I've recently gotten interested in doing crosswords again. When I was a teenager through to my mid-twenties, I was a crossword puzzle fanatic. I went through books and books of crossword puzzles. There used to be a puzzle book of just difficult or "expert" crosswords that I would buy, but I can't find that any more. Now there is a better way to do crosswords. Online. I signed up for the New York Times Crossword. It costs $40 a year to get the daily crossword. The New York Times crossword is a difficult one to solve. It starts off easy on Monday but by Friday it's hard for me to finish a puzzle. You can print them out or download them to play in the free program AcrossLite. At this site you can compete against other people if you wish. I prefer to just work my way through the puzzles without a time limit. There is also a forum where you can show off your puzzling skills.

I'm certainly not at the level of those who compete in tournaments. I don't think I would handle the competition that well. I prefer to use crosswords as a way to relax. I don't want to rush through them like those competitors do.

There are lots of other crossword sites that are free:

Web Crosswords offers a free puzzle every day that you can complete online.

Thinks.com has a daily crossword that you can complete online or print out.

Best Crosswords can be printed out or played from your browser.

In addition, many online newspapers offer a crossword. USA Today, Newsday and The Washington Post all offer crosswords that you can complete in your browser.

I find crosswords to be a great way to relax and to improve my mind in the process. If you haven't tried them before, you might find that crosswords are a great way to spend some time; maybe with a coffee on a Sunday morning. And, if like me, you used to do crosswords and miss the challenge, try some of the online sites and you may just become hooked again.