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[Final Week!] AVCX+, November 14, 2025, by Troy Dear

AVCX <support@avxwords.com>

November 14, 2:34 am


Dear Friends:

Here's a debut puzzle by Troy Dear, titled "KAPOW! THWAP! SPLAT!" -- a 70-word themeless that Troy says is "like trying to recite the fast part of 'The Sweet Escape' by Gwen Stefani, but you can go slower." We hope you enjoy it, triple stack of spanners and all.

Troy Dear is an aspiring puzzle creator from Ottawa, Canada. When he's not solving puzzle hunts or looking for phrases to add to his wordlist, he's listening to music and thinking up mashup ideas. He currently runs a variety puzzle blog at birdbrainedpuzzles.blogspot.com.

Just to remind, we're still in the midst of our fall/winter subscription drive. Of course, we know (and love!) that we do puzzles, which represents an objectively small part of the overall media ecosystem. But, we are also very much a part of that ecosystem, which is increasingly profit-driven and unfriendly to independent platforms. Among many such examples: sports fans are currently lamenting the loss of Disney/ESPN on YouTube TV, the result of a failed deal that was almost certainly driven by the interests of an ultra-rich few who value their profit margins over the accessibility of their media (and promises they made to subscribers). Meanwhile, as a smaller and independent but firmly established media entity, AVCX offers a 1-year scholarship membership for a fraction of what big companies charge for their subscriptions. We also run thin margins because we believe it is far more important to compensate creators fairly than to keep a few extra dollars in the bank. But, this all means we are dependent on annual subscription volume to keep afloat. So, if you can, please spread the word about us, leave a tip for our lovely constructors and editors, and help us keep this ship running and healthy into the new year. <3

Cheers,

the AVCX+ crew

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