Puzzle Mania 2026 will feature its 12th annual edition on November 22, accompanied by the Super Mega Crossword, a puzzle designed by Rafael Musa, which is significantly larger than the daily crossword at 50 by 50 squares.
Puzzle Mania is a special puzzle section included in the Sunday New York Times print edition, featuring a variety of word games and visual puzzles. After tackling the Super Mega Crossword, participants are invited to submit their solutions. To enter the contest, players must extract the first letters from a group of 11 related entries in the crossword and send these letters as part of a phrase via email to crosswordcontest@nytimes.com. Contestants should include their full name, home address, age, phone number, and email address.
The contest will kick off at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on November 23, 2025, and will close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 7, 2026. The grand prize winner will receive a $1,000 Visa gift card, while 25 runners-up will each win a $100 gift card for the New York Times Store.
Puzzle Mania will be available to print subscribers on November 22. Additionally, it can be purchased wherever New York Times Sunday papers are sold on the same date or through the New York Times Store, where pre-orders began on November 9.
Answers to the Super Mega Crossword and other puzzles will be available on January 8, 2027. The clues for the Super Mega will be posted soon, and participants are encouraged to share their thoughts and questions in the comments section, but spoilers should be avoided as answers will be revealed in January.
