Where on a website such as this does one put the story of one of America’s most unusual, interesting and active game-puzzle people? Historian, author, NPR (National Public Radio) commentator, collector, tournament judge, and editor of The New York Times crossword puzzles, Will Shortz would fit under so many headings on this site. He doesn’t build three-dimensional mechanical puzzles (who knows–maybe he does), but he certainly creates some of the most interesting crossword puzzles and mental challenges around. As such, he is every bit a mechanical puzzle designer.
Scroll down to see Will’s latest venture: a huge table tennis facility!
Will Shortz
—
America’s Puzzlemaster
by Bruce Whitehill
Published in Knucklebones
games and puzzles magazine,
May, 2006
What is ten letters (two words) for enigma, puzzler maker, solver, collector, author, and, in short, puzzlemaster? Answer: Will_Shortz. For most of 25 years starting from 1973, Will, whose proclivities range from crosswords to problematic posers, would send out an original holiday greeting card puzzle in December to what grew to be a group of over 100 friends and colleagues. After the answers flowed in along with holiday wishes, he would randomly select one of the correct entries and send that person a box of hand-dipped chocolates. As a friend of Will’s from the mid ‘80s, I was one of those lucky recipients of almost-annual puzzle cards. Initially, I was less interested in the poser than the chance of winning the chocolates, but I soon became a puzzler, mainly as the result of Will’s influence in the world of wordplay and puzzles.
At 53, he seems entirely too young to have accomplished so much in such a unique field. Will Shortz is not only the New York Times crossword puzzle editor and the country’s puzzlemaster through his regular brainteasers on National Public Radio, he is the author or editor of more than 150 books on puzzles, owner of the world’s largest library on the subject, a major contributor of puzzles to Reader’s Digest, and organizer/host of dozens of puzzle tournaments and championships around the world. He has been featured on numerous national television shows, such as “60 Minutes,” and is even the one who wrote the four conundrums used by the Riddler in the 1995 film, Batman Forever.
A great puzzle maker and puzzle solver, Will is the only person in the world to have a degree in enigmatology. That’s right—a college degree in the study of puzzles. His thesis for his B.A. degree from Indiana University in 1974 was “The History of American Word Puzzles Before 1860.” After that, he obtained his J.D. at the University of Virginia School of Law, in 1977. Yes, he’s a lawyer, too. But he made the choice to give up law and pursue a life of puzzles. “I love the creative, love puzzles, am pretty good at them, love the humor of it, the fact checking, the people I come in contact with.” That includes people like Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart (Will was on his show), and Merv Griffin, to name a few.
Still single, Will lives alone in a large, English Tudor house where the extra space is not really to live in but to store his immense collections of puzzles, artifacts and over 20,000 puzzle books and magazines (in over 40 languages) dating back to 1545. He is an avid reader, consuming writings that go way beyond his puzzle interests. For decades he has resided in a quiet, tree-shrouded area of Pleasantville, New York, just a 30-mile train ride from New York City, far from the Arabian horse farm on which he was raised in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Since he does most of his work at home, he ventures into the city only once a week to his office in the New York Times building or NPR studio. His home office consists of a Macintosh computer, antique arts & crafts, and—of course—more books, including over 60 feet of shelves filled with reference books that coveri nearly every kind of dictionary or reference subject imaginable. His other books are used both for his leisure and his craft, though where he finds time for the leisure part is an enigma, since his one great passion outside of puzzles—table tennis—consumes two to four hours a night, six nights a week!
The rest of the time, he’s doing puzzles. Will has been the convention program director of the National Puzzlers’ League every year since 1976, and is their historian; the director of The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) every year since he founded it in 1978; the founder of the World Puzzle Championship (he has overseen the U.S. team since 1993). He is the co-founder of the World Puzzle Federation, was its chairman, and is now the treasurer.
Traveling and going antiquing are two of his favorite pastimes, and his vocation makes it even easier. The World Puzzle Championship, for instance, will be held this fall in Bulgaria. Last year it was in Croatia, and the year before in Hungary; in 2007, Rio!
