Themed and themeless

[axlrosen]

I haven't seen anywhere much discussion of themeless puzzles. Do all publishers accept both themed and themeless? I wish the publisher chart mentioned this.

As a new creator... which is easier? Given that you don't need to work the themers in, is the bar higher for themeless? E.g. better fill, more difficult letters, more difficult grids with more crossings?

[mmcbs]

The details are in the "Publisher Specs" section (not the chart).  Since the word counts are generally much lower (maximum 72, and most published themeless puzzles are lower), it's difficult to get a good fill because there are so many more crossings of long entries. Most successful themeless constructors start with a "seed" entry (or two) to make the puzzle interesting.  Editors generally like to see interesting phrases in the long entries rather than long words. It's also very competitive, so I'm told. It's easier to get a themed puzzle published, at least in my experience (400+ to 2). I'm being sarcastic; I gave up on themeless puzzle a long time ago, so probably only submitted a dozen or so before throwing in the towel.

[cranberry44]

It seems as if every Sunday themed puzzle I've worked on has some "twist" (usually humorous) on an actual phrase (or the like, such as the need to add more letters in one square, etc.)--for the main theme entries, that is. Has anybody noticed any themed puzzles that simply use words or phrases straight out for the main entries (such as "gallows humor" and "jackolantern" in, say, a spooky themed puzzle)? Although these may be weak entries, I'm interested in the principle only. I'm particularly would like to know this in re: the NYT and the WLS.

[mmcbs]

On the web site xwordinfo.com you can pull up any NYT puzzle by date and review the theme, which should answer your question. My opinion is that for most themed puzzles, except possibly Monday there is some form of wordplay going on, rather than just straightforward entries as you described.

[cranberry44]

Thanks for the prompt reply!

[axlrosen]

I think the bar for "fun-ness" or impressiveness has increased over the years, and so some sort of cleverness is required, which often means wordplay. For example, the (now defunct) CHE stylesheet rules out "themes whose answers are all merely disparate facts relating to a particular topic, person, or event (e.g., LOG CABIN/RAIL-SPLITTER/ABRAHAM LINCOLN/STOVEPIPE HAT/CIVIL WAR)". Also, I think that quote puzzles (where the themed answers spell out a quote) used to be common but now are not. Again, the standard is higher now.