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Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:06 pm
by damefox
I do not have a Facebook account, so I'm unable to comment on the livestream currently going on (https://www.facebook.com/CrosswordTourn ... 881197124/). Started this thread in case anyone else is in the same boat and wants to have any discussions during/after the event.

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:24 pm
by BrianMac
I'm watching the livestream, waiting for the tournament to start. :)

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:33 pm
by LesY
Good luck! This is my first contest of this sort, virtual or otherwise.

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:35 pm
by BarbaraK
I'm watching but not competing. Thought I'd be able to download the puzzles anyway, but apparently not - or at least not now, maybe later.

Good luck to all muggle competitors!! Hope to see some familiar names in the finals!

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:48 pm
by LesY
5:41 for the first one - I thought that was amazing, then the pros starting posting their times! Think faster solving will require taking a leap of faith and not checking every single word/crossing.

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:50 pm
by LesY
BarbaraK wrote: Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:35 pm I'm watching but not competing. Thought I'd be able to download the puzzles anyway, but apparently not - or at least not now, maybe later.

Good luck to all muggle competitors!! Hope to see some familiar names in the finals!
Barbara, not sure if you saw the post in the comments but they're posting the .puz files soon!

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:51 pm
by FrankieHeck
LesY wrote: Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:48 pm 5:41 for the first one - I thought that was amazing, then the pros starting posting their times! Think faster solving will require taking a leap of faith and not checking every single word/crossing.
You beat me by almost two minutes. But what fun!

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:55 pm
by BrianMac
6:38 with two wrong squares :oops: Just like ACPT!! :?

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:59 pm
by FrankieHeck
7:27 here lol

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:13 pm
by BrianMac
10:03 on Puzzle 2 with no errors.

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:20 pm
by FrankieHeck
Dang, you guys are good. This is a very humbling experience lol.

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:26 pm
by BrianMac
FrankieHeck wrote: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:20 pm Dang, you guys are good. This is a very humbling experience lol.
It's humbling for most. The folks who are really competitive at this are truly amazing. My first year at ACPT I sat next to Jeffrey Schwartz, who (unknown to me at the time) is a top solver. I went in super confident and cocky and was still in the NW corner of puzzle 1 when he stood up and walked out. And he wasn't even in the top 10.

Besides, you're the Queen of the Mini! :)

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:28 pm
by LesY
Lucky on the first two. The next 2 could get rough.

When does the meta division start? :)

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:35 pm
by damefox
I was 4:21 on the first one and 7:30 on the second, which for me feels pretty respectable. I think I would need to have a radical change in my solving strategy to be a top solver. It's kinda like the difference between going for a half hour run every day (which I usually do) and trying to be a world-class marathoner - drastic changes in diet and lifestyle would be required to get me from one to the other.

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:40 pm
by LesY
damefox wrote: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:35 pm I was 4:21 on the first one and 7:30 on the second, which for me feels pretty respectable. I think I would need to have a radical change in my solving strategy to be a top solver. It's kinda like the difference between going for a half hour run every day (which I usually do) and trying to be a world-class marathoner - drastic changes in diet and lifestyle would be required to get me from one to the other.
That's more than respectable - it's amazing! Completely agree about changes required to be top-tier - I tried to solve only the acrosses in the second puzzle and fizzled out pretty quickly.

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:41 pm
by BrianMac
LesY wrote: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:28 pm When does the meta division start? :)
It would actually be very interesting to have a meta puzzle in a tournament. I might mention that to Brian Cimmet because he does Lolapuzzoola and that would be up their alley.

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:44 pm
by LesY
BrianMac wrote: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:41 pm
LesY wrote: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:28 pm When does the meta division start? :)
It would actually be very interesting to have a meta puzzle in a tournament. I might mention that to Brian Cimmet because he does Lolapuzzoola and that would be up their alley.
Awesome - thanks Brian. Also, I've heard sometimes the 4th/5th puzzles in these things can be almost meta-like in theme difficulty?

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:51 pm
by BrianMac
At ACPT, Puzzle 5 is always a monster, with a very tricky theme. Many don't even finish it - I never have in 5 tries, and it's usually not being able to figure out the theme (for me). But you've got to get the theme to complete the grid. As opposed to a "tournament meta" where in addition to completing the grid, you would have to submit the meta solution. Might be fun, but lots of people would probably hate it. That's why it would probably be better for Lolapuzzola, where they're not so much "purists."

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 2:56 pm
by Al Sisti
I can generally hold my own filling a grid, but I am God-awful at doing them on-line; constantly overwriting answers I previously filled in because I don't know where the cursor is. I may not know where the cursor is, but I definitely know where the curser is...stay 6(00) feet away!

Re: Crossword Tournament from Your Couch

Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 3:17 pm
by BrianMac
Puzzle 3 - 12:07, 2 errors. :(