New Documentary Follows Crossword Buffs
Posted June 22, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
He’s been a puzzle fanatic since the age of nine, he’s the only known holder of a Ph.D in enigmalogy (the study of puzzles), and is also the host and puzzle master of an American weekly National Public Radio program.
The 53-year-old is the “star” of a new film called “Wordplay” about a select number of people who make creating and solving puzzles their life’s work.
The focus of the film is an annual contest – the American Crossword Puzzle tournament – that Shortz (pictured) created.
His popular radio show is full of old-fashioned word games and while he’s best known for the program his puzzles in the Times are famous for their sly pop culture references and interesting hints.
His crosswords are also designed to gradually increase in difficulty (Monday is easy and Friday is hard) to make you feel as though you’ve completed some monumental feat if you can manage to fill in all of the squares in less than two minutes.
“It is not hard to make a puzzle hard — all you have to do is use two obscure words. The challenge is to make it fair so that it can be solved. I think the Times puzzle is gold standard of puzzles,” he said.
The movie also features celebrities who love to solve the puzzles, including Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart, and the Indigo Girls.
