[HN Gopher] NYT Crossword Decision Puzzles Many
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       NYT Crossword Decision Puzzles Many
        
       Author : arantius
       Score  : 7 points
       Date   : 2021-09-24 20:50 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (hackaday.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (hackaday.com)
        
       | nobody9999 wrote:
       | As a long time NYT crossword puzzle solver and subscriber,
       | cutting off AcrossLite _really_ pissed me off, as the interface
       | is much superior to the online version on the Times ' website.
       | 
       | Especially since the subscription fees have risen considerably,
       | and now the experience is an inferior one.
       | 
       | More's the pity.
        
         | schoen wrote:
         | This article recommends this script:
         | 
         | https://github.com/Q726kbXuN/nytxw_puz
         | 
         | Presumably it could be automated even more with additional
         | tooling.
         | 
         | I used to use the puz files until I got excited about the fact
         | that the web site would track my solve streak (which I got up
         | above 380 before losing it a few weeks ago). But I still think
         | having a standard format to let people choose their interface
         | is a plus and was still annoyed about this change (despite
         | continuing to use the web site interface solely because of the
         | streak tracking incentive).
         | 
         | Edit: to expand on their justification for the change, it seems
         | like it's motivated by being able to support more variety
         | puzzles online, with unusual grids, or unusual input and
         | display methods for a particular square (e.g. the common use of
         | the "rebus" feature in Thursday puzzles where multiple letters
         | are filled in in one square, sometimes only for the purposes of
         | reading that square in one direction but not the other). It's
         | true that the landscape of variant grids and grid
         | interpretations won't interact that well with a standardized
         | static format, but, on the other hand, the overwhelming
         | majority of their daily puzzles would be rendered _perfectly_
         | in Across Lite format. (I say this as someone who 's solved
         | every single one for the past two years.)
        
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       (page generated 2021-09-24 23:02 UTC)