🚨⚠️ Release Date Disclosure! ⚠️🚨 TRAILER: VIDEO EVIDENCE, see below. Please watch, assimilate and share. DESIGNATION: TR-49 GENRE: NARRATIVE DEDUCTION / AUDIO_DRAMA DATE: 21st JANUARY PLATFORMS: iOS / PC / Mac / Deck This is what we know, so far.

Okay, so when we do an audit of the federal government's spending on the military, will these five states be allowed to stop paying federal taxes until they get their fraudulent waste under control?

What is the difference between the "junk fees" and the proliferation of tipping, not just in terms of how much is expected but in how many places? Is it just that one is mandatory and the other is not? Because if Mamdani is truly investigating what makes the city more expensive, that's a big part!

Very solid thoughts here (and a great reminder that I still have to solve Fez's Unch #1 puzzle--maybe next week's stream?). I'm firmly in the style/surprise camp of setting: fair, yes, but flexible enough to avoid what I've been calling "algebraic" clues that are just a set of common cryptic steps.

Hear me out: this is fine. It's just another level of accessibility, akin to ones that already exist to, say, skip a battle you have been stuck on. (I'm just shocked they didn't buy the rights to call it Game Genie.) AI can already carry you through a co-op campaign, why not help soloists too?

I'm hoping to widen my scope a bit more beyond the reviews I've been doing for the last 15 years—and if you're a good writer, you should try doing the same. You'll never have a pitch accepted if you don't submit it.

Adding Croata's End to Destiny: Rising not only paves the way to plug in other D1/D2 content BUT makes me question the point of a pay-for Destiny 2 (see also Diablo: Immortal vs. Diablo IV). The abridged version is more enjoyable and easier to learn. Weird that both options exist simultaneously!

My first #cryptic stream of 2026: Tuesday at ~9:00 PM Eastern! The latest puzzles from @therackenfracker.bsky.social, @mossdef.bsky.social, Crossweird (@joeadultman.bsky.social and @momes.bsky.social), and OOLF #300 (@joshuakosman.bsky.social and @hpicciotto.bsky.social). twitch.tv/thatcrypticguy

After more than a year away, here's a fresh, untested, wildly experimental Sneaky Six cryptic. Fair warning, clues may play unfair--I'm just working some stuff out of my system. crosshare.org/crosswords/R...

Went to play Super Mario World on the SNES Online thing, turned the crt filter on, and a big sign appeared saying that "while Mario is working class, he is still acting as a colonising force over the Goombas and Koopas due to structural power imbalances"

Wow, this is super cool! Solve one long path-drawing paper puzzle where each segment has different rules and was designed by a different puzzle designer: brokensign.com/puzzl...

Explain to me why a 17-day theatrical window is bad? The people who want the cinematic experience can get it; those who don't (or can't afford it) can get in the conversation earlier with fewer spoilers.

Last call! I promise you it's worth it.

This is great advice across all mediums. The sunk time fallacy is a fallacy: abort when you're not having fun. I played 260 games in 2025 (~200 from 2025), and only beat about 90 of them. Had I stuck with every game I started, I would have played significantly fewer, and found fewer gems.

I don't understand how people could have watched five seasons of Stranger Things and been disappointed by the ending. Of course the show is going to end with an extended epilogue: the show has always, always been about these kids.

The "problem" I'm having is that every time I think I've nailed down a list for 2025, I see someone else's personal favorites and all of a sudden I've got like three new games to look into. (Right now, I'm checking out Pocket Boss, CATO: Buttered Cat, and MotionRec.)

(1) I am streaming cryptics from Crosshare constructors at twitch.tv/thatcrypticguy tonight! (2) If you have games or cryptics you'd like me to tackle on streams in 2026, please let me know! I would love to share whatever perspective and visibility I can give to them! (3) Friendly chat! Join us!

I'm honestly shocked that I can only find two articles online talking about the similarities between "Pluribus" to "The Last Man on Earth." Really enjoyed both of these shows immensely.

Great guidelines, but one caveat: Cryptic crossword cluing contests are a great way of gauging the types of clues that audiences will vote for. That can, however, risk homogenizing your voice. Write clues that fascinate YOU; experiment. Try to play fair, but be willing to push conventions.

My thought on the latest Katamari is that . . . it's really hard to make sequels to Katamari Damacy, unless you treat them akin to annualized sports titles. I never paid much attention to the plot to begin with, so they all just feel like the same game--even with the addition of "freebie" items.

Nobody would ever let me write trivia questions, because I'd just do stupid shit like: "The dilemma of trying to present which Pixar film would trigger the Astley Paradox?"

The problem with Stranger Things is summed up by one thing: the use of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill." Even the characters joke about it, and acknowledge they never really needed it. That is: Season Five has largely been replaying greatest hits; I hope the finale has something genuinely new.

