Puzzles in the news

A hand-picked roundup of the most interesting news, trends, and talking points in puzzles, games, and brain teasers.

- Media
- The business of Puzzles
- Puzzle Launches
TV gameshow based on Wordle to be launched

May 2026 | Lancashire Telegraph - PA

A new TV gameshow based on the word game Wordle is to be launched and will be presented by US news anchor Savannah Guthrie. NBC said the primetime gameshow will challenge players to solve five-letter word puzzles and go head-to-head in the Wordle arena, where they will play for a cash prize.

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- Solving Strategies
How to solve a cryptic crossword

April 2026 | RNZ - Esther Zweifel | Image Creit - RNZ

Cryptic crosswords might seem like gibberish at first glance, but there is method to the madness, with patterns that you can learn to identify to break down the puzzles. Steve Godsiff, a teacher from Timaru, has been doing cryptic crosswords for 30 years, and now retired, they’re part of his morning ritual.

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- Sudoku
- Solving Strategies
Will We Ever Run Out of Sudoku Puzzles?

April 2026 | Britannica - Tommy Conroy

Realistically, no! There are 6,670,903,752,021,072,936,960 possible solvable Sudoku grids that yield a unique result (that’s 6 sextillion, 670 quintillion, 903 quadrillion, 752 trillion, 21 billion, 72 million, 936 thousand, 960 in case you were wondering). That’s way more than the number of stars in the universe.

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- Crosswords
- Media
- Solving Strategies
A New York Times Magazine Sunday Crossword Error Causes First-Ever Unsolvable Puzzle

April 2026 | Eonline - Gabrielle Chung | Image - NY Times

A misprint in the April 19 issue of New York Times Magazine rendered the publication's crossword unsolvable for the first time in its 84-year history. The puzzle—created by Michael Lieberman and titled "Nuclear Fusion"—was published in the April 19 issue of the New York Times Magazine without a clue for 5-across.

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- Health
Decoding the Grid: How Daily Puzzles Reshape Our Digital Attention

April 2026 | Streamline

As millions rush to solve today`s NYT Mini Crossword, a deeper trend emerges: the gamification of the morning routine. We investigate the brain chemistry.

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- Media
- People & Personality
- The business of Puzzles
Puzzle strategies: 5 minutes with… Peter Stirling

April 2026 | Inpublishing - Peter Stirling | Image Credit - Ashkan Forouzani (Unsplash0.

Puzzles has long been part of the newspaper offering, but its usage has grown considerably. We grab five minutes with Peter Stirling, head of puzzles at PA Media, to find out why and what publishers need to know when planning their puzzles strategy.

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- Lifestyle
We’ve gone mad for puzzles. This makes sense – it’s reassuring to have answers in these perplexing times

April 2026 | Guardian - Joseph de Weck

aybe you’ve noticed it too. Everyone seems to have become fixated on puzzle games. In the morning, over coffee, I play Word Wheel on the Guardian app. Over lunch, colleagues compare notes on Tradle, the game where you guess a country from its exports. Which place exports about 45% fish and 50% crustaceans? Greenland. Another friend can’t fall asleep without her nightly Sudoku ritual

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- Health
- Lifestyle
9 Best Brain Games to Keep Your Mind Sharp

April 2026 | Very Well mind - Mark Stibich

The best brain games are activities that challenge memory, focus, and problem-solving while still being enjoyable enough to play regularly. Popular options include classics like Sudoku and crossword puzzles, as well as digital games like Wordle and Lumosity. These games can help strengthen skills such as attention, processing speed, and verbal reasoning.

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- Crosswords
- Sticky Puzzle
- History
- People & Personality
Crossword Creators: Richard Rogan – The Pioneer of Modern Times Cryptics

April 2026 | Xwords4All - A blog about digital puzzles

After exploring the enigmatic crossword creators from across the globe, we turn our focus to the UK and delve into the life of Richard Rogan, the illustrious editor of The Times Crossword. Rogan, celebrated for his clever wordplay and innovative contributions, transformed the world of British crosswords with his unique style and editorial acumen

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- Media
- Puzzle Launches
L.A. Times Games Expands Offerings with Launch of Midi Crossword

March 2026 | LA Times | Image Credit - LA Times

L.A. Times Games today announced debut of Midi Crossword, a new member-exclusive game designed to bridge the gap between the original Daily and popular Mini crossword puzzles. To access the new game, players must register for a free account on latimes.com. The Midi joins a growing roster of premium free-to-play titles, alongside newly launched word & trivia games from Lil Snack

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- Media
- People & Personality
- The business of Puzzles
LinkedIn wants you playing games on its site. Meet the puzzlemaster behind them.

March 2026 | Business Insider - Sarah E Needleman | Image Credit - Thomas Snyder

LinkedIn wants its users to do more than scroll. Thomas Snyder's job at the networking platform is to make that happen by giving them mind-bending challenges to solve — and maybe even brag about. The 46-year-old handcrafts logic games meant to give its users a shared daily experience they can bond over. Initially hired as a consultant, he joined LinkedIn full time in October.

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- Media
- People & Personality
- Puzzle Products
- Puzzle Launches
It’s no puzzle why the crossword is marking its 100th year in The Observer

March 2026 | Observer - Caitlin O'Kane | Image Credit - Observer

Our crossword has survived wars, paper shortages, and a century of upheaval without missing a week. Our first dedicated puzzles editor reflects on the power – and magic – of a good brain-teaser

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