I continue to have a
interest in cryptic crosswords, but now that I have settled into the USA and
become a US citizen, I have a strong urge to be involved in the North American
crossword community. American puzzles turn out to be a great way of discovering
the local culture; I'm also finding that my increased knowledge of American
puzzle construction is feeding into improvements in my
crossword software.
I started the Crossword Man
Blog at the beginning of 2009 to write about my learning experiences: posts
about the New York Times crossword
recorded the clues and answers I didn't understand, as well as any cultural
differences between Britain and America that were revealed. I discontinued the
daily posts when I became a US citizen in 2011, but continue to produce
Cruciverbal
Cheat Sheets (research pieces about specific topics that I'm trying to
master).
I also compete in the
American Crossword Puzzle
Tournament and have slowly improved my performance over the last few years:
| ACPT Year |
Ranking |
| 2009 |
479 out of 674 |
| 2010 |
309 out of 643 |
| 2011 |
164 out of 655 |
Photo by Don Christensen.
I gave a talk about
The
Differences between UK and US Cryptic Crosswords at the 2011 American
Crossword Puzzle Tournament, illustrated by a
British Crossword Boot Camp puzzle.
My ultimate ambition is to get puzzles published in the American press, and
I have already begun submitting ideas to the editors of the
New York Times and
Los Angeles Times puzzles.