When he is not founding, organizing, chairing, or traveling, he is writing, and right now, five—count ‘em: 5—of the top ten best-selling sudoku books in the United States are his; one of them has been rated #1. When I last did a search on eBay, 98 “Will Shortz” items were listed as available through eBay stores; Amazon.com listed 244 books of his books for sale!
Though he looks to be somewhere in his young 40s, Will has been in the puzzle game for 40 years! His first published puzzle was a game of “Categories,” which appeared in 1966— when he was 14—in Venture, a denominational youth magazine. Two years later he was a regular contributor to Dell puzzle magazines, becoming one of the youngest regular contributors in their history.
His professional career got its big boost when he became an associate editor of Games magazine in 1978, a year after its founding. By 1982 he was a senior editor. November of that year was also the start of Gloria Rosenthal’s “The Wonderful World of Words” weekend at the historic Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York, and Will has been a part of that and every “Words” weekend since. Will enjoyed Mohonk so much that he even returned on a non-words weekend to play a suspect in one of the murder mystery weekends, a 1930s genre that was revived in part because of Mohonk. Or was it because of Will?
In 1989, Will became the editor of Games. He left in 1993 to take up the position as the crossword editor of the New York Times. But it’s Will’s seven-minute weekly stint as puzzlemaster of NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” that began in January 1987 that has gained him national notice and brought him so many adoring fans.
The idea was that this was to be the radio equivalent of a Sunday newspaper, and, as Will explains it, “everyone knows that one of the most popular parts of a Sunday newspaper is the crossword. Susan Stamberg, the show’s original host, came to me and asked if I could devise a puzzle segment for it. But what could it be? A crossword wouldn’t work, because it needs to be seen to be solved, as do most other puzzles. Moreover, the puzzle, whatever it was, had to be fast-paced, with quick answers, because radio can’t have dead air-time. I devised a format of quick word teasers, which has worked now for 19 years!”
On the early shows, Will quizzed just the host. Sometime in the early 1990s, Liane Hansen, the show’s new host, had the idea of bringing listeners into the game, and the segment has been run that way ever since. The show is now broadcast on nearly 500 public radio stations around the country.
Will’s work (I would call it Will’s “fun”) on NPR has given him somewhat of a celebrity status. And yet, he stands on line in a coffee shop, unnoticed, on a Sunday afternoon, surreptitiously listening in on people’s conversations about the ease or difficulty of the day’s New York Times crossword. His smile could mean that he has overheard someone commenting on his “tricks” or admitting that they were baffled—something Will loves to do—or that he has just come up with another fiendish idea for a new clue or a fresh puzzle.
His smile is always a warm one, often accompanied by a good laugh. His humor shows itself usually as a wit of words. He can fire off quizzes and questions in a roomful of people, yet he is also a bit shy, and often quiet—that’s when you know he’s thinking. Curious and cerebral, he is as comfortable in conversation as he is among his books or in the solitude of his puzzle working. An unassuming and gentle soul, he is nonetheless almost devilish in his pursuit of setting up the contest, one in which the solver will be eventually triumphant, or at the very least, relieved and satisfied when the answer is revealed. Yet Will is, as his friends and neighbors will tell you, just the guy next door—unfazed by his success, undaunted by his challenges.
Though Will’s specialty has always been word puzzles, he has long harbored a compelling curiosity in all puzzles, mathematical and otherwise. Though I have known him over twenty years, now I am presented with an opportunity to probe more about his keen interests and their beginnings.
BGH (The Big Game Hunter): I know that you have always revered the work of Sam Loyd (great American puzzlemaker, 1841-1911). Was he one of your inspirations?
Shortz: As a child, my hero was Loyd. He specialized in math puzzles embellished with pictures and stories. I enjoyed his creations so much that at one time I intended to pursue a career in mathematics. Only later did I figure out that it wasn’t the math that excited me so much, it was the puzzles.
I discovered Sam Loyd through the collections of his mathematical puzzles compiled by Martin Gardner and published by Dover in 1959 and ‘60. Loyd was a huge influence, because his puzzles were so elegant and engaging, and he proved that very hard puzzles could still have wide popular appeal, through proper presentation.
