National Puzzle Day 2027 is on Friday

About National Puzzle Day

National Puzzle Day is a light, informal day for anyone who enjoys working something out: a newspaper crossword, a 1,000-piece jigsaw on the dining table, a sudoku on the train or a brain teaser shared with friends. Schools and libraries are among its most active supporters, often setting out community jigsaws, running puzzle challenges or handing out printable word games.

The day was created by Jodi Jill, a professional puzzle maker and syndicated newspaper columnist whose weekly puzzle column, Brain Baffler, has appeared in newspapers for more than 20 years, according to her site. She says she began it on her own birthday, January 29, by giving free puzzles to students and other puzzle fans. She later added Puzzle Month, which covers all of January. Her own sites call the observance simply Puzzle Day.

The founding year is not consistent across sources. A 2018 post from the University of Notre Dame's Rare Books and Special Collections dates the start to 2002. Jodi Jill's own site, by contrast, says the day was started more than 32 years ago, which would place it in the early 1990s. Either way, it is a grassroots observance with no government status that spread through schools, libraries, local news and social media under the hashtag #PuzzleDay.

Sources: Jodi Jill: About (founder of Puzzle Day), Jodi Jill: Puzzle Day, University of Notre Dame, Rare Books and Special Collections: National Puzzle Day (2018). How we check dates.

How to mark National Puzzle Day

• Start a shared jigsaw on a table at home, at work or in a library break room and let anyone add a few pieces.
• Try a puzzle type you have never done before, such as a cryptic crossword, a nonogram or a KenKen grid.
• Write a simple crossword or word search for a friend or child using names and words that matter to them.
• Hold a short puzzle race in a classroom or family group, with teams solving the same printed puzzle.
• Donate finished jigsaws with all their pieces to a library, school, senior center or thrift store.

National Puzzle Day dates