Patrick Berry
Born1970 (age 53–54)
Occupations
  • Puzzle creator
  • puzzle editor
  • author
Years active1993–present
Websiteaframegames.com

Patrick D. Berry (born 1970) is an American puzzle creator and editor who constructs crossword puzzles and variety puzzles. He had 227 crosswords published in The New York Times from 1999 to 2018. His how-to guide for crossword construction was first published as a For Dummies book in 2004. One of the most revered constructors of his time,[1][2][3] Berry has been called the "Thomas Pynchon of crosswords".[4][5]

Career

Berry grew up in Boca Raton, Florida, and often solved Dell Magazines variety puzzles and tried to write his own crosswords in his youth.[6][7] He discovered cryptic crosswords in 1992 and had his first cryptic constructing effort accepted by Games magazine.[6] His first published variety puzzle appeared in Games's April 1993 issue.[7][8]

Berry continued writing puzzles for outlets such as The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, and the American Crossword Federation's Tough Cryptics newsletter.[6] He invented several variety puzzle formats, such as Rows Garden, Some Assembly Required, Boxing Rings, and Snake Charmer.[4][7][9] After the publishing house he worked for shut down in late 1997, he became a full-time "freelance puzzler" ("a very dubious career choice").[6][7] He began constructing and editing American-style crosswords for Games World of Crosswords, a sister publication of Games, on a freelance basis.[6][7] His first New York Times crossword was published on Friday, September 17, 1999.[10]

Wiley, the publisher of the For Dummies book series, approached Berry around 2003 to write a book of crossword puzzles; Berry wanted the book to include a how-to guide on crossword construction, an idea that Wiley approved.[3][11] Crossword Puzzle Challenges for Dummies, marketed more as a puzzle book than as a resource for aspiring constructors, was published in March 2004.[3][11] After it had gone out of print, Berry reacquired the rights, updated it, and republished it as a PDF ebook, the Crossword Constructor's Handbook, in 2015.[4][11][12]

Most of Berry's 227 crosswords for the Times—published from 1999 to 2018—were themelesses or Sundays.[10][13] He constructed a six-puzzle meta suite (a series of related puzzles) for the week of October 17, 2011, at the request of editor Will Shortz.[14][15] He has regularly written variety puzzles for The Wall Street Journal and formerly edited the Chronicle of Higher Education crossword.[4][8] He has been on The New Yorker's puzzle roster since 2018.[16] Puzzle suites are occasionally released on his website, A-Frame Games.[7]

Berry was awarded the Merl Reagle MEmoRiaL Award "for lifetime achievement in crossword construction" at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in 2021.[17]

Personal life

As of 2018, Berry lives in an A-frame house in Athens, Georgia.[7][9]

References

  1. ↑ Birnholz, Evan (October 16, 2016). "Evan Birnholz's guide to the Oct. 16 Post Magazine crossword, 'Mind the Gap, Part II'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2023. PB1 is one of the greats in the crossword business.
  2. ↑ Raphel, Adrienne (2020). Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Can't Live Without Them. Penguin Books. p. 39. ISBN 9780525522102. Patrick Berry, one of the top constructors alive.
  3. 1 2 3 Horne, Jim (November 13, 2010). "Doubleheaders". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023. Patrick Berry is considered a master of modern word puzzles.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Kassel, Matthew (December 3, 2015). "Patrick Berry Is the Thomas Pynchon of Crosswords". Observer. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  5. ↑ Reid, Hilary (April 7, 2020). "The Best Crossword Puzzle Books, According to Will Shortz and Other Crossword Obsessives". The Strategist. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 O'Kelly, Kevin (June 12, 1998). "Clued in: Carrboro resident has his ups and downs crafting crossword puzzles". The Chapel Hill News. p. B4–B5. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Amlen, Deb (January 22, 2018). "60 Seconds With Patrick Berry". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Merrell, Patrick (May 20, 2010). "Belmont and Preakness, for Two". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  9. 1 2 "About Patrick". aframegames.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Patrick Berry author page". XWord Info. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 Berry, Patrick (2015) [2004]. Crossword Constructor's Handbook. p. 3. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ Pareene, Alex (March 6, 2023). "I Love And Hate My Stupidly Expensive Crossword Puzzle Device". Defector. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  13. ↑ Horne, Jim (November 20, 2008). "Friday, Nov. 21, 2008, crossword by Patrick Berry". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  14. ↑ Amlen, Deb (October 24, 2011). "Inside Patrick Berry's Brain: A Review of the 'Crossing' Words Contest". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Cross Word Contest". XWord Info. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  16. ↑ Maynes-Aminzade, Liz; Henriquez, Nicholas; Haglund, David (April 5, 2019). "Introducing the Weekend Crossword". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Annual MEmoRiaL Award". American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
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