Tyler Hinman

Tyler Hinman (born November 5, 1984) is an American competitive crossword puzzle solver and constructor and a seven-time winner of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT). He holds the tournament record for youngest champion ever, winning as a 20-year-old in 2005, and he formerly held the record for consecutive titles with five, a feat matched and bested by six-time champion Dan Feyer. He was one of the featured players in the award-winning 2006 documentary film Wordplay.

Early life Hinman was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and raised in Connecticut and in England. While a 9th-grade student at The American School in England (TASIS), Hinman was introduced to The New York Times crossword puzzle and became immediately interested. He first entered the ACPT as a 16-year-old in 2001, finishing 101st out of the 322 entered contestants.

Education and career After graduating from TASIS The American School in England in 2002, Hinman returned to the United States to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) where he earned a bachelor's degree in Information Technology in 2006 and joined the Phi Mu Delta fraternity. After graduating, he accepted a job in Chicago, Illinois as a bond trader at Darwin Capital Trading through a connection from the producer of the film Wordplay. After a little more than a year, Hinman left the industry, and he moved to San Francisco in 2008 to work in software development.

Puzzle career Hinman first entered the ACPT as a sixteen-year-old in 2001, finishing 101st in a field of 322 competitors.

In 2017, Hinman appeared in the FOX game show Superhuman and competed in a race against time to complete five word puzzles.

Book Hinman has published one book of crossword puzzles.