Lollapuzzoola

Lollapuzzoola is a crossword-solving tournament held annually on a Saturday in August. Founded in 2008 by Brian Cimmet and Ryan Hecht, it is the second-largest crossword tournament in the United States, and the only major tournament in New York City. The term "Lollapuzzoola" was coined by Amanda Yesnowitz, as a play on the Lollapalooza music festival. Lollapuzzoola 17 took place on August 24, 2024, and was cohosted by Brian Cimmet, Brooke Husic, and Sid Sivakumar.

For its first three years, Lollapuzzoola was held at the First Methodist Church in Jackson Heights, New York, but owing to its increasing popularity, in 2011 the tournament moved to All Souls Church in New York, New York. In 2018, the tournament relocated again, still within New York City, to Riverside Church.

Lollapuzzoola typically consists of a main slate of five themed crosswords followed by a championship final puzzle in two skill divisions. There are many other games and puzzles throughout the day, including a pre-tournament social mixer, a multi-crossword meta suite, and a variety puzzle suite. Puzzles are commissioned by the tournament, and are designed to fit a full-day theme, giving the tournament a certain unity. Themes have included Theme Park (2024), Sweet 16 (2023, for the tournament's 16th year), Television (2020, when the COVID pandemic forced the tournament online), and The Olympics (2017). Crossword constructors who have contributed to Lollapuzzoola include Erik Agard, Brendan Emmett Quigley, Peter Gordon, Patrick Berry, Ashish Vengsarkar, Dan Feyer, Doug Peterson, Mike Nothnagel, Tony Orbach, Barry C. Silk, Elizabeth C. Gorski, Karen M. Tracey, Byron Walden, Andrea Carla Michaels, Deb Amlen, Matt Gaffney, Joe Krozel, Neville Fogarty, Patrick Blindauer, Joon Pahk, Aimee Lucido, Zoe Wheeler, Kevin Der, and Tyler Hinman.

Lollapuzzoola and its founders are discussed in David Astle's book "Puzzled." Lollapuzzoola has also been frequently mentioned on the weekly crossword podcast Fill Me In, which is cohosted by Cimmet and Hecht.

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