Chad

I found this puzzle to be a step up in difficulty from the normal Sunday fare (at least as of late); my solving time was double my recent average. **I am not complaining at all! More like this on Sunday please!**

The most difficult Sunday we've had in the past few weeks. I didn't have much fun completing it, to be honest, but I did enjoy the challenge. (Or "enjoy," I suppose I should say. *Appreciate.*)

Harder than your average Sunday (laudatory)! I feared immediately after just jumping in that I wasn't going to be able to solve it without substantial cheating. That turned out not to be the case, but I had to use my noggin a bit more than I normally do. Solid puzzle!

Here to add my voice to the chorus. Even if the triBk clues had been bilaterally croAs-referenced (why on earth did you decide not to do that?!), the faDt that the "stolen lePter" seemed entirely random still would have made this a frustratUng puzzle to solve (aZthough I'd probably be far less anZoyed if the clues hLd at least been bilaterally cEoss-referenced).

EXCELLENT puzzle! The best Sunday puzzle I can remember in quite some time. At exactly the right level of difficulty for me. (I didn't think I would be able to finish at more than one point, but then pushed through.) If you read this, Mr. Niederman, thank you!

Such a clever trick! One of my favorite puzzles from the last few months. 👏

I thought this puzzle was great. A tad more challenging than average, but in an enjoyable, doable way. Groking the theme was enough to help with the themed clues but didn't give the answers away. All in all a satisfying solve.

I found it a bit less challenging/frustrating than the typical Sunday crossword (aided by how straightforward and ultimately *useful* the gimmick was). A nice change of pace, to be honest. PR'd the puzzle for time and also enjoyed the experience.

Congratulations to you, Zach, on an incredibly impressive debut! I look forward to encountering more of your puzzles in the years to come.

This was not a fun puzzle. Friday and Saturday last week were excellent, so it was especially a big let down to face this stinker today. A combination of stupid easy clues with the worst of crossword b/s and a theme/gimmick that added nothing to the game play. (I usually only come here to offer praise, but today's puzzle was so unpleasant I just couldn't help myself.)