{{Short description|American puzzle creator (born 1970)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Similar names|Patrick Barry (disambiguation){{!}}Patrick Barry}} {{Infobox person | name = Patrick Berry | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1970}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = {{hlist|Puzzle creator|puzzle editor|author}} | years_active = 1993–present | website = {{URL|https://aframegames.com/}} }}
'''Patrick D. Berry''' (born 1970) is an American puzzle creator and editor who constructs crossword puzzles and variety puzzles. He had 227 crosswords published in ''The New York Times'' from 1999 to 2018. His how-to guide for crossword construction was first published as a ''For Dummies'' book in 2004. One of the most revered constructors of his time,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style/wp/2016/10/16/evan-birnholzs-guide-to-the-oct-16-post-magazine-crossword-mind-the-gap-part-ii/|title=Evan Birnholz's guide to the Oct. 16 Post Magazine crossword, 'Mind the Gap, Part II'|last=Birnholz|first=Evan|date=October 16, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=November 9, 2023|quote=PB1 is one of the greats in the crossword business.|archive-date=December 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219034448/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style/wp/2016/10/16/evan-birnholzs-guide-to-the-oct-16-post-magazine-crossword-mind-the-gap-part-ii/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Raphel|first=Adrienne|title=Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Can't Live Without Them|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2020|isbn=9780525522102|page=39|quote=Patrick Berry, one of the top constructors alive.}}</ref><ref name="NYT2010-11"/> Berry has been called the "Thomas Pynchon of crosswords".<ref name="O2015">{{cite news|url=https://observer.com/2015/12/patrick-berry-is-the-thomas-pynchon-of-crosswords/|title=Patrick Berry Is the Thomas Pynchon of Crosswords|last=Kassel|first=Matthew|date=December 3, 2015|website=Observer|access-date=November 8, 2023|archive-date=November 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112021826/https://observer.com/2015/12/patrick-berry-is-the-thomas-pynchon-of-crosswords/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-crossword-puzzle-books.html|title=The Best Crossword Puzzle Books, According to Will Shortz and Other Crossword Obsessives|last=Reid|first=Hilary|date=April 7, 2020|website=The Strategist|access-date=November 8, 2023|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109062503/https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-crossword-puzzle-books.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Career==
Berry grew up in Boca Raton, Florida, and often solved Dell Magazines variety puzzles and tried to write his own crosswords in his youth.<ref name="CH1998">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chapel-hill-news-berry/134873046/|title=Clued in: Carrboro resident has his ups and downs crafting crossword puzzles|last=O'Kelly|first=Kevin|date=June 12, 1998|newspaper=The Chapel Hill News|page=B4–B5|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 9, 2023|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109062505/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chapel-hill-news-berry/134873046/|url-status=live}}<!--{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chapel-hill-news-berry/134873088/|title=Clued in: Carrboro resident has his ups and downs crafting crossword puzzles|date=June 12, 1998|newspaper=The Chapel Hill News|page=B5|via=Newspapers.com}}--></ref><ref name="NYT2018"/> He discovered cryptic crosswords in 1992 and had his first cryptic constructing effort accepted by ''Games'' magazine.<ref name="CH1998"/> His first published variety puzzle appeared in ''Games''{{`s}} April 1993 issue.<ref name="NYT2018">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/22/crosswords/who-made-my-puzzle.html|title=60 Seconds With Patrick Berry|last=Amlen|first=Deb|date=January 22, 2018|author-link=Deb Amlen|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=November 8, 2023|archive-date=November 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112021826/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/22/crosswords/who-made-my-puzzle.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYT2010-05"/>
Berry continued writing puzzles for outlets such as ''The New Yorker'', ''Harper's Magazine'', and the American Crossword Federation's ''Tough Cryptics'' newsletter.<ref name="CH1998"/> He invented several variety puzzle formats, such as Rows Garden, Some Assembly Required, Boxing Rings, and Snake Charmer.<ref name="O2015"/><ref name="NYT2018"/><ref name="About"/> After the publishing house he worked for shut down in late 1997, he became a full-time "freelance puzzler" ("a very dubious career choice").<ref name="CH1998"/><ref name="NYT2018"/> He began constructing and editing American-style crosswords for ''Games World of Crosswords'', a sister publication of ''Games'', on a freelance basis.<ref name="CH1998"/><ref name="NYT2018"/> His first ''New York Times'' crossword was published on Friday, September 17, 1999.<ref name="XWI">{{cite web|url=https://www.xwordinfo.com/Thumbs?author=Patrick+Berry|title=Patrick Berry author page|website=XWord Info|access-date=November 8, 2023|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109062505/https://www.xwordinfo.com/Thumbs?author=Patrick+Berry|url-status=live}}</ref>
