Could The Washington Post have come up with a worse way to redesign a crossword? I’ll be doing the (same) puzzle in the Los Angeles Times.
The weirdest thing about the redesign: on Wednesday, when I typed the first T of the fourteen-letter answer UCANTTOUCHTHIS, CANT disappeared, the puzzle jumped back to the second box, and a screen reader kicked in: “Second box selected.” The screen reader was functioning only on the puzzle page. Quitting the browser and restarting my Mac made no difference: I was able to replicate this weirdness any number of times.
UCANT do the puzzle here, the Post seemed to be telling me. Well, I did unsubscribe last October.
*
July 22: I solved the mystery of the disappearing letters. But I still find the redesign awful.
Friday, June 27, 2025
Washington Post crossword redesign
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
comments: 4
100% AGREED!
Here's the feedback I left them (was trying to be as polite as I could...)
The old design was more than fine - it was elegant and didn't need any updating. The purple is really really garish, the new sizing and font choices are weird, and ads take up too much of the screen. Please please please just go back to the old one. I actively stop playing mid puzzle bc I don't like this layout that much. If anything move closer to the NYT design than this. This design does not feel befitting of a sophisticated national publication.
Hitting 'enter' doesnt autoadvance to the next unsolved clue, which makes it annoying to move through the puzzle.
I also wish it simultaneously highlighted the given clues for both row AND column on any given clue.
If you're getting overwhelmingly negative feedback about the design, please listen and revert to black and white.
I just looked, and I see that they’ve reinstated horizontal lines. But clues still do not appear above the grid.
I wish I’d saved the comments I sent. I wondered if they’re trying to attract The Kids Today with more color, but I think all they’ve done is distract. And I wish I’d made a little screen video of what happened when I tried to type UCANTTOUCHTHIS. You just have to take my word for it. :)
New WaPo crossword puzzle looks as if it were designed by a six-year old on psychedelics. The colors are horrible, type too small, and symbols—used instead of words—make no sense. The only reason I subscribe to the Post is for its crossword. I am seriously considering cancelling my subscription. The crossword is not useable. What idiot decided to adopt this new format and ridiculous software?
My guess is that someone with little or no background in puzzles is responsible. The new Sudoku and Keyword designs are also awful.
You know you can switch to the Los Angeles Times, yes? That’s where the puzzle originates. It’s free there (and at WP).
Post a Comment