September 20, 2008

Introducing a new haunt for the crossword community

Thanks to a lot of hard work on the part of the talented and charming Dave Sullivan (a.k.a. Evad), I am now the proud mama of a new crossword discussion site: The Crossword Fiend Forum.

There's a "Today's Puzzles" category for free-ranging discussion of crosswords, along the lines of the New York Times "Today's Puzzle" crossword forum. (That forum will be discontinued soon, replaced by a new blog by Jim Horne at the NYT site.)

"Cryptic Crosswords" is the home for talk about all sorts of cryptics. The occasional one in the NYT? Sure. The variety cryptics in Harper's (by Richard Maltby) and the Atlantic (by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon)? Yep. Your own? Why not? The ones in Games magazine? Sure.

"Help Zone for Crossword Newbies" is a place where beginners can ask questions about specific clues and answers, or seek more general advice about how to tackle crosswords.

"Language, Etymology, Grammar" is where you can share your thoughts, ramblings, questions, gripes, and fun links on those topics.

In "Crossword Books," I'd love it if you'd offer brief (or long!) reviews of puzzle books. If you need a recommendation for a book, for yourself or someone else, feel free to ask there.

There's also a "Constructors' Corner," the purpose of which is undefined. If you have ideas or requests, please share them (even if your idea is "drop it, we don't need it").

This blog isn't going anywhere, and I love the sort of discussion we have in the comments here. So stick around—but stop by the Crossword Fiend forum when you're bursting to say something on the topics covered over there.