Young people are down with crosswords

Crossword puzzles have taken over screens in school, at work and on the T. What used to be a morning tradition completed in print newspapers and books has found a new generation of fans.

Fully 50% of people aged 18 to 29 — those in Gen Z — say they regularly complete crossword puzzles, more than any other generation. Baby Boomers are next at 38%, followed by 31% of Gen X and 15% of Millennials, according to a 2023 poll conducted by Unscrambled Words, a website that helps users unscramble words.

Meanwhile, about a quarter of people who play New York Times Games — the most popular site hosting modern crossword puzzles — are under 40 years old, according to a Times spokesperson.

Owen Bergstein, 17, a senior at Boston University Academy who will attend Amherst College in the fall, started solving crossword puzzles in elementary school. Bergstein aspires to one day work in crossword construction.

“There's a huge boom in the number of places that have crosswords,” said Bergstein. “I hope it snowballs, and in five years, when I'm done with college, I'll be able to waltz right into any big tech company and be like, ‘I want a job in your puzzle department.’”

Once Bergstein started creating his own crossword puzzles, he started competing in crossword-solving competitions.

In 2023, Bergstein competed in Boswords, a crossword tournament held in Boston every summer. This year’s competition will be held June 26 at The Roxbury Latin School in West Roxbury. Despite placing second to last place, he had such a great time he returned the next year. And the year after that.

Bergstein started signing up for more competitions, like the prestigious American Crossword Tournament, held yearly in Stamford, Connecticut. The competition, which has been held for 48 years, is moving to Philadelphia, because of greater interest.

“It’s like the best weekend of my year, every year,” Bergstein said.

Claire Rimkus, a 36-year-old chemist living in Grafton, has been attending crossword competitions since she was a senior in college and the ACT since she was 24. In the past few years, she’s noticed younger competitors. She’s even competed with her dad as a pair, filling out a crossword puzzle together.

Rimkus has made some of her closest friends through solving crosswords. Those friendships have turned into a community for her.

“You just meet these people who are wicked smart, and funny and kind,” Rimkus said. “It's nice to have a group of friends who speak the language.”

Sam Mattson, 20, a sophomore studying digital media at University of Massachusetts Lowell, said a love of solving crosswords was passed down from his family. During the pandemic, he solved crosswords with his grandparents over Zoom. He slowly started outpacing them and found his own love for the puzzle.

That was five years ago, now he’s all in and has made his own community of crossword puzzle lovers.

“Just that sort of intersection of geekdom that has been so neat to discover firsthand and expose myself to,” Mattson said.

Others have found community in other ways.

Matt Sweeney, 31, a librarian at the Brighton branch of the Boston Public Library, started a crossword club there last April where everyone made their own crossword grids.

The point of the club is to learn the basics of creating crossword puzzles and collaborate with others.

A year later, Sweeney brought the event back. He hopes to make this a recurring event where everyone will make a five-by-five grid together. The next club meeting will be June 6.

Emma Jee, 19, a sophomore at Boston University, is new to crossword construction. She joined The Daily Free Press, BU’s student newspaper, as a member of the games staff last year. She later became the Master of Games during the fall semester, constructing all games and crossword puzzles for the newspaper.

“I really love just making crosswords,” Jee said. “It’s a fun little hobby for me.”

Jee, who studies data science, said her classes have been helpful in crossword creation. She hopes to expand the newspaper's games site, which includes a mini crossword and a full puzzle in every print edition.

“Anyone, regardless of what they’re studying, can really delve into crossroads,” Jee said. “That's what I love about them, is that they're just so accessible to everybody. It's just really picking up on those patterns and being able to kind of think creatively with the words.”

This story is part of a partnership between WBUR and the Boston University Department of Journalism.