This Tuesday at ~9PM Eastern, I want to celebrate as many independent setters as I can, so I'll be solving (Russian Roulette style) a bunch at once! My goals are to constructively discuss *and* help raise visibility for cryptics and games, so please ping me about your work! I'll do it if I can.

I'm enjoying Cipher Zero, but I'm a bit spoiled by the games like it that are more than just choosing and solving levels. I like an interconnected hub world that hides metapuzzles--or at the very least, a redefining rule change ala LOK Digital that gives me cause to look through old "beaten" levels.

I love it when Hulu gets its titles and movie posters messed up.

**WARNING, SPOILERS IN SCREENSHOT (this is the /real/ use of the "suggestive" label)** The only problem with LINELITH is that I couldn't stop until finishing. (For the best that it only took me 67 minutes, then.) I loved PATRICK'S PARABOX, too! store.steampowered.com/app/1923790/...

I think "rule discovery" is the reason I like cryptic crosswords so much. My favorite moment in all these games is going "I wonder if" and then being amazed when it all actually pans out. This is especially true when puzzles are hidden IN puzzles and it all clicks.

Treated myself to the Rule Discovery bundle on Steam; I already know and love LOK and Strange Jigsaws, and Cipher Zero had been on my wishlist, so a good opportunity to learn some new stuff. Hoping to cover a lot more like this in 2026. store.steampowered.com/bundle/58431...

I'm one of those people who hasn't been in a movie theater in ages, contributing to the end of cinema, I guess. It wasn't COVID: it was having two kids. In addition to tickets getting more expensive, someone has to watch the kids for four hours. Sorry, but the theater "experience" isn't THAT good.

Apropos of nothing.

Exactamundo! Also, I can't emphasize enough how important posts like this can be to OTHER parents who know "Oh, okay, I'm NOT alone/a bad parent for wanting my kids to let me sleep." If the post doesn't make sense or apply to you, move on!

This is not to say there's a correct holiday meal, but if yours did not include macaroni pie and callaloo, I'm sorry.

Wholesome story and wholesome looking game that I'm angry at myself for missing this year!

Thanks all, for such a fun year of cryptic streaming over at twitch.tv/thatcrypticguy! I've learned a lot from talking through the mechanics of these clues, defending my pet peeves (proper names), and seeing all the fun tricks clever setters keep coming up with.

Here we go!

The fact that a "white musician" feels entitled enough to sue over this is proof enough of why discount tickets should exist. You also aren't supposed to discriminate based on age, so where are the winning lawsuits against senior citizen discounts (or, say, Roundabout's Hiptix)?

Wait, hold on, is the argument here against "illegals" or "unqualified drivers"? By all means, pass a law that holds the state that issued the license responsible for the damages caused by said driver. I think you might be surprised by the results. Anything else is just racism and extortion.

FUCK. I mean, the Professor Layton games were already "guilty" of repackaging a lot of riddles and logic puzzles that already existed in other mediums, but at least for the main puzzles, it seemed done with care. This seems lazy. So check out this instead: thinkygames.com/dailies/puzz....

You know how you get the administration to go on record? Run research like this that notes the administration declined the opportunity to comment (and quotes from their own publicly available speeches, data, and visits) and then run a follow-up later with an equally fact-checked response.

I never had to apologize for being white, but I did have enough humility to acknowledge the many places where my being white (and straight, and male) gave me an unfair advantage.

No, what I want is a new Wonka movie, where Charlie has been corrupted by ownership of the factory and its demands, and he needs to be reminded of his innocent youth as Willy (and Scrooge) were before him, with the company ultimately becoming worker owned.

Can't tell you how little I want a Gaston movie, especially if it's redemptive. Oh, he was bullied as a boy and so decided to become unbulliable by bullying everyone else first. LeFou is the loyal kid who was also picked on, and the first to benefit from Gaston beating up his bullies. Just STOP.

Universally loathed technology replacing original narratives.

So Jake Paul v. Andrew Tate is next, huh?

Tuesday night (9 Eastern), celebrating the 5 years of cryptic Browsers we got. #248-#252, from Kate Hawkins, Bob Fink & Jerry Miccolis, Matthew Stock & @mossdef.bsky.social, @jessshulman.bsky.social & @juffowup.bsky.social, and Will Nediger. Thanks, @danfeyer.bsky.social! twitch.tv/thatcrypticguy

More like: useless, lousy technology ruining one's novelty.

I've only watched a few episodes of Plur1bus, but the one issue I have is in Episode 3, where you can hear an ambulance rushing to Carol. Why would they need a siren? All non-essential jobs have already turned off the power and tucked in for the night AND they'd know to move out of the way.

Where were all these recommendations weeks ago when I was making my list! Can't wait to give this a go.

If you like cryptic crosswords repost this

The reason why this is the most wonderful time of the year is because everybody's sharing their favorite games and discoveries, and then I get to check them out myself (and share them). CHRONO QUARTZ shares some DNA with Blue Prince (limited moves; gain knowledge), so I'm eager to check it out.