Crossword puzzles have been around for a long time. Just how long is up for debate, but we know they started showing up in The New York Times in the early 1940’s, and have been a newspaper staple ever since. But, as newspapers in their paper form have died, the humble crossword has been forced to change with the times. Today’s crossword puzzles still follow the same basic principles of their paper-born brethren — they are, at their core, words that intersect, revealed by solving riddles. But, today’s crossword puzzles live on apps, have social features, and offer tons of extra game features.
We caught up with Jeb Balise, the CEO and founder of
, to ask him what it was like to bring the 100 year old crossword puzzle to a new, digitally focused generation. He’d know too — PuzzleSocial is the creator of the Daily Celebrity Crossword app, which is the world's most-solved and top grossing puzzle app.
Where did the idea come to digitize the crossword puzzle? One night in my college dorm I searched for online crossword puzzles at almost exactly the same time they started appearing on the web. I solved one and I was hooked. I solved puzzles online for about 10 years before starting PuzzleSocial. So, it wasn’t our idea to digitize the crossword — we wanted to make crossword puzzles fun for the next generation and we saw mobile as a good opportunity to do that.
What are the demographics like? I've always enjoyed crossword puzzles, but I thought it was just me and my grandpa. Is there a future for the crossword puzzle? 50 million people solve a crossword puzzle each week in the US alone. It’s a proven format that’s worked for over 100 years. Our app Daily Celebrity Crossword pushes the industry forward with fun, lively, engaging clues and answers that are relevant to today’s world.
You mentioned your grandpa because you probably associate the words you typically see in crossword puzzles with a previous generation. We’re changing that. For example, on Sunday we had an Oscars puzzle themed around this year’s nominated movies, and our TV Tuesday puzzle this week features the Downton Abbey finale.
I see you're beating the New York Times' crossword app. That's got to feel great. The New York Times played a big role in getting me into crossword puzzles and I hold them in high regard. Our North Star is to get as many people as possible to solve a crossword puzzle each day.
Are there any differences in the way you create a crossword puzzle as an app, as opposed to the old-school, on paper way? Yes! First, you don’t need to carry a pen or pencil and solve on a folded paper that rests against your commuter seat. Second, most of our players also use hints such as the “see wrong” hint that shows you wrong answers in red. Hints give newer solvers the confidence that they can in fact solve a crossword puzzle.
Our app records your best times and if you log in through Facebook you can see how you compare to your friends. You can play head to head in real time and solve past puzzles, all from your smart device. I’d like to think we’re just getting started with what can be done with fresh content on mobile devices.
What were some of the challenges you faced getting PuzzleSocial to where it is today? Raising our first round of capital took two years and overcoming a lot of rejection. But, once we showed we had a viable business model we were able grow rapidly. Now we have 25 or so investors who all play our game daily. It’s all about finding the right fit.
So, what's next? Any new features? What are you excited for in 2016? We have a few cool features coming out this year but mainly we’re just waiting for Beyoncé to drop her new album so we can drop our puzzle about it.
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