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DesignMaking the Shortz list Dept.

The New York Times Crossword

My debut puzzle for The Gray Lady.

The New York Times crossword, first published in 1942, is the gold standard of American puzzles, attempted by an estimated 500,000 solvers daily. Will Shortz, editor since 1993, selects submissions that pour in (about 100 each day) from amateur and professional puzzle-makers alike. It is a resolutely anachronistic process that involves snail mail, waiting months on a decision, and an additional year for publication.

After nine rejections, my first published crossword appeared on Wed, 11 April 2018. Read reviews by Deb Amlen at the NYT Wordplay blog, Jeff Chen and Rex Parker [warning: spoilers at all links].

Play puzzle

CodeSite reading Dept.

Warner, a WordPress theme

Warner is a responsive WordPress theme, designed for keiranking.com. It uses the Bootstrap grid, has dedicated template files for different post categories, and calculates reading time for articles.

: Warner on desktops and laptops.

: Warner on mobile devices.

: Warner active in the Wordpress dashboard.

View on Github

CodeCard-counting Dept.

Anna, a kalooki scorecard

CSS • HTML • JavaScript

Kalooki is the most popular card game in Jamaica, a staple of family and social gatherings. My aunt Ann Marie, who passed away in October, loved the game. I have many, many fond memories of her kicking my butt.

Anna is a kalooki scorecard and leaderboard. Easily add players, enter scores, “bend the board”, and see exactly how far behind first place you are.

: Anna’s interface.

: The leaderboard shows the distance between all players and the leader.

: Easily “bend the board” by clicking one of the ‘x2’ buttons to the right of the scorecard.

Try it now View on Github

CodeAlliteracy test Dept.

Gary, a game for alliterates

CSS • HTML • JavaScript

My wife and I love word games — crosswords, Boggle, Scrabble (our set is wall-sized). We both grew up in Jamaica, where a common after-school activity is ‘Boy, Girl, Place, Thing’.

Gary is an alliterative game for 2 or more players. Throw up a card, and scribble answers to the 12 categories before time runs out. To score, eliminate duplicate answers and count the rest.

It’s free, open-source, and easily localized, so you don’t have to learn any US state capitals.

: Gary’s interface.

: When time is running out, the clock turns red.

: Easily select a localization.

Try it now View on Github

CodeLetter boxes Dept.

Phil, a crossword maker

CSS • HTML • JavaScript

I construct crosswords in my spare time. (Read about my first New York Times puzzle.) The industry standard software is Crossword Compiler, which is expensive and Windows-only. Until now, I used CMFC, an iPad app. But while at Recurse Center in NYC, Raph Levien and I built Phil, a free and powerful HTML5 puzzle-maker.

Phil imports and exports .PUZ, uses a high-quality custom dictionary, and generates a solvable PDF or NYT submission with one click.