Here’s something you can only try once. Well, you can try it again but it will be different.

If you want to try this, DO NOT SCROLL DOWN VERY FAR.

Find a crossword puzzle to do. Before you solve the puzzle, write down the dimensions of the grid that contains it (15 by 15 for example.) Don’t write it on the puzzle. Use a separate piece of paper.

IMPORTANT! Don’t do this alone. Have a helper who works as hard as you do on the puzzle.

Solve the puzzle with ANOTHER PERSON helping you. It’s fine to look stuff up if you need to. Just get it solved.

Once you have solved the puzzle, hide it somewhere. Maybe between the pages of a big book.

Okay, have you solved and hidden your puzzle?

SCROLL DOWN FOR PART TWO OF INSTRUCTIONS

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Yay! You scrolled down enough.

Now, draw a blank grid of the correct dimensions. (you wrote this down)

Now you are going to remember the puzzle. Yes, you have the entire crossword puzzle in your heads (here’s where you’re glad you have a helper.)

Start with a word brainstorm. Write down every word you can remember.

Then try to remember the locations of a few of them.

You will be able to start recreating the black box pattern once you get a few words in place. Keep in mind that crosswords have rotational symmetry. So if a box is black, the box 180 degrees away (roatating around the center of the grid) is also black.

It might seem unlikely, but you will most likely be able to recreate the whole puzzle.