In aid of RNIB and BBC Children in Need
This year we introduced a vote from solvers to select the 3D Calendar puzzle of the year. The clear winners were Sirius and Enigmatist with their amazing two sphere tribute to Araucaria with Shark’s inspired Freddie Mercury/Farrokh Balsara puzzle as runner up. Each voter was permitted three votes to be allocated as they felt appropriate.… Read more 2021 Puzzle of the Year
Happy New Year solvers!
Each 2022 3D crossword puzzle will be published below by the beginning of the month. The deadline to enter the prize draw for regular monthly puzzles will be the last day of that month. Extra puzzles will be added from time to time and will have later, mid-month deadlines.
Hints & Tips: If you need helping cracking that last clue, or even getting started, hints and tips for regular puzzles will be published in the second half of each month. Subscribe to the Hints & Tips newsletter to receive them by email.
2022 3D Crosswords World Championship: Solvers who buy the calendar and correctly solve 12 puzzles by the due date each month will be eligible to enter our annual tie-break competition for the 2022 3D Crosswords World Championship.
by Imogen and Patch
by Vlad and Aramis
by Shark
by Pickles and Gin
Clues by Sirius and grid by Komorník. The winner of the August Extra puzzle was Robbie Etherington of Kenilworth, Warwickshire. Hello, Soup here with some notes on the August Extra puzzle. We’re told this puzzle celebrates a topical anniversary.
Clues by Sirius and Grid by Komorník The background for this puzzle is a Henry Perks photograph showing a sunset over a pair of gasholders. This clever 7x5x5 Komorník grid by was one of the entries to our April Extra grid design competition. It celebrates a topical anniversary in a never-ending serial currently (in mid… Read more Hints & Tips August Extra 2021
Clues and Grid by Sirius. The winner of the August puzzle was Janet Brown of Stroud. We were told that solutions of blue highlighted clues are of a kind, as are those in yellow, cryptically. A word for the ‘blues’ and a word for the ‘yellows’ combine to make a thematic example of the ‘greens’.
Clues and Grid by Sirius The background for this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph showing a wineglass, though it’s hard to tell whether it’s half-empty or half-full. This innovative grid by Sirius is in the form of a torus (or an inflated tyre, to be less technical). This is like a seven dials puzzle,… Read more Hints & Tips August 2021
Clues by Enigmatist and Grid by Sirius. The winner of the February Extra puzzle was Aimee Hall of Exeter. Runners up were Peter Cargill of Kirkcaldy
and Hamish Symington of Cambridge.
Clues by Enigmatist and Grid by Sirius This is an extra-special crossword celebrating a 100th anniversary. Sirius has constructed a highly appropriate grid consisting of a column and two spheres to represent 100. In this instance there is no secret about the anniversary. The puzzle is preceded by a tribute page with articles by Enigmatist… Read more Hints & Tips February Extra Special 100 2021
Happy New Year solvers! The 2021 3D crossword puzzles will be made available progressively throughout the year. The deadline to enter the prize draw for regular monthly puzzles will be the last day of that month. Extra puzzles will be added from time to time and will have later, mid-month deadlines.
Hints and tips for each puzzle will be published sometime in the middle of each month. Subscribe to the Hints & Tips newsletter to receive them by email.
Solvers who buy the calendar and correctly solve 12 puzzles by the due date each month will be eligible to enter our annual tie-break competition for the 2021 3D Crosswords World Championship. If you have been entering the monthly competitions, you can check your progress towards the tie-break qualification.
by Nutmeg and Jolt
by Curmudgeon
by Enigmatist and Sirius
by Imogen and Max Liversidge
by Sirius and Komorník
by Shark
by Qaos and Mang
by Pasquale and Bozzy
by Enigmatist and etc
You are invited to vote for your favourite puzzle of the year from the 13 puzzles featured in the Calendar (the extra puzzle was Sirius and Enigmatist’s tribute to Araucaria) plus the August extra puzzle.
You are allowed to allocate a total of 3 votes. All 3 may be allocated to one puzzle, or two votes to one puzzle and a single vote to a second puzzle, or one vote each to three puzzles.
All our solvers and contributors are encouraged to vote. The only rule is that setters and designers don’t vote for their own creations, magnificent as these might be.
| Month | Setter / Designer | Download |
|---|---|---|
| JAN | Sirius | JAN puzzle JAN solution |
| FEB | Sirius | FEB puzzle FEB solution |
| MAR | Sirius | MAR puzzle MAR solution |
| APR | Sirius | APR puzzle APR solution |
| MAY | Sirius | MAY puzzle MAY solution |
| JUN | Sirius | JUN puzzle JUN solution |
| JUL | Sirius | JUL puzzle JUL solution |
| AUG | Sirius | AUG puzzle AUG solution |
| SEP | Sirius | SEP puzzle SEP solution |
| OCT | Sirius | OCT puzzle OCT solution |
| NOV | Sirius | NOV-DEC grid NOV clues NOV solution |
| DEC | Sirius | DEC puzzle DEC solution |