Wiley, the publisher of the ''For Dummies'' book series, approached Berry around 2003 to write a book of crossword puzzles; Berry wanted the book to include a how-to guide on crossword construction, an idea that Wiley approved.<ref name="NYT2010-11">{{cite news|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/13/doubleheaders/|title=Doubleheaders|last=Horne|first=Jim|date=November 13, 2010|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=November 8, 2023|quote=Patrick Berry is considered a master of modern word puzzles.|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109062506/https://archive.nytimes.com/wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/13/doubleheaders/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Berry2015"/> ''Crossword Puzzle Challenges for Dummies'', marketed more as a puzzle book than as a resource for aspiring constructors, was published in March 2004.<ref name="NYT2010-11"/><ref name="Berry2015"/> After it had gone out of print, Berry reacquired the rights, updated it, and republished it as a PDF ebook, the ''Crossword Constructor's Handbook'', in 2015.<ref name="O2015"/><ref name="Berry2015">{{cite book|title=Crossword Constructor's Handbook|last=Berry|first=Patrick|date=2015|orig-date=2004|page=3|url=https://aframegames.com/store/?download=21|url-access=subscription|access-date=November 9, 2023|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109062505/https://aframegames.com/store/?download=21|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://defector.com/i-love-and-hate-my-stupidly-expensive-crossword-puzzle-device|title=I Love And Hate My Stupidly Expensive Crossword Puzzle Device|last=Pareene|first=Alex|date=March 6, 2023|website=Defector|access-date=November 8, 2023|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109062505/https://defector.com/i-love-and-hate-my-stupidly-expensive-crossword-puzzle-device|url-status=live}}</ref>
Most of Berry's 227 crosswords for the ''Times''—published from 1999 to 2018—were themelesses or Sundays.<ref name="XWI"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/unmentionable/|title=Friday, Nov. 21, 2008, crossword by Patrick Berry|last=Horne|first=Jim|date=November 20, 2008|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=November 8, 2023|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109062504/https://archive.nytimes.com/wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/unmentionable/|url-status=live}}</ref> He constructed a six-puzzle meta suite (a series of related puzzles) for the week of October 17, 2011, at the request of editor Will Shortz.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/contest-berrys-brain/|title=Inside Patrick Berry's Brain: A Review of the 'Crossing' Words Contest|last=Amlen|first=Deb|author-link=Deb Amlen|date=October 24, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=November 8, 2023|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109062507/https://archive.nytimes.com/wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/contest-berrys-brain/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.xwordinfo.com/Contest|title=Cross Word Contest|website=XWord Info|access-date=November 8, 2023|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109062505/https://www.xwordinfo.com/Contest|url-status=live}}</ref> He has regularly written variety puzzles for ''The Wall Street Journal'' and formerly edited the ''Chronicle of Higher Education'' crossword.<ref name="O2015"/><ref name="NYT2010-05">{{cite news|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/belmont-and-preakness-for-two/|title=Belmont and Preakness, for Two|last=Merrell|first=Patrick|date=May 20, 2010|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=November 8, 2023|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109062505/https://archive.nytimes.com/wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/belmont-and-preakness-for-two/|url-status=live}}</ref> He began writing weekly novelty word puzzles for the ''New York Times'' variety page in 2015 and has been on ''The New Yorker''{{`s}} puzzle roster since 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/good-puzzle-news-in-the-new-york-times-magazine/|title=Good Puzzle News in The New York Times Magazine|last=Shortz|first=Will|date=2015-02-19|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2024-02-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/crossword/introducing-the-weekend-crossword|title=Introducing the Weekend Crossword|first1=Liz|last1=Maynes-Aminzade|first2=Nicholas|last2=Henriquez|first3=David|last3=Haglund|date=April 5, 2019|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=November 9, 2023|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109062505/https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/crossword/introducing-the-weekend-crossword|url-status=live}}</ref> Puzzle suites are occasionally released on his website, A-Frame Games.<ref name="NYT2018"/>
Berry was awarded the Merl Reagle {{not a typo|MEmoRiaL Award}} "for lifetime achievement in crossword construction" at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in 2021.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.crosswordtournament.com/info/merlaward.htm|title=Annual MEmoRiaL Award|publisher=American Crossword Puzzle Tournament|access-date=November 8, 2023|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109062504/https://www.crosswordtournament.com/info/merlaward.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Personal life==
As of 2018, Berry lives in an A-frame house in Athens, Georgia.<ref name="NYT2018"/><ref name="About">{{cite news|url=https://aframegames.com/store/?page_id=140|title=About Patrick|website=aframegames.com|access-date=November 8, 2023|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109062505/https://aframegames.com/store/?page_id=140|url-status=live}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Official website}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Patrick}} Category:Living people Category:1970 births Category:Crossword creators Category:People from Boca Raton, Florida Category:People from Athens, Georgia Category:Writers from Athens, Georgia