Dare to Care

Happy Mother's Day! Enjoy this batch of puzzles. Cheers, Mitch Dare to CareDare to Care.pdf8 MBdownload-circle

A Letter With No Stamp

Every envelope tells a story. Every parcel holds a promise. What is it like to be a letter? Does the messenger have empathy? (Shout out to my friend Kevin Berry, who wrote a whole novel about shooting messengers.) Puzzles can be enriched with themes and embellishments. It works very well

Words In Action

Word puzzles, wordplay, word games. Collectively, an infinite world of diversions awaits, whether you prefer paper or pixels. Do you remember an arcade video game called Break-out? I stumbled upon a version that uses colorful words instead of bricks. The concept and gameplay are the same. My reflexes aren'

Double Take

Do you remember the Doublemint chewing gum commercials? Over the years, many twins have appeared in them. Some were famous, depending on how plugged in you were to your TV. Apparently, I wasn't, because I never saw Tia and Tamara Mowry in those commercials. For those of you

Prompt Engineering For Puzzle Book Designers: Why I Retired the Book

When I wrote Prompt Engineering For Puzzle Book Designers, prompt craft was a genuine skill gap for creators working with AI. Getting useful output required careful construction, specific syntax, and a lot of trial and error. The book addressed that directly. That gap has closed. Modern AI models—particularly the

Rhyme Thyme

Not too many people know this, but I write poetry. I love making rhymes that tell a story. I also enjoy "constructing" poems. This creative endeavor is not unlike constructing a puzzle. Both poetry and puzzles have goals. Poems seek to evoke emotion; puzzles seek to challenge reason.

Literally Speaking

I have to give a shout-out to actor Rob Lowe, whose character on Parks and Rec was infamous for saying, "Literally..." (video) This issue revisits some of my favorite wordplay topics: idioms. Idioms are fun to use in puzzles because many of them are so recognizable. If the

Valentine's Day Mascara

Here is the latest issue, one day early. Because we need more love in the world. As always, puns and silliness abound. Fill your day with puzzles and your evening with, well, whatever you usually do on Feb. 14th. Cheers, Mitch Valentine's Day MascaraValentine's Day Mascara.

Celebrating Silliness

Puns, mondegreens, Tom Swifties, limericks, solage and dad jokes. I love them all. Each is a playful form of expression that hits the ha-ha center of my brain in just the right spot. But here's what I've noticed after years of playing with these forms: they&

Opposites Attract Attention

"Look before you leap." "He who hesitates is lost." Quaint aphorisms aside, my fascination with opposites has provided many inspirational puzzle ideas. Sometimes, the ideas become a bit too esoteric. Here is one that never made it out of the oven: Wet and Wild Antonyms are

New Year's Disillusions

Happy New Year! Resolutions are like car keys. We think we can't get anywhere without them, but that's just a limiting belief. It's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth: There are no keys. Then you'll see that it is not

Holiday Chair

This is what you get when you build a Laz-y-Boy recliner out of Yule logs! Wooden you love to sit in this for a bit of a slumber? Did you know that the word "slumber" is not a portmanteau of "saw" and "lumber"? I

There Otto Be A Law

One of the puzzles in this issue revolves around words ending in OTTO. How many of them can you think of before looking at the puzzle? Hint, there are more than a dozen! Scrabble players will have the advantage here. This holiday season, give yourself the gift of free online

Who? What? Where?

Who's on first? What's the name of this funk? Where's the nearest exit? Are these profound questions? Do we want to know the name of the batter who just drew a walk? Are we discussing the order of speakers? Do I stink? Am I&

Sky Watch

What lies behind the light pollution? Anyone who has not flown into space must rely on images, telescopes and imagination to see beyond the sun, moon and clearly visible objects whizzing about. Whatever is out there won't be as much fun as this batch of puzzles. Trade your

A Walk in the Dark

With Halloween approaching, dive into some spooky fun with my collection of stories and puzzles. I roll out my Hallowmas Collection once a year for your enjoyment (or horror!) Bookmark the tag page and wait for Friday! To keep you busy until then, here are some fun puzzles. Hit reply

A Walk in the Park

Imagine a leisurely stroll through your neighborhood park. The autumn chill is barely noticeable as you take in nature's glorious hues. The serenity is interrupted by humanity, but it is sporadic enough to avoid triggering whatever antisocial feelings you might have. Alone with your thoughts, your mind wanders

Double O Seven

This issue celebrates the bonds of doubled O's. I hope you won't be shaken by the challenges. Perhaps they will stir fond memories. Whatever. 😂 Enjoy the puzzles! Cheers, Mitch Double O SevenBond, James BondDouble O Seven.pdf1 MBdownload-circle

It's All Relative

The title really makes me want to start this off with a Dad joke. I shall refrain (you're welcome.) I'll just say that I have been designing puzzles based on relatives for a while. Most of them wind up on the cutting floor. The ones that

Shifting Sands

The English language has so many quirks. Of them, I think idioms are the most fascinating. I always get puzzle ideas when thinking about such expressions. Check out the attached puzzles, inspired by "shifting sands". The first, Paradigm Shift, explores the many meanings of the word shift. The

Logic Puzzle Forge

The Time-Sucking Truth About Logic Puzzle Creation (And How Kevin Berry Fixed It) Creating logic puzzles should be fun. That's why most of us started doing it, right? We love the satisfaction of crafting a perfect challenge that makes solvers think without making them want to throw the

Dog Days of Summer

Technically, the period has passed. Colloquially, it is still upon us. The hot, sticky heat here in the United States saps energy, fries eggs on sidewalks and makes some people long for winter. I try to stay inside as much as possible. I'll do jigsaw puzzles, play games

Understanding Canva and Creative Fabrica Licensing

What Creators Should Know Before Selling Physical or Digital Products This guide is not legal advice. It summarizes publicly available information about how Canva and Creative Fabrica licenses appear to work for commercial use as of August 2025[1]. 🎨 Creative Fabrica – What You Can (and Can't) Do 🛍️ Selling

Dominoes and Butterflies

With schools set to start soon, your stomach may be craving pizza. Or, you might be nervous. Probably neither, I just wanted to play with the title of this issue. The theme is actually more scholarly. Test your knowledge of philosophy with the Dominoes and Butterflies puzzle. Afterwards, relax with