BGH: What about crossword puzzles? How did you get started in crosswords, and did anyone influence your interest and skill in doing them?
Shortz: When I was 8 years old, my mother, in an attempt to keep me busy, drew a crossword grid and told me to create my own puzzle. It all began then.
The greatest influence on my involvement in crossword puzzles was Margaret Farrar, the first crossword editor of the New York Times. I’ve always admired the wide-open constructions she published and the classic vocabulary in them.
BGH: I assume a strong vocabulary is a major aptitude of yours?
Shortz: Yes, especially short words with lots of vowels.
BGH: Lots of vowels?
Shortz: Yes. They’re prevalent in American crosswords.
BGH: Tell us about your New York Times gig; you were only 41 when you took over the job.
Shortz: I became the crossword editor of the Times in November 1993, following the death of my predecessor, Eugene Maleska. I’m the fourth crossword editor in the paper’s history, and the youngest. I receive 60-75 puzzles a week—all the crosswords are submissions. I publish about 110 different contributors each year. My job is to look through the submissions, choose my favorites for publication, correspond with the contributors about what I like and don’t like, recheck every word and fact, and edit and typeset the puzzles for publication. I’m a real hands-on editor. About half the clues in the Times crosswords are my own; I use the answer submitted by the crossword writer, but I often come up with an entirely different clue
BGH: Is there money to be made for the aspiring crossword puzzle writer?
Shortz: At The New York Times, the pay is $135 for a daily crossword, $700 for a Sunday. These rates are significantly higher than when I arrived in 1993.
BGH: And can anyone submit a crossword to you?
Shortz: Yes, anyone. You can get the details online at www.cruciverb.com .
BGH: Do you still write crosswords for the Times or just edit them?
Shortz: The only puzzles I make for the Times are occasional novelties on the bottom of the Sunday puzzle page.
BGH: You are known for your “tricky clues.” Can you give an example?
Shortz: Okay. The clue is “Inside shot.”
BGH: (I ponder.)
Shortz: Answer: “x-ray.” How about, “An event that produces big bucks”?
BGH: Deer hunting?
Shortz: “Rodeo.”
BGH: What’s your favorite crossword puzzle?
Shortz: My all-time favorite crossword is the Clinton/Bob Dole election-prediction puzzle, which appeared in the Times on Election Day in November 1996. The puzzle was set up so cleverly that the answer to who would be elected could fit either “Clinton” or Bob Dole,” and the intersecting clues had a choice of answers, one with a letter that would fit “Clinton” and the other with one that would fit “Bob Dole.”
BGH: With your work at the New York Times and NPR alone, you must get a tremendous amount of email and letters. How much do you actually have time to answer?
Shortz: Yes, I get a terrific amount of mail. The Sunday Times has a circulation of 1.6 million, plus 300 publications in syndication around the world, and NPR has a listening audience of about 3 million. Of course, the Times readers can skip the crossword if they’re not into that sort of thing, but the listeners to NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” have to sit through the puzzles. Anyway, they generate a lot of letters. I answer all submissions, and do the best I can with the letters.
BGH: You must get some strange questions or unusual requests.
Shortz: Sometimes. Once, a woman on Long Island contacted me to say that her mother, who was an ardent Sunday crossword solver, had died. They were burying the mother on Thursday, and would it be possible to have next Sunday’s New York Times Magazine sent to the daughter right away, so her mother could be buried with the Sunday crossword. Since the magazine was already assembled for the weekend, I managed to get a copy to send her before the funeral.
Also, in January 1998, in answer to someone’s request, I ran a crossword containing a hidden wedding proposal. Only the intended recipient was capable of noticing the message. She did, and she said “yes”! This puzzle received a tremendous amount of publicity at the time. The couple married that fall—I went to the wedding—and now seven years later they’re still happily married, with two kids.
BGH: What’s your favorite non-crossword of your own invention?
