User:Lifetime12/sandbox
David L. Hoyt (born 1965) is an American puzzle and game inventor and author. He is currently the most syndicated puzzle maker in America.[1][2]
Personal life[edit]
David Lawrence Hoyt was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, United States in 1965. He is an American puzzle and game inventor and author.[3]
Hoyt currently lives in Chicago with his wife Claire and their two cats.
Career[edit]
Hoyt is the inventor of numerous well-known puzzles, games and brainteasers including USA Today Word Roundup, USA Today Up & Down Words, Jumble Crosswords, TV Jumble and more. He is the current co-author of Jumble, the most syndicated daily word game in the world.[4][5][6][7]
His print puzzles and games are syndicated by Tribune Media Services and Universal Uclick and are carried in more than 700 newspapers, including USA Today, New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post.[8] Hoyt’s online games are featured on sites such as Shockwave.com, Yahoo.com, MSN.com and Games.com.[9][10][11] Hoyt also develops puzzles and games across a number of other platforms including mobile, casino games, instant scratch-off games, books and calendars.[12]
Hoyt moved to Chicago in 1990 to work as an option and futures trader on the floor of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange. While working there, he began developing various toys, games and puzzles in his spare time. In 1993, he sold his first game, Crossword the Game, to Parker Brothers. Shortly after, in 1994, he started developing games full-time.[13][14] Two years later, he partnered with Tribune Media Services (TMS), the owners of Jumble, to develop new versions of Jumble including Jumble Crosswords, TV Jumble and Jumble BrainBusters. Both the daily and the Sunday Jumble puzzles appear in more than 600 newspapers internationally and across the United States.[15][16][17]
In 2002, Hoyt again partnered with Jeff Knurek, Tribune Media Services and Hasbro to develop the Boggle BrainBuster syndicated daily puzzle.[18][19]
Hoyt teamed up with Wheel of Fortune legend Pat Sajak in 2004 to create Pat Sajak Games, an online gaming paradise. Together, they created Pat Sajak's Lucky Letters, Pat Sajak's Trivia Gems, Pat Sajak's Code Letters and Pat Sajak's Code Number Sudoku.[20]
In 2006, Hoyt invented two new popular games - USA Today's Word Roundup and USA Today's Up & Down Words. Over the next few years, he created additional variations of Word Roundup that are played by millions online everyday.[21][22]
Hoyt reached a new milestone in his career in 2011, when with Tribune Media Services and Jeff Knurek, Hoyt replaced Mike Argirion as the writer of Jumble, making him the most syndicated puzzle maker in America.[23][24] In the same year, he partnered with Graeme Thomson and Steve Bullock to co-create David L. Hoyt's Word Winder board game, online game and mobile games.[25] In May 2012, the Word Winder NOOK app was announced the No. 1 board game app on NOOK Apps.[26][27]
References[edit]
- ^ The Word Winder™ App, Adveractive [1], Retrieved 9 June 2012
- ^ Barnes & Noble - Word Winder by Adveractive, Inc. [2]
- ^ Tribune Media Services Biography - David L. Hoyt [3], Retrieved 2 May 2012
- ^ Tribune Media Services Biography - David L. Hoyt [4]
- ^ Tribune Media Services - Jumble [5], Retrieved 2 May 2012
- ^ Uclick Games - Jumble [6], Retrieved 2 May 2012
- ^ Tribune Media Services Biography - David L. Hoyt & Jeff Knurek [7], Retrieved 2 May 2012
- ^ Nester, Mike, "WC 4th Graders Test ‘One of the Best Word Games Ever’ in the Classroom" [8], The Prairie Advocate News, Retrieved 2 May 2012
- ^ Tribune Media Services Biography - David L. Hoyt & Jeff Knurek [9], Retrieved 2 May 2012
- ^ Myles Mellors Concepts - Partners [10], Retrieved 2 May 2012
- ^ Nester, Mike, "WC 4th Graders Test ‘One of the Best Word Games Ever’ in the Classroom" [11], The Prairie Advocate News, Retrieved 2 May 2012
- ^ Goodreads Author Profile - David L. Hoyt [12], Retrieved 2 May 2012
- ^ Tribune Media Services Biography - David L. Hoyt [13], Retrieved 2 May 2012
- ^ Nester, Mike, "WC 4th Graders Test ‘One of the Best Word Games Ever’ in the Classroom" [14], The Prairie Advocate News, Retrieved 2 May 2012
- ^ Tribune Media Services - Jumble [15], Retrieved 2 May 2012
- ^ Uclick Games - Jumble [16], Retrieved 2 May 2012
- ^ Tribune Media Services Biography - David L. Hoyt [17], Retrieved 23 May 2012
- ^ Tribune Media Services - Boggle BrainBusters [18], Retrieved 23 May 2012
- ^ Tribune Media Services Biography - David L. Hoyt [19], Retrieved 23 May 2012
- ^ Tribune Media Services Biography - David L. Hoyt & Jeff Knurek [20], Retrieved 23 May 2012
- ^ Universal Uclick - Word Roundup [21], Retrieved 23 May 2012
- ^ Universal Uclick - Up & Down Words [22], Retrieved 23 May 2012
- ^ The Word Winder™ App, Adveractive [23], Retrieved 9 June 2012
- ^ Barnes & Noble - Word Winder by Adveractive, Inc. [24]
- ^ Barnes & Noble - Word Winder by Adveractive, Inc. [25], Retrieved 23 May 2012
- ^ "Word Winder" hailed #1 Board Game on NOOK Apps by Althea Benloss. GameNGuide.com [26], Retrieved 23 May 2012
- ^ Word Winder™ Dominates NOOK Apps™ As #1 Board Game. PRWeb [27], Retrieved 9 June 2012
External links[edit]
Category:Puzzles Category:Puzzle designers Category:1965 births Category:Living people