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It’s coming! At the end of next month! ACPT weekend is a good time for anyone who likes puzzles, unless they freak out in crowds. Me, I find the crowds of word nerds invigorating, so I love going. (Memo to Seth G: You gotta go. You’ll love it!)
The program and registration info are here. The first thing to do is to book your travel. That link includes the group code you’ll need to reserve your Brooklyn Bridge Marriott room (scroll down to the Accommodations section). If you’re flying in to Brooklyn, buy your tickets now—airfares go up and up, they don’t come down.
Will Shortz tends to tap one or two new-to-the-ACPT constructors each year, filling the other slots with tried-and-true constructing veterans. The marquee puzzle is the themeless one used in the A, B, and C divisional finals. Themelesses are my favorite puzzles in general, so I really wish I could play in the A finals every year and get to solve that puzzle competitively. You know what? That puzzle has been conquered by women finalists, but I don’t think the finals puzzle has ever been constructed by a woman. I love Karen Tracey’s themeless puzzles and am grateful that she’s so prolific. It’s been too long since Sherry Blackard had one of her killer NYT Saturdays, so I’d love to see one of her beastly grids in the finals. Then there’s Paula Gamache, who is equally good at making themeless puzzles and easy themed ones—not a common combination. Will we see one of their puzzles gracing the finals this year? That will be a closely guarded secret until the tournament weekend. In any event, all eight puzzles are likely to be terrific and fun (though I hope Puzzle #5 will be wickedly challenging, because that’s its own kind of fun).
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Could Hidato become the next Sudoku? We’ll go out on a limb and say, we think so!
Connect the numbers together to win. Consecutive numbers must touch
hortizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Each puzzle has exactly one
solution and can be solved using 100% logic.
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If you are a teacher looking to improve the focus and spelling of your students you should consider creating your own word search puzzle. Ideal for younger students a traditional word search puzzle will help children to identify correct spellings, misspellings and improve focus and concentration while at the same time having some fun in the classroom. Word searches are often seen as a game by many children that they can enjoy easily. While crossword puzzles may be too advanced for them to consider fun or be able to even complete a simple word search puzzle can put their brains to the test without them even realizing it.
Try out a website designed for creating your own word search puzzle. These websites offer a variety of different options so you can input the words you want and also their “alternate” versions where they are spelled incorrectly. The website will then compile the words into a word search puzzle which you can simply print off and copy to give to your young budding students as part of a fun classroom activity or homework they are sure to want to complete. While creating your own word search puzzle should not replace traditional spelling tests and teaching methods they are a great educational supplement to your teaching program that students will love to get involved with. You can even encourage team working within the classroom with this activity, just set up the students in groups of 3 or 4 and offer “stars” or other rewards to the group who finds them all first.
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