American Crossword Puzzle Tournament

Contestants at the 2023 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament during Friday night warm-up puzzles.

The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) is a crossword-solving tournament held annually in February, March, or April. Founded in 1978 by Will Shortz, who still directs the tournament, it is the oldest and largest crossword tournament held in the United States; the 2023 event set an attendance record with more than 750 competitors.[1][2]

For its first 30 years the contest was held at the Marriott in Stamford, Connecticut, but owing to increasing popularity, in 2008 it moved to the larger Marriott Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn, New York. In 2015, the tournament returned to Stamford.

The tournament traditionally begins Friday evening with social games and a wine-and-cheese reception. More games are played on Saturday evening, many of them adaptations of television game shows.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 tournament was canceled. In April 2021, the 43rd tournament was held virtually.[3]

  1. ^ "It's Almost Crossword Time in Brooklyn". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. February 29, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  2. ^ Soll, Laura (March 28, 2023). "Stamford to Host World's Largest Crossword Puzzle Tournament". Stamford, CT Patch. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  3. ^ Shortz, Will (June 29, 2020). "American Crossword Puzzle Tournament". Retrieved July 12, 2020.