Crossword Puzzles

Below find our STOC crossword puzzle, as well as a cryptic crossword made by Thore Husfeldt (thanks Thore!!) and a DFA puzzle by Chris Jones (thanks Chris!!). We encourage you to work on the puzzles collaboratively, since after all this is a STOCial activity!

• "Regular" crossword: [ pdf ], [ .puz ]. (Note: you can use free software like across lite to open the .puz file and solve the crossword on your computer).

• Cryptic crossword: [ pdf ]

• DFA puzzle: [ pdf ]

We will also have some paper copies of the puzzles around the venue.

If you complete the first puzzle, as a prize you may take it to a member of the STOCial committee and be told "great job!" (We can also check your grid for accuracy if you like). If you complete the cryptic crossword and figure out the answer (which should be a single name), you can find Thore Husfeldt for your "great job!". If you complete the DFA puzzle and figure out the answer (a single word), find Chris Jones.

Puzzle Creation Meta-Contest: We are crossword amateurs...we're sure there's a better puzzle to be made than ours! As a meta-contest for this part, make your own STOC/TCS/etc-themed puzzle! (It could be a standard crossword, a cryptic crossword, if you can figure out how to make a sudoku TCS-themed, go for it, etc...). If you make a puzzle and get it to us (via email) by Thursday at noon, then (a) we'll post your puzzle here for the community to solve, and (b) you'll be eligible for a prize! [Update: See Thore's cryptic crossword and Chris's DFA puzzle for two such entries!]