This web browser is not supported. Use Chrome, Edge, Safari, or Firefox for best results.

Variety Puzzle FAQ

Questions about Second Sunday puzzles in XWord Info

What are variety puzzles?

Every week, the NYT Sunday Magazine publishes a large crossword and one or more variety puzzles. Acrostics alternate weeks with cryptics and various other special puzzles.

Why have they been added to XWord Info?

There is some brilliant work here that I want to organize and surface for others to see. Many of the best clues have been in acrostics or other variety puzzles.

Which variety puzzles are included in XWord Info?

Acrostics are included back to mid-1999. Other puzzles similar to crosswords going back to 1997, including cryptic, diagramless, and panda (Puns and Anagram) puzzles, can be solved here online. More unusual variety puzzles like Split Decisions and Marching Bands can be downloaded as PDFs for you to print out and solve on paper.

Can I co-solve these on-line with a friend?

Yes! See the Collaboration Mode FAQ. Collaboration mode is not supported for Acrostics.

Is variety data integrated with data from normal puzzles? Does it "count" in the stats?

Mostly yes. Finder searches can show Variety results separately.

What happened to the Variety puzzles on nytimes.com?

In early 2023, the New York Times stopped supporting digital versions of all Variety puzzles. We're doing our part to keep this critical legacy alive by including all the Variety puzzles we have here. Many are hand-digitized just for this site.

You must be signed in with your XWord Info account to view or solve the Variety puzzles. As of now, any account level will do, although that requirement might increase in the future.

PDF-only puzzles must, of course, be printed out to solve. Acrostics and other puzzle types can be solved using our proprietary solver page. Note that, at least for now, our solver requires a mouse and keyboard, so phone solving is not supported, and progress is not saved between devices.

We also have a combined list of all Variety puzzles that can be solved here with your XWord Info account.

Are these the same Variety puzzles printed in the Sunday magazine?

Yes.

At least the main Variety puzzles. There are other smaller puzzles like KenKen that we do not include.

Why do I have to pay XWord Info when I already have an NYT account?

Yeah, sorry about that.

Although we get early access to the puzzles, we are independent of the Times. XWord Info is an expensive site to run. New Variety puzzles are hand-digitized — a cumbersome manual process.

If I'm not happy with what I get for my payment, can I get a refund?

Of course! No questions asked.

Click here for the main XWord Info FAQ.

XWord Info Home
XWord Info © 2007-2024, Jim Horne
0 ms