Wordplay (2006) is a very unique documentary on crossword puzzles. Wordplay tells the story of the New York Times crossword puzzle and the historical creators behind the making of crosswords. Patrick Creadon documents Will Shortz and his major role in the world of crosswords and the crossword competition. Creadon shows the audience how exciting the world of crosswords is and how many people enjoy it.
Creadon documentary focuses on Will Shortz, who is the editor of the crossword puzzles for the New York Times and for NPR. Will Shortz began his career working for a small magazine called the Penny Press Magazine. He then moved on to working for a gaming magazine before he became the editor for the New York Times crossword puzzle. In 1992 he founded the American Crossword Puzzle Championship. Creadon also focuses on several people who enjoy crossword puzzles.
Creadon includes many people in his documentary on crosswords. He includes notables such as former President Bill Clinton, film-maker Ken Burns, former presidential candidate Bob Dole, New York Yankee pitcher Mike Mussina, the Indigo Girls, and the Daily Show host Jon Stewart. The documentary contains interviews from each of these people. They discuss how much fun that doing the crossword puzzles are and how big of fans they are of Shortz’s crosswords. He includes average people in the documentary, who have an extraordinary ability to solve crossword puzzles.
Creadon focuses mostly on five average people who compete in the American Crossword Puzzle Championship. These five are among many who compete for a prize of four thousand dollars. Ellen Ripstein is an editor who lives in New York City. She has competed multiple times in the American Crossword Puzzle Championship, which she won in 2001. Trip Payne is an avid crossword solver. He is a professional puzzle maker, who lives in South Florida. Payne has competed in the American Crossword Puzzle Championships multiple times. He is a three time champion and also held a record in the championship. He became the youngest champion after winning in 1993, at the age of 24. He held this record until 2005.
Tyler Hinman is a very avid at doing crosswords too. He is a student at Rensselaer Polytechnicn Institute in Troy, New York. He is a young competitor in the American Crossword Puzzle Championships. In 2005, he was able to challenge Trip Payne for the title of the youngest champion ever. He was able to win the competition and now he holds the record for youngest champion. Jon Delfin is another competitor in the American Crossword Puzzle Championship. On a regular day, Delfin is just a pianist living in New York City, but in the crossword world, he is a seven time champion. Delfin compares his music to crosswords, they both bring him joy when he is working on them. Al Sanders is someone who stands out in the crossword world. He is a project manager at Hewlett Packard in Fort Collins, Colorado. He is a very average person who likes to complete crosswords. Sanders is a frequent finalist at the American Crossword Puzzle Championship, but he has never won. Sanders believes that 2006 is his year to win the championship.
Creadon includes several people in his documentary to show the joy that crosswords can bring. The people who compete in the championship, look forward every year to claim the prize. Creadon also shows us that for most of American crosswords are just a joy in life that average people can complete.