Crossword Records

Crossword Records

Crossword puzzles have become more popular than ever with many people turning to the internet and its vast array of game and puzzle sites to find exactly the kind of crossword they enjoy. However, crosswords have an interesting history and the Guinness Book of World records used to have a section just for Crosswords. Some examples of the records set by enthusiastic puzzlers and compilers can be seen here.

Who is the Most Productive Crossword Compiler? 

The World’ s most prolific compiler of crossword puzzles is the UK’ s Roger Squires. His crosswords, totalling 2 million clues in over 74,000 crosswords, have appeared in over 33 countries.

Who is the Oldest Crossword Compiler?

This record is held by Bernice Gordon who, at 100 years, 10 months, 21 days old is the oldest known crossword puzzle compiler. She first held the record when, at age 95, her crossword was published in the New York Times. She subsequently beat that record at 96, 97, 98, 99 then again in 2014 when she turned 100 years old.

What is the Longest Word used in a crossword?

The record for the longest word used in a crossword goes to the most productive author of crosswords, Mr. Roger Squires who managed to include the Welsh town name of: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in his crossword published in the Telford Wrekin News in July 1979.

What is The largest crossword ever published?

This crossword was published in Taito, Tokyo, Japan on the 30th of June 2016 and measured 12,042 m2 or 129.1 ft2 . It was published to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Nikoli Co. Ltd, a famous Japanese publisher of games and puzzles. This giant crossword was compiled by 20 crossword writers and used 33,018 across clues and 33,48 down clues, the answers to which filled the 244,971 blank squares in the grid.

All Together Now

The record for the most people to attempt a crossword puzzle simultaneously stands at 609. This record was achieved on the 2nd of July 2017 by ZDF Fernsehgarten and Stefan Heine at ZDF Fernsehgarten, in Mainz, Germany.