Ryan Patrick Smith

@writerlyryan

Writer, word nerd, film buff. Currently codeveloping a sci-fi board game called Derelict. He/him. Board game deets: Crossword blog:

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Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Apr 9

A few more casual snaps around Mueller Lake #photography

Late-day sunlight filtered through the bright green leaves of a lakeside tree.

An Egyptian Goose grooms itself atop a large rock in the lake, lit from the right by the setting sun.

A scoliotic tree in silhouette by the lakeside. Waterfowl also in silhouette on the lake's surface. Setting sun in the background.

The crisply defined wake of a Muscovy duck making its way across the lake's surface.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Apr 2

I authored today's Morphology #puzzle. Play here: dailybaffle.com/morphology

A 14-clue Morphology word ladder puzzle. Clues are listed on the left; fields for answer inputs are provided on the right.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Mar 31

Back in the New York Times today, friends! Please solve responsibly. #crossword #NYTxword

The blue button from the NYT Games app to play the Tuesday, Mar. 31 crossword by Ryan Patrick Smith.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Mar 15

With the Oscars fast approaching, I thought I'd share my personal top ten #movies of 2025. 🙂 1. Sorry, Baby 2. Sentimental Value 3. Hamnet 4. Bring Her Back 5. Eddington 6. It Was Just an Accident 7. Marty Supreme 8. 28 Years Later 9. No Other Choice 10. One Battle After Another Vive le cinéma! 🍿

"A film by Eva Victor: Sorry, Baby." A young woman clutches a kitten bemusedly as a big puffy cloud and blue sky loom overhead.

"Sentimental Value, a film by Joachim Trier." An older man and his daughter stand together in a lush garden. They are close enough to be talking, but he looks past her and she past him.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Feb 19

Approaching the end of #GhostOfYotei. This game's really grown on me as I've played, and the outfits and scenery have been consistently striking 🏔

Atsu, in yellow and black, stands beside a patch of vivid red flowers. A pagoda looms in the background, piercing a clear blue sky.

Standing by a woodsy shack with snow on the room, Atsu sports trim purple armor, stained red with the blood of enemies.

On horseback, Atsu eases into a marshy area with low-lying mist, where shafts of sunlight lance down through the trees.

With her shamisen out, Atsu walks through an autumnal area with red-leafed trees and yellow and orange foliage underfoot.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Feb 16

It's a two-puzzle day for me! First off, super excited to be returning to #Cryptic Crossweird with a new #crossword: crossweirdpuzzles.com/crypticcross... Sample clue: [League final ultimately tied one-one? (6)] Second, I have the Morphology puz in today's Daily Baffle: dailybaffle.com/morphology

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Feb 12

Well, that was a rollicking State of Play! The new Kena and Mina the Hollower both have my attention, and that Konami showcase went quite hard with Darwin's Paradox, new Silent Hill, and new Castlevania. Not to mention the promising 2D God of War prequel that's apparently out right now?!

Kena astride a peacock-tailed mount in a moody, misty village with deep green foliage all around.

Mina, a red mouse, unleashes her whip on an enemy on a bridge in charming pixel-art style.

The player character in the new Castlevania game uses an ability to swing out over an abandoned street drenched in red light.

A young spear-wielding Kratos against a painterly mountain backdrop in the new God of War side-scroller.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Jan 26

With all the recent Alex Honnold coverage, I couldn't help but recall this Cyanide & Happiness classic

Reporter: "The whole world is wondering: why did you you want to climb Mount Everest?"

Climber: "Because it's there."

Reporter: "How inspiring! Any further comments you'd like to tell the people at home?"

In the last panel of the comic, the climber is standing atop the reporter's head.

-from Cyanide & Happiness

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Jan 19

Just reached my 1st ending of Dead Letter Dept., which I learned of via @jacobgeller.com's 2025 gaming roundup. @skullthug.bsky.social serves up claustrophobic late-capitalist horror by way of an engrossing dead mail data entry conceit -- I echo Geller's endorsement! P.S. Watch Dead Mail ('24) too

A dingy workspace with a boxy computer. Displayed on the computer monitor is a scanned upload of a piece of undeliverable mail with some text highlighted for the worker at the keyboard to input.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Jan 8

Tried out Upwords with the 'rents last night. Fun!

An Upwords game board densely populated with words such as BEWARE, RAZORS and PIRACY

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Dec 22

Sad to hear about James Ransone. His performance as one of the most impactful characters in The Wire S2 was tremendous and will stick with me always.

A disheveled Baltimore kid with raven hair, a bruised face, and a ghost of a mustache (from The Wire).

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Dec 17

Had my most satisfying #Wordle experience ever the other day

A Wordle game in which GREAT was the first guess and GUESS the second. GUESS was the solution to the puzzle.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Dec 2

Happy holidays! I just pubbed a tricky new themeless #crossword to my #puzzle blog, if anyone fancies a challenge: realpuzzlingstuff.com/satire-and-s... 14A: Food in a meteorological simile (7 letters) 34A: Scorekeeper? (10 letters)

A themeless crossword grid resembling a vine with leaves protruding on either side.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Dec 2

Taking a moment to appreciate the iconic carpet pattern at PDX (on a friend's advice)

A pleasing geometric design on the green carpet of the Portland airport. Sort of suggests a sextant.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Nov 22

Anyone else? 👀

Characters from Disco Elysium vibe to anodic dance music in an abandoned church.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Nov 20

Back in The Daily Baffle with a new Morphology word ladder #puzzle today! Enjoy: dailybaffle.com/morphology 👀

A word ladder puzzle waiting for someone to fill it in...

