Are you a crossword puzzle fanatic? You can take your pastime to the next level and compete to win prizes. You can choose to enter for fun and small prizes and go all the way to the national tournament level. Below are a few of the top websites based in the US and UK that you can use your puzzle solving skills to win prizes.

UK

Lovatts: Lovatts Media Group is a popular puzzle publishing company that was started in 1978 by the husband and wife team of James and Christine. Christine has quite the reputation for stumping readers with her clues. The listing page of types of print magazines to match your game interests is located here - https://www.lovattscrosswords.co.uk/news/puzzle-icons/#searchpuzz. Scroll down to see which ones have competitions. From there, you can reach the Lovatts New Zealand and Australia sites. Lovatts also has online competitions at youplay.com.

Take a Break's Puzzle Magazines: Take a Break's publishes many types of puzzle magazines including crosswords, su-doku, codebreakers, wordsearch and many more. They also have a helpful YouTube video series with tips to help sovle cryptic crosswords. The site has a competitions page where you can enter competitions online through your magazine of choice. Visit the site to learn more, https://www.puzzlemagazines.co.uk/home.

USA

American Crossword Puzzle Tournament: This is the oldest crossword competition in the US. It's directed by New York Times Crossword Puzzle Editor Will Shortz. There are many prizes awarded in this annual tournament including a $5,000 grand prize. Visit https://www.crosswordtournament.com/ to learn more.

Dell Magazines: Avid puzzle solvers know that Dell is a household name. In fact, even if you've never worked a puzzle, you've probably seen the Dell puzzle books at the grocery checkout. There are occasional contests held on the website for various puzzles. Learn more at PennyDellPuzzles.com.

Puzzle Buffs: Scrambl-Gram is the parent company of Puzzle Buffs. Not only do they publish word games and contests but also magazines, another name you'll recognize from the grocery line—the National Enquirer. The site holds puzzle contests for gift certificates from $10 to $30. Visit https://www.puzzlebuffs.com/ to learn more.

Some helpful resources to help you become proficient in solving puzzles:
The 21st Century Crossword Puzzle Dictionary
The New York Times Crossword Puzzle Dictionary (Puzzles & Games Reference Guides)