The New York Times publishes an ongoing series of personal essays called ‘Solver Stories’ devoted to various aspects of puzzles, games and our relationship to them. Editor Deb Amlen says these might range from an issue you have faced and how solving puzzles helped resolve it, to a feel-good news story from the world of games and puzzles, a piece about how solving puzzles has affected a relationship, or how games and puzzles or the use of language have served as agents of cultural change. The most important thing is that the writing be emotionally honest and for the story to be freshly and compellingly told. As an example of the sort of story required Amlen recommends reading, The Language of Letting Go at https://writ.rs/nytsample You should send your completed essay (no pitches) to solverstories@nytimes.com. It must be previously unpublished and preferably be between 800-1,300 words. Do not use pseudonyms (including for yourself ), composite characters or invented situations. In other words, everything must be completely true. Amlen recommends including dialogue if appropriate, as this pulls the reader in and makes them feel part of the conversation. Attach your submission to your email as a Word-compatible file and also paste the text of your essay into the body of the email. Payment is $200 per published story. Response time is around four weeks.