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Nov 1

I made today's LA Times #crossword #puzzle! Hope it provides a satisfying challenge 👀

A wide-open 15x15 themeless crossword grid. 1A is highlighted: "For me? you shouldn't have!"

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Oct 26

#GhostOfYotei is gorgeous, damn. Sound design's really dialed in too. #VirtualPhotography

In a grassy cloak, Atsu looks off at a distant mountain as dark clouds above threaten rain.

Atsu astride her black horse, riding through water as the setting sun illuminates half of her face.

Astride her black horse, Atsu eases into thick trees, towards the sun. (The autumn filter has been applied.)

Atsu looks out across vivid green grass at the distant, snow-capped peak of Mount Yōtei.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Oct 6

Making my Cryptic Crossweird debut today! I hope fans of #cryptic #crossword #puzzles will consider subscribing to solve my and others' work: www.patreon.com/cw/CrypticCr... Sample clues from my puzzle: 5A Clownish activity out of Quantico (5) 10A Small subatomic particle often overlooked (5,2)

A 13x8 cryptic crossword grid (a lattice of black and white squares). It's titled "Pets in Hats," was written by Ryan Patrick Smith, and was published by Cryptic Crossweird.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Oct 3

Happy fall, #puzzle people! 🎃 I've just published a new Slide + Seek sliding puzzle for your amusement: realpuzzlingstuff.com/slide-seek-9/ Hope it makes for a fun diversion from my usual #crossword fare and everything slides into place for you! 👀

A Slide + Seek tile sliding puzzle. In its scrambled form, the grid reads PISPRO, SACHAB, KYNTED, EOTESS, DEOO, LAOR.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Sep 1

Finished #SwordOfTheSea last night! 🗡🌊 Really lovely little game (abrupt ending notwithstanding) #VirtualPhotography

A gondola lit from within sits at the edge of a cliff in the blue expanse of the Sacred River region.

The Wraith gets some air riding a shark as blue and pink hues collide in the sky above.

The Wraith's blue flame resembles the blue light in the right half of the image, while the red flame of an engraved serpent's eye illuminates the left half of the image.

The bones of ancient sea creatures litter a flooded cave, as do stalactites, stalagmites, and red kelp. In the foreground, the Wraith rides a live plesiosaur.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Aug 31

Muscovy ducks + sea serpent statue by Mueller Lake in Austin #photography

Two Muscovy ducks (brown with red growths around the eyes) stand at the flagstoned edge of Lake Mueller, off of whose rippling surface the setting sun reflects.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Aug 29

The way the weather evolves in this game is just *chef's kiss* 😍 #DeathStranding #DeathStranding2 #VirtualPhotography

In his hooded jacket and exoskeletal legs, Sam looks out over the shadowed expanse of the desert as the setting sun pokes through thick cloud cover far in the distance.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Aug 24

Don't sleep on #SwordOfTheSea, the latest beautiful adventure from Giant Squid Games! The undulating landscapes and smooth snowboard-y traversal go together like PB & J, and @awintory.bsky.social delivers as always with a rich, enthralling score. 🐬

The Wraith (the player character) leaps from a mossy rooftop as ocean fauna glide by below.

A zoomed-out view of a vast chamber in which schools of tropical fish drift by and broad shafts of sun stream in through holes in the ceiling.

The Wraith looks into the camera, at rest in a patch of shade in a canyon. Two waterfalls appear behind her.

Crouched, the Wraith rides an orca with dozens of white fish on all sides.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Aug 19

Just unboxed the #Daggerheart starter set 👀 Excited to get acquainted!

The Daggerheart Core Rulebook, its cover adorned with sunset hues and a range of different sample characters in action, sits beside the box of colorful cards needed to play.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Aug 9

If you see this, post a knight!

Kyle Katarn (of the Jedi Knight games) cuts down a stormtrooper with his blue lightsaber.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Aug 5

So exciting to have print issues of #GameInformer dropping again! Beautifully produced and solidly written magazines 🎮

An open issue of Game Informer showing two profiles from Summer Game Fest, on Mixtape and Sword of the Sea.

An open issue of Game Informer showing a mix of atmospheric and action shots from the new Borderlands, alongside the text of the write-up.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Jul 7

Visuals and vibes in the new #DeathStranding are immaculate. Can't wait to play more! 🤩 #VirtualPhotography #PhotoMode

A smiling Sam in jaunty sunglasses stands among verdant foliage in Mexico.

Sam looks out over a shallow stretch of river wending through rough-hewn desert terrain.

His face and hair caked with sand as a sandstorm churns behind him, Sam sticks his tongue out at the camera.

Nightfall in the Mexican desert. Sam grins and gives a thumbs-up as he points to mountains in the near distance.

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Jul 6

I'm back in the Browser this week with a fresh #cryptic #crossword 👀 10A: Stark neo-noir piece (4,3) 6D: Modern artist's dreamy siesta after Mass (7) Happy solving! As ever, I'd love to tune in for any streams 🙂 S/o to Dan Feyer for the edit!

The Browser's giraffe mascot nibbles the header "The Browser Crossword," written on white blocks to suggest such a puzzle. Below: "Cryptic #229 by Ryan Patrick Smith: July 6, 2025 - edited by Dan Feyer."

Ryan Patrick Smith@writerlyryan· Jun 19

Lovely beadwork and sewing on display at the Backstreet Cultural Museum in NOLA!