from the desk. First up: "The World's Hardest Crossword" from, apparently, a 1965 issue of Esquire magazine. It came with the promise of a $100 prize to "one person or team, selected at random," who manages to correctly solve & submit the puzzle by Saturday at 8 p.m. It's a 23x23, and I managed to fill in the grand total of two entries. There is no doubt that I will not be winning that Benjamin!

Looking for easier fare, I found a puzzle by Todd Gross, which I put aside for later. Then there was a copy of Friday's puzzle from the Times, which I appreciated as I hadn't picked up Friday's paper. Joe DiPietro had put two stacks of fifteens in this Friday challenge, but I've confronted those before and sometimes managed to solve them, so I wasn't too intimidated. I should have been intimidated. Heh. Or maybe I was just too tired. So it proved to be a solving pleasure to move on to the much easier but still interesting "Bonus Puzzle by Puzzazz.com." This one posed a question that was to be answered by anagramming circled letters in the puzzle; however, I got the answer from the question and the number of letters in the answer alone before I even put pen to grid. Well then of course I still had to solve the puzzle just to be sure I was right. Right? Right! Yes, Ellen, I was right, and yes, the puzzle was still fun to solve, and, no, it was not too easy, either: I still have the lower right corner to fill.

Also in the packet, should one be so inclined *and* have time and money to spend: a flyer for Will Shortz's Wonderful World of Words at Mohonk Mountain House November 13-15, and a flyer for Stan Newman's Crossword University 10-Day Southern Caribbean Cruise January 14-24, 2010.

Oh, my goodness, don't I wish! I've been to Mohonk Mountain House and just did not want to ever leave (warning: it's expensive). And what could be a better excuse to indulge in a cruise than 10 days' worth of crosswords? Especially at the prices listed in the flyer -- now, that's a deal!

Well, I'll just sit here and dream a bit. Meanwhile, the 32nd Annual Tourney awaits -- time to shower, get some breakfast, and be on my way to greet the day at the Brooklyn Marriott.