Shortz: My favorite puzzle is probably my “Equation Analysis Test,” which appeared in Games in 1981 and set off a mini-national craze. It’s still being reprinted today. In fact, there is a whole Wikipedia article about it, with a copy of the puzzle online. (Go to Wikipedia Ditloid.)
BGH: Now you’re in the enviable position of reviewing others’ submissions. In your earlier years, did you get many rejection letters?
Shortz: Usually, if a magazine rejects a puzzle of mine for whatever reason, I find another use for it, so nothing goes to waste.
BGH: How about games? What are your favorite games?
Shortz: My favorite game is “Boggle,” which I can play endlessly. Not many people can beat me at it. I also love an obscure game called “Razzle,” put out by Parker Brothers in 1981. It’s an anagram game, involving four-, five-, and six-letter words that’s extremely fast-paced. It’s played with a 10-second timer! I’ve never met anyone who could beat me at it.
BGH: That almost sounds like a challenge; just those words alone can bring the game out of obscurity. So you must love Scrabble?
Shortz: I enjoy Scrabble, but am nothing special at it, and I have no interest in memorizing two- and three-letter words, for example. Scrabble is a nice social activity, but for my taste it’s too artificial a game to play competitively.
BGH: On a more personal note, what would you say is your best quality?
Shortz: Problem solving! Give me any problem, and I can probably find three, four, five, or more solutions for it, at least one of which I hope will be good.
BGH: Well that was an easy question. What is your worst or most annoying habit?
Shortz: (pause) You’ll have to ask other people about that. (Chuckle.)
BGH: You’re so active now, what is your dream for the future?
Shortz: Oh, I’m living the dream now—it doesn’t get any better than this!
In other news:
•The documentary film “Wordplay,” about Will, the ACPT, and the New York Times crossword, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January—one of only sixteen American documentaries to be shown at the event, out of more than 760 submitted for consideration. The director, Patrick Creadon, hopes to have the film released in theaters later in the year.
•For the basic rules of crossword construction, as well as the Times’ crossword specs and guidelines for submissions, go to <www.cruciverb.com>, the website and forum for crossword constructors. Click the links to “Basic Rules” and “Specification Sheets” on the left side of the homepage.
•Will’s NPR puzzle segment is available online at www.NPR.org and via podcast.
•Web addresses for some of the major groups and tournaments that Will Shortz runs or supports:
National Puzzlers’ League: www.puzzlers.org
American Crossword Puzzle Tournament: www.crosswordtournament.com
U.S. Puzzle Championship: wpc.puzzles.com
World Puzzle Championship: www.worldpuzzle.org
•Current books by Will Shortz, which he considers among his favorites, include:
The Puzzlemaster Presents, Vols. 1 & 2 (collections of his puzzles from National Public Radio)
Sudoku: 100 Wordless Crossword Puzzles (the latest craze—in eight volumes)
Will Shortz’s Best Brain Busters (a compilation of his best pencil puzzles from Games magazine)
Will Shortz’s Favorite Crossword Puzzles and Will Shortz’s Favorite Sunday Crossword Puzzles (puzzles from The New York Times; each puzzle has a blurb explaining why it is particularly interesting or notable)
Will Shortz’s Tournament Crosswords, Vols. 1 & 2 (puzzles from the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, with rules and scoring information so solvers at home can find out how they would fare in actual competition)
Will Shortz opens the
Westchester Table Tennis Center
As if all his puzzle work, research, writing, and word play weren’t enough, Will has opened what could be the largest dedicated table tennis facility in the United States (or beyond?). The center is in Pleasantville, New York (within an hour’s train ride of NYC), and offers 18 tables over a 13,000+ square foot area. “Top-level playing conditions, seven days a week,” says Will, who has already organized the center’s first sanctioned tournament. The facility, with its high ceilings, good lighting, lockers and shower facilities, opened in the spring of 2011 and had over 200 members within five months.
What about “ping pong”? Table tennis and ping pong are really the same game, though the different names come from an interesting battle in the beginning of the games’ success around the turn of the 20th century. But, according to will, which term is used depends on your level of ability.
For more information, check out the WTTC website.
