Capsule History

For the first time the tournament was held outside Stamford, Conn — at the spacious Brooklyn Bridge Marriott in New York City. The evening activities included a Brooklyn-themed crossword extravaganza by Eric Berlin, a spoof documentary "Wordploy" by Ed Stein, and a game "1 vs. 700" by John Chaneski and Greg Pliska, based on TV's "1 vs. 100." The inaugural Marilyn F. Munro Memorial Prize was awarded to the constructor whom the contestants named, by their votes, as creator of their favorite crossword of the weekend. The winner was Merl Reagle for "If I Wrote the Dictionary." A new age division was added for solvers 80 years and over, won by Miriam Raphael, champion of the second ACPT in 1979, and the winner of more trophies in ACPT history than anyone else. The prizes were presented by Grant Barrett and Martha Barnette of public radio's "A Way With Words." Tyler Hinman, 23, became the first person to win the tournament four times in a row.

Will Shortz

Capsule history of all 31 years.

Videos

• Nancy Shack's: A Finals | B Finals | C Finals
• Chris Barrett's YouTubes: A Finals and Tyler's solving prowess
• Short movies of solving by Don Christensen
  
  
  • Tyler Hinman Finishes a Puzzle Saturday
  • Tyler Hinman Solving Sunday
  • Trip Payne Solving
  • Ellen Ripstein and Francis Heaney Solving
  • Al Sanders Solving
  • Jon Delfin Solving
  • Solvers at work, featuring J!m Jen!sta

To purchase a DVD of the tournament for only $5, provided by Nancy Shack, click the "Buy DVD" button.

Pictures from the Tournament

• Don Christensen: Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 | Group 5
• Lloyd Mazer's Pictures
• Pete Mitchell's flickr
• Nancy Shack: Nancycycles or Photobucket (same pics)

Blogosphere

• Now I Know What an Etui Looks Like: GONY at the 2008 ACPT (John Teti)
• Tyler Hinman
• Words to the Wise (Kathy Schenck)
• Stella Daily
• Francis Heaney
• Patrick Merrell
• Diary of a Crossword Fiend tapped by Amy Reynaldo
• Orange Tangerine also by Amy Reynaldo
• ACPT — Part 1 by Jim Horne on his JimH Crossword Blog
• I Remember Brooklyn by Michael Smith on the JimH Crossword Blog
• Ellen Ripstein
• Mark Murphy: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
• Jen Yuan: Part I | Part II | Part III
• A Dress A Day: Crossword Dress #2 (Erin McKean)

More stuff

• Distribution Charts by Puzzle — Thanks to Mel Rosen for running these analyses!
• "A Crossword Tournament Grows In Brooklyn": The puzzle cycle "A Crossword Tournament Grows In Brooklyn" was presented to great acclaim at the Friday night games. It was written by veteran constructor Eric Berlin and is now available for the low low price of $1.99! Order your copy today! Click here to order

In the News

• Crossword champ fills in the blanks The News-Gazette.com [April 3, 2008]
• Puzzle Master PARADE Magazine [March 30, 2008]
• Watching all the trends go by San Francisco Chronicle [March 17, 2008]
• His puzzling avocation is no trivial pursuit The Boston Globe [March 17, 2008]
• Life Squared On the Media [March 7, 2008]
• The quiet rise of crossword infatuation Vancouver Sun [March 7, 2008]
• Commissioner takes time out for a few hundred crosswords Springfield Sun [March 6, 2008]
• At Crossword Competition, One Rookie Is Clueless: Caroline Baum Bloomberg.com [March 6, 2008]
• The Crossword Championships ESPN The Magazine [March 5, 2008]
• Crossword Puzzle Tourney Sets Records in Brooklyn Brooklyn Daily Eagle [March 3, 2008]
• Hundreds Across, Few Down at Crossword Meet The New York Sun [March 3, 2008]
• A 7-letter name for crossword expert: Sanders The Coloradoan (Ft. Collins) [March 3, 2008]
• Crossword Enthusiasts Battle For Bragging Rights At Tournament NY1 [March 3, 2008]
• Puzzle Me This New York Press [March 2, 2008]
• People You Know Brooklyn Daily Eagle [February 29, 2008]
• FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29: CROSSWORD TOURNAMENT U.S. Census Bureau [February 29, 2008]
• Borough prepares for wonderful wordplay - American Crossword Puzzle Tournament coming to Brooklyn Courier-Life [February 28, 2008]
• Puzzlers Invade Brooklyn: Crossword Tournament Moves Here From Conn. Brooklyn Daily Eagle [February 27, 2008]
• What's 8 Down? Brooklyn, New Home for Crossword Puzzle Tourney Bloomberg.com [February 27, 2008]
• And you thought you were good at crosswords 9NEWS (Colorado) [February 23, 2008]
• Amy Reynaldo and Tyler Hinman on WGN Radio WGN Radio [February 22, 2008]
• MIT's crossword king girds for annual battle of wits MIT News Office [February 22, 2008]
• 7-letter word for puzzle master: Sanders The Coloradoan (Ft. Collins) [February 21, 2008]
• Famed puzzle editor explains appeal The Grand Rapids Press [February 18, 2008]
• Crossword guru thirsts for a crown The Rocky Mountain News [February 18, 2008]
• A Way With Words Fort Collins Now [February 13, 2008]
• Crossword puzzles beat out cigarettes, candy addictions The Herald-Mail Online [February 3, 2008]
• The Independent Florida Alligator: News - Gainesville residents compete in crossword puzzle tournament Alligator [February 4, 2008]
• Gainesville to host crossword puzzle tournament Saturday The Independent Florida Alligator: News [February 1, 2008]
• The 31st Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament The New York Times [February 2008]