MONDAY PUZZLE — In the NBC television show “Blindspot,” every tattoo on the body of the protagonist Jane Doe tells a story. Found naked in Times Square, Jane Doe has no memory of who she is or how she got there, but she attracts the attention of the F.B.I., which links her tattoos to a larger crime conspiracy.
I tell you this because today you have a chance to do the same puzzle that the character Patterson solves at the end of the episode airing Monday, April 4 at at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. That puzzle will set off a massive hunt on the show that picks up in the following episode. David Kwong, crossword constructor and prestidigitator extraordinaire, constructed this puzzle for the show.
From a solver’s point of view, Mr. Kwong’s puzzle is slightly more than your average Monday grid. You’re required to figure out what is special about the circled squares, which Mr. Kwong thoughtfully provides in the revealer, BACK COUNTRY, at 61 Across.
What does this mean? It means that you need to read the circled squares backwards, which gives you, from top to bottom, the countries of KENYA, ISRAEL, MALTA, BENIN and LIBYA. BACK. COUNTRY. Got it? I don’t know what that has to do with “Blindspot’s” storyline, but it’s eminently solvable even without the connection to the show.
Let’s hear from Mr. Kwong and then, immediately following, a brief interview with show creator Martin Gero.
Constructor’s Notes
Very excited to reveal that today’s puzzle has been coordinated with tonight’s episode of NBC’s “Blindspot”! The puzzle you’re holding in your hands is the same one you’ll see on the screen tonight.
I’m always looking for ways to engage more solvers outside of the puzzle-sphere and another opportunity came when “Blindspot” creator, Martin Gero, hired me as a puzzle consultant on his NBC police action drama. All I needed was for Will Shortz to say yes.
And thankfully he did! Of course, he reminded me, these stunts always have to preserve the integrity of the puzzle for all solvers, whether they watch the show or not. So I set out on making a crossword that both operated as a Monday puzzle and contained a message that we could feature on the show.
It was no easy task. I went through drafts and drafts of puzzles that Will and Joel didn’t like. Finally I settled on the current theme, BACK COUNTRY. I knew I wanted PATTERSON (the FBI agent’s name) in there for “Blindspot,”[Ooo! I missed that! –D.A.] so finding a theme that could borrow from a large category like countries seemed like the way to go.
The character in the show that constructs the puzzle is both a puzzler and magic enthusiast. And he’s named David. I was thrilled when Martin decided to create this character in my likeness. AND THEN HE KILLED HIM. [Spoilers, David! –D.A.]
Hope you enjoyed the puzzle. And tune in Monday, April 4 at 10:00 p.m. Eastern / 9:00 p.m. Central!
And now, let’s meet Mr. Gero:
Hi, Martin. What was your inspiration for the creation of “Blindspot”?
Martin Gero: I’ve wanted to do a puzzle/treasure hunt show for years … but could never quite crack it. Finally I had this image of a giant puzzle map tattooed on a person’s body and I thought: yeah, this might be something people would watch.
Have any story lines been taken from the news or real life? Can you tell me a bit about what they were?
Martin Gero: The writers are always trying to draw as much from our personal lives and the world around us as possible. We never want to the show to feel “torn from the headlines”…but I think it’s important that the cases reflect what’s going on in the world.
The show is about solving the mysteries of Jane Doe’s tattoos. Are you a puzzle solver yourself? What kinds of puzzles do you like to solve?
Martin Gero: I LOVE puzzles. I’m pretty addicted to treasure hunts. There’s a great company called RACE/LA here in the Los Angeles area that has great treasure hunts that I do a lot. Escape Rooms: can’t get enough. The video games “The Room 1, 2 and 3″ are basically like crack to me. Plus, I LOVE geocaching … although I’ve been a little too busy for that recently. But every where I travel, I try to do at least one geocache. Puzzles that get you out into the world are my favorite.
Thanks for the extra challenge, Mr. Kwong and Mr. Gero!
So get solving, mystery solvers. Today’s New York Times crossword puzzle takes you one step closer to the villains.
Your thoughts?