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LOLLAPUZZOOLA 13

We did it!

Lollapuzzoola 13 happened on Saturday, August 15 – which was a Saturday in August. We had over 1200 contestants playing virtually, and we are over the moon with joy as to how it all turned out. We are grateful to all of you who participated, and to everyone working behind the scenes, without whom none of this would have been possible.

Winners:

Express Division – David Plotkin (Jeff Davidson, 2nd; Jenna LaFleur, 3rd)

Local Division – Ryan Booker (Paul Madwychuk 2nd; Matthew Luter, 3rd)

Pairs/Groups Division – Kevin Carde, Vivian Kuperberg, Yuval Wigderson

Downs Only Division – Erik Agard (4th overall)

Lollapuzzoola Staff:

Tournament Directors and Editors: Brian Cimmet and Patrick Blindauer

Tech Wizards: Kevin Der and Vincent Siao

Crew Chief: Mike Nothnagel

Stream Manager: AJ Hernandez

Puzzle Constructors: Brooke Husic, Sid Sivakumar, Rachel Fabi, joon pahk, Stella Zawistowski, Robyn Weintraub (finals), Amanda Rafkin (tiebreaker), Patrick Blindauer and Brian Cimmet (practice tournament)

Puzzle Testers: Anne Ellison, Dan Feyer, Doug Peterson, Patti Varol

Twitch Moderators: Andrea Baker, Howard Barkin, Doug Peterson, Steve Smith

Additional Games: Francis Heaney and Neville Fogarty

Sponsors: XWord Info, Puzzlesnacks, Outside the Box, Matt Gaffney's Weekly Crossword Contest, Aries Puzzles, American Values Club Crossword, Fill Me In

Wait – I ordered puzzles, but I don't see them!

If you already purchased the Next Day Division tickets and you have not yet received your puzzles, here is some information:

Puzzles were sent out on Sunday 8/16 between 9am and 10am Eastern Time.
They came from brian@bemoresmarter.com, via a MailChimp mass mailing.
They contained an attachment (a ZIP file).
We have discovered that earthlink.net, comcast.net, and aol.com are not particularly receptive to our email distribution, for some reason.
For Gmail users, our emails sometimes wind up in the Promotions or Updates tab. Gmail is not consistent about this.
Please check your Spam and Trash folders, and some email clients will errantly flag this email and take it away from you before you even see it!
Finally – if you just can't find the email, it's absolutely no problem. Contact us (with the help form at https://bit.ly/lpz13help ), and we will get your puzzles to you another way.

What is Lollapuzzoola?

General information

Lollapuzzoola is a crossword tournament held annually on a Saturday in August. Traditionally held in New York City, this year's tournament will be virtual – but the fun and games remain the same! Puzzles are commissioned for Lollapuzzoola, and made by the best puzzle makers around.

Lollapuzzoola is cohosted by Brian Cimmet and Patrick Blindauer. Contestants battle in several divisions: Express (for speedy solvers), Local (for normal Earthlings), Pairs, and the Next Day Division for people who want to solve on their own terms.

There are seven tournament puzzles as well as other additional games. This year, with the tournament taking place online, you will have to provide your own snacks and other distractions.

We will also have a live Twitch stream alongside the online solving interface.

Follow Lollapuzzoola on Facebook and Twitter, or check out our Wikipedia page.

The Tournament Itself

Everyone solves the same five puzzles, and is scored on the same metrics of speed and accuracy. The best solvers in each of the Express and Local Divisions will compete in the Championship Finals which we hope to stream to you live.

Solo players compete in either the Express or Local Division. Express is for people who are top 20% finishers at Lollapuzzoola or other tournaments, Local is for everyone else. Pairs competitors play in a separate division.

The official tournament events run from 1pm to 6pm (Eastern Time). There will be a championship round at the end, and other non-tournament games during the day.

The Next Day Division can be done non-competitively at your leisure.

What Else Can We Tell You?

Lollapuzzoola has grown from a small church basement classroom with 23 contestants in 2008 to the largest crossword tournament in New York City (over 900 players in 2017, between the live tournament and the At-Home Division).

Our primary focus is entertaining you. Lollapuzzoola is built on the foundation of making puzzles and puzzle tournaments fun for everyone, regardless of experience or skill. We look forward to sharing that fun with all of you!

If you have any questions for us, click the button below to send us a message.

OUR PARTNERS

XWord Info

XWord Info is the essential resource for crossword constructors and enthusiasts. The site celebrates New York Times crosswords and the people who make them. It provides a comprehensive list of every daily puzzle (and most Variety puzzles) going back to the very first NYT crossword published on Sunday, February 15, 1942.

Puzzle Snacks

Puzzlesnacks (created by Eric Berlin) aare bite-sized puzzles for kids and adults. Each puzzle is expertly created with an everyday vocabulary — and with no obscure “crosswordese.” And while the puzzles are small and friendly, they are also fresh and innovative — answers in a Puzzlesnacks puzzle might leap around, or go backwards, or go in circles.

Outside the Box Puzzles

Outside the Box Puzzles is run by joon pahk (who is also constructing a puzzle for Lollapuzzoola this year!). Outside the Box presents two types of puzzles – Rows Gardens, and an assortment of variety word puzzles. Read more and subscribe at http://www.joonpahk.com/

Matt Gaffney's Weekly Crossword Contest

Matt Gaffney offers a weekly crossword, each of which contains a hidden answer. Solve the answer, enter to win prizes! The puzzles range in difficulty from easy (early in the month) to impossible (late in the month). Learn more at his website.

Aries Puzzles

Aries Puzzles produces two weekly email-delivered puzzle subscriptions: Aries Rows Garden and Aries Freestyle. Additionally, there are other assorted free puzzles posted regularly, including crosswords, Rows Gardens, and cryptics. Visit https://www.ariespuzzles.com for more information.

American Values Club Crossword

The American Values Club crossword is a crossword puzzles subscription service directly to your email inbox! Edited by Ben Tausig, and constructed by a great rotation of veteran puzzle makers.

Fill Me In

Fill Me In is a crossword podcast, or at least, that's what it pretends to be. Most of the time, it's about other things (including, but not limited to: soup, Thor, Rosana Ñler, Viewer Mail, Jonathan Papelbon, vuvuzelas, inappropriate glorification of the E Division, and much more), but occasionally, we also talk about crosswords.

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