Recently I've been learning crosswords and I do the daily Newsday and USA Today puzzles since they're pretty easy, but near the end of the week the Newsday one gets kinda difficult.
I also want to shout-out Forkyz on F-Droid. It's by far the best crossword puzzle app I've used. Pulls from multiple news sites and you can import puzzles as well
I learnt Cryptic Crosswords the other year, which are somewhat mind bending. The moment you figure out the answer is often alongside a groan of aaah like you've just got a bad pun.
I tried to get into cryptics a few years ago and was really frustrated. It seemed like you really needed to just know the conventions around the clues rather than relying on general knowledge or vocabulary. I probably aught to try again.
Yes, you definitely do, and there's a lot of them too (e.g.). Some of it is stuff you could conceivably know, even if it's because it's (often outdated) general knowledge, but plenty of it is very cryptic-specific. It does end up being like in-jokes and, I suppose, part of the pleasure.
You can find the answers and explanations on fifteensquared.net which you will need at first! When I started I would do as much as I could then try to read as little of the answers as possible to get myself unstuck. Sometimes the answer would elicit a "well how the f was I supposed to get that?" but less so nowadays.
is there a source for NY Times ones? I'm currently using https://downforacross.com/ which is pretty good on both mobile and desktop, but I'd like something that doesn't require constant internet connection, and this one freaks out when you're in spotty area and disconnect for a second.