New York Times, Thursday, December 31, 2015

Sharing is the real struggle, which I know from having young kids. One merry minute they're handing their sibling the last bite of cupcake, the next they're wresting it back, apoplectic, sobbing.

We all face that conflict. Altruism feels good, but so does having stuff. I run a business myself, the American Values Club xwords. If someone asks me nicely, I'll give them as many free puzzles as they want, anytime. But on other occasions, I obsess over money, ownership, control, in ways that are hard to check even when they feel toxic.

Today's theme is part of a larger project, unveiled today, to think through this conflict. I saw the opportunity about two years ago when I first noted the anniversary. I imagined a monopoly on Monopoly puzzles--as a canvas, a chance to consider competing impulses.

A historical detail adds a wrinkle: Monopoly is a tedious game on purpose. That tedium was the point of its model and predecessor, The Landlord's Game, which was designed to show how property ownership and inequality are oppressive. You know how when you play Monopoly, frequently, one player grabs up the reds and the yellows and the greens within five minutes, and for the next two hours, the rest of the party gets to be the disdainful proletariat renter class? That's kind of what the designers were after.

Lesson learned, perhaps, but the game remains seductive. We keep living its contradictions, we keep buying it, as if it might be different next time although the rules haven't changed. Our carpets will be streaked with cupcake crumbs and tears; the game guarantees it. Let the stains remind us not only that whoever loves money will never have enough money, but that the spoils of generosity may include our own grace.

Fun idea, PASS GO meaning that you need to skip over G O in the themers in order to make sense of their eccentric clues. I like it when a grid looks perfectly normal, but there's something kooky going on underneath. For instance, GOOGLE DOCS (fantastic fresh entry!) reads as OGLE DOCS when you "PASS GO."

Speaking of fresh, Ben is really strong when it comes to delivering a modern feel. I've been lucky enough to have two guest puzzles in his American Values Club Crossword — I'm always impressed at how he balances the puzzles so they appeal to solvers in their teens and 20s, but also remain accessible to solvers of all ages.

I liked how Ben used his upper right corner to give us a lot of bonus material. MIXED DRINK is nice enough on its own, but crossing it with an AD EXEC and OPUS DEI makes great use of that real estate.

While I was impressed with the high theme density — four themers plus PASS GO and MONOPOLY — I did find it inelegant that PASS GO and MONOPOLY didn't have symmetrically placed theme answers. PASS GO is more forgivable since short revealers are often placed at the very end of the puzzle, but not having a match for MONOPOLY felt odd. I do like the feat of stacking EGOMANIACS atop MONOPOLY, and it's nice execution to get that SE area smooth, but I might have liked the overall layout better without MONOPOLY.

I wasn't sure what a WAGONMASTER was, but apparently, it's a ... master of a wagon. Huh.

Amusing clues:

• Who knew that the equivalent to a NUN in Buddhism was a Bhikkhuni? Neat trivia.
• [Low note?] refers to a cow "lowing," or making a MOO.
• A [Swiftly built home?] is a NEST … built by a swift. Awesome!

Great to see LGBT finally show up in the NYT crossword! I'm curious when LGBTQ will debut.

This crossword was part of a unique four-puzzle Monopoly by Ben Tausig.

The brilliant podcast "99% Invisible" did a fascinating episode on The Landlord's Game just last month. You can listen to it or read about it here.