I’ve probably done five crossword puzzles in my life. Puzzles never really interested me. Then, inexplicably, I decided to tackle Sunday’s puzzle in The New York Times Magazine. It was harder than I thought it would be. However, I kept at it for two hours and then, came back to it at night. I still didn’t finish it. Actually, I kind of sucked at it!

My first Sunday crossword was a learning experience.

There have been people in my life devoted to puzzling—like my late father-in-law. He would sit at the table after returning from one of his endless nighttime meetings and work his way through a daily puzzle as a way to unwind.

I was somewhat encouraged reading this:

A crossword puzzle is not a test of intelligence, and solving is not really about the size of your vocabulary. Becoming a good solver is about understanding what the clues are asking you to do.

Alright. So maybe there’s hope for me after all.

Who are the people who go right to the daily (and/or) weekend crosswords? Anecdotally, I’d guess the demographic was an older one. Apparently, I’m right. Michael Sharp, a professor at Binghamton University, a crossword aficionado, as well as a crossword blogger (who knew there was such a thing?) posits that who does puzzles tracks who still gets their news via print. This would be, predictably, seniors. Sharp says that “the average puzzle-solver is a college-educated white woman in her sixties.” So I guess my newfound interest in the crossword makes me a bit of an outlier.

Does solving crossword puzzles have value? It might. It’s probably better than violent video games, or maybe watching mindless television. But who am I to decide?

While I struggled with my first one, I think I’m going to give the puzzle a shot for the next few weekends and see if I show any improvement.