December 26, 2025 - "Escape the Evil X" (contest crossword) - Kim Alswager and John Kugelman, edited by Kim Vu

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Puzzle Notes

Dear Friends:

Happy holidays from the AVCX+ crew! We've got an extra-special themed crossword for you today, from the minds of Kim Alswager and John Kugelman. It's jumbo-sized at 21x21 and titled "Escape the Evil X"; difficulty-wise, on a scale of zero to death ray, this one could microwave a burrito, no problem. And it's a contest (not to be confused with AVCX Classic's concurrent contest puzzle by Francis Heaney).

All the information you need to solve the puzzle, and to enter the contest, is located in the PDF files below. We're also including a PUZ file if you prefer to solve digitally, but note that you will need to reference the PDF for some visual elements that are missing from the PUZ file. When you've completed the puzzle and figured out the code to unlock the vault door, go to avxwords.com/vault and follow the instructions on screen for the chance to win a prize. Contest entries will be accepted until 11:59pm ET on Wednesday, December 31, 2025. (We'll have the solution to the puzzle, and a name of a randomly chosen winner, for you in a week's time.)

John once five-starred Megadeth's Hangar 18 in Guitar Hero 2 on expert difficulty, only for a friend's dad to walk by and say, "Get a life and learn to play real guitar like me." John does play real guitar, Pat. Kim loves paying people to lock her in a room and start a timer. She has gladly forked over her money to do just that in Amsterdam, Osaka, Athens, and over 50 times around the U.S. When not "escaping," she is a choir teacher. Kim and John decided to join forces when they discovered a shared love of escape rooms and that they both had escape room puzzles in the works. They hope you have fun escaping the Evil X ... if you can. Mwahahaha!

Best of luck,

the AVCX+ crew

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