Dear Friends:
We've got an intricate and inventive variety puzzle for you today from our friend Will Nediger. It's called "Outside Assistance" and it's similar to a crossword, but with a few extra things going on. Because of those wrinkles in the rules, we're calling the difficulty on this one 4 out of 5; but here's a friendly reminder that difficulty is subjective, and you might find this easier or harder than our recommendation. Regardless, we hope you enjoy solving it.
This is a contest with a prize up for grabs -- instructional text is in both the attached PDF and IPUZ files. Importantly, you must include both meta answers in your submission to be considered. Submit your meta answers in a single email to outsideassistance@avxwords.com by 8:00pm ET on Saturday, October 18, 2025 for a chance to win!
Note: The attached IPUZ file works in the online Crossword Nexus solver or on squares.io, but it won't work in the embedded AVCX website player, nor in Across Lite.
We'll send out the solution file for this puzzle next weekend, along with the name of a randomly chosen winner. And, we'll have your regularly scheduled themeless later this week.
Cheers,
the AVCX+ crew
avxwords.com | @avcxword | @lilavcx | @avcxcryptic | @avcxplus | @avcxtrivia
We've got an intricate and inventive variety puzzle for you today from our friend Will Nediger. It's called "Outside Assistance" and it's similar to a crossword, but with a few extra things going on. Because of those wrinkles in the rules, we're calling the difficulty on this one 4 out of 5; but here's a friendly reminder that difficulty is subjective, and you might find this easier or harder than our recommendation. Regardless, we hope you enjoy solving it.
This is a contest with a prize up for grabs -- instructional text is in both the attached PDF and IPUZ files. Importantly, you must include both meta answers in your submission to be considered. Submit your meta answers in a single email to outsideassistance@avxwords.com by 8:00pm ET on Saturday, October 18, 2025 for a chance to win!
Note: The attached IPUZ file works in the online Crossword Nexus solver or on squares.io, but it won't work in the embedded AVCX website player, nor in Across Lite.
We'll send out the solution file for this puzzle next weekend, along with the name of a randomly chosen winner. And, we'll have your regularly scheduled themeless later this week.
Cheers,
the AVCX+ crew
avxwords.com | @avcxword | @lilavcx | @avcxcryptic | @avcxplus | @avcxtrivia