![]() ![]() One of the fills I was looking at happened to include PRESALE. The LASER was actually a complete coincidence. ![]() I was initially distressed about the unchecked squares, but once I realized that SAFE would fit into them, they became an asset in my book! I then stuck in the CANNON and started filling. I was originally shooting for three such zones, but that just wasn't working-I didn't want any "extraneous" blocks to mess up the visual and I also wanted to squeeze in the revealer SPACE INVADERS. I was relieved to see that the surrounding fill in the upper center wasn't a complete disaster. Then somehow, by a stroke of luck (which I partially credit to having happened to have added SKI BOOT to my word list just a few months earlier), I found this solution. For the longest time I was convinced it wasn't going to work as I experimented with block pattern after block pattern! I tried having the M where the P was and even having the word read counterclockwise. I also wasn't finding enough ET entries that were legit with or without the ET using any other arrangement. My most compelling alternative was having four ETs in each row, but I didn't like how short all the ET entries would have to be (since the grid is only 21 columns wide). I tried several other arrangements before settling on the one you see. ![]() Right off the bat, I knew I wanted to represent the aliens as ETs, though I wasn't sure how many to include or even how they would work thematically. But I felt inspired, so I set to work on the puzzle instead! (The work did eventually get done, of course.) When I got back to my dorm room, I probably should've focused on making up all the schoolwork I'd missed while at the ACPT. Finally, on the journey from Stamford to Stanford, the idea of doing a Space Invaders puzzle suddenly came to me! I also decided on the spot that the puzzle would be a Sunday rather than a daily. Nonetheless, the idea stuck in the back of my head, and I continued to think about other possibilities throughout the tournament. At the time, none of us could think of any games that hadn't been done and that might lend themselves well to puzzles. As a group, we recalled that Frogger, Pac-Man, Clue, and Monopoly puzzles had already been done. There wasn't a single person at the table whose work I don't consistently admire, so it was truly an honor to be included!Īnyway, I believe it was Natan who brought up the idea of puzzles themed around games. We had a lot of fun talking shop and tossing around crossword ideas on the spot! I'm quite sure I'm forgetting some names, but I know the group included Kevin Der, Sam Ezersky, Joel Fagliano, Neville Fogarty, Josh Knapp, Natan Last, Kyle Mahowald, and Finn Vigeland. A whole group of us went out to an Italian restaurant in Stamford (called Zazu, which inspired us all to try constructing mini puzzles with ZAZA at 1-Across after our meal) one night and then to a Mexican restaurant the next night (whose name was regrettably much less interesting from a crossword constructor's standpoint). The inspiration for this puzzle was a dinner with other young constructors at the ACPT. ![]()
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