New York Times, Tuesday, October 20, 2015

I really enjoy puzzles that have a visual component to them, since it is something that adds an extra dimension to a crossword puzzle. In this puzzle, I first came up with the idea to have each word start with something you can bet on for a roulette wheel. I originally attempted to fit in a Zero theme answer as well, but couldn't work it in without sacrificing the fill too much. Without the fifth answer, I wanted to add something to it to make it stand out, and so I figured out that ROULETTE could be input as a visual center to the puzzle in a circle, around the black square.

Finally, I really enjoy working with larger corners, even in early week puzzles, which is where some of my favorite answers are found, including MIX TAPE, ANTHRAX and ON AND ON.

Hope you enjoy!

A visually represented ROULETTE wheel, fun! I liked seeing EVEN / ODD and BLACK / RED in the themers too, covering the bets most people think about with roulette.

I also liked the big swaths of white space in the four corners, giving the puzzle a themeless vibe. I imagine that was more of a by-product of having spent so many black squares around the center, but still, it gave Sam a chance to work in juicy fill like BASS ALE and NICE TRY. Strong mid-length fill.

Big spaces often come with compromises, and it's not ideal to get AN IN and SANA (Rich Norris doesn't accept this spelling of SANAA) in one corner, and a smattering of A PAR, OSH, ENO … I'd actually be okay with that amount of glue, but when you toss in ABEAM, it's harder to overlook.

My favorite types of puzzles are the ones that spur my brain on. How cool would it have been if the black squares in the middle of the puzzle were in the shape of a circle? As it is, those black squares form sort of a figure 8. Not very roulette-ish.

Making a more circular pattern of black squares would have meant the center would be much harder to fill, but I would have been forgiving of a few more compromises to get it. I wasn't too happy about getting a variant (TIPI) and more importantly ETTE when the theme is ROULETTE (the "ette" in "roulette" is a diminuitive for "roue," or "wheel"). Give me a circular pattern of black squares and I'd happily brush those concerns aside.

I would have also liked BLACK and RED to be opposite, and EVEN and ODD as well — makes for a better feeling of symmetry. And while I'm ticking off a wish list, how cool would it have been to dot the grid with some black squares and some red ones! Sigh, technology not keeping up with the times …

Overall, a very nice idea and some strong mid-length fill. Several gluey bits here and there, but on the whole, an enjoyable solve.