When the Sunday paper was delivered when I was growing up, everyone in the family grabbed a different section (news, sports, comics, whatever), and we rotated the parts as we finished. This system wouldn’t work with Puzzle Mania, The Times’s annual holiday puzzle section (which you’re holding), as it takes hours — or maybe days — to go through. Only one person would get to see it. If you live in a household with multiple puzzlers — which is the best kind of household! — I would suggest putting Puzzle Mania aside and waiting until everyone can work on it together. Special features this year are not one, but two $1,000-prize contests: Castle Quest, an escape-room-in-print, by Jason Boomer (Pages 8-9), and a Super Mega crossword by Joe DiPietro (Pages 6-7, 11). There are also puzzles from our friends at Logic Masters India, a Jumbo Connections, a Borderless KenKen, a cryptic crossword with a twist and lots of other challenges. Just remember to share!

— Will Shortz

Puzzle Mania F.A.Q.

What is Puzzle Mania?

Puzzle Mania is an annual special puzzle section in the print edition of the Sunday paper. It includes Sudoku, a Cryptic Crossword, word games, visual puzzles and more.

The centerpiece of the section is the Super Mega Crossword, a crossword that is more than four times the size of the daily crossword. This year, the puzzle is 50 squares wide by 50 squares tall.

What is the Puzzle Mania contest?

There are two this year! First, solve the Super Mega Crossword, then take the answers to the four boldfaced clues and match them with the four shaded answers. The result will yield eight letters; unscramble them to spell a fitting contest answer. When you have this answer, email it to crosswordcontest@nytimes.com.

Second, complete the Castle Quest puzzle. Then send your complete solution — including the objects used to escape each room, the four ingredients given to the Sorceress and what was eaten on the trip home — to castlequestcontest@nytimes.com.

Enter either contest for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card or “The New York Times Mega Book of Sunday Crosswords: 500 Puzzles.”

The deadline is Jan. 7 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Read more details and instructions here:

Where can I get Puzzle Mania?

If you are a print subscriber, the section should arrive in your Sunday paper.

If you are not a print subscriber, you can buy Puzzle Mania either:

• Wherever you can buy a New York Times Sunday paper on Dec. 17.

• From The New York Times Store starting on Dec. 18.

Super Mega Clues

Because our Super Mega is so big this year, the clues are on a separate solving sheet. If you need access to the clues in another format or have lost your slip sheet, you can access the clues here:

How to solve the biggest crossword you’ve ever solved

Puzzle Mania’s Super Mega may look overwhelming, but you’ve got this. Here are our top tips for a successful solve:

Answers

Check your answers to the Puzzle Mania variety puzzles here:

Answers to Castle Quest, the Super Mega and the winners of those respective contests will be posted on Jan. 15, 2024.

NOTE: The “Turnkey” puzzle on page four of the 2023 Puzzle Mania is incorrect and unsolvable as printed. The grid should be 6 x 6 instead of 5 x 5. The correct puzzle is depicted below.

The grid in the answer key is correct.