Nathan Curtis
@tshellstudio.bsky.social
Autistic puzzle constructor in the Boston area; part-time math teacher and recovering composer. I post variety puzzles at www.patreon.com/nathancurtis, and my latest puzzle hunt is available at verwalds-treasures.tortoiseshellstudio.com. He/him/his
Hey @spatch.bsky.social I just wanted to let you know that whenever I see gamers refer to PUBG I mentally parse it as "Pick Up the Phone Booth and Die"
August 28, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Hey @spatch.bsky.social I just wanted to let you know that whenever I see gamers refer to PUBG I mentally parse it as "Pick Up the Phone Booth and Die"
Weighing "I should have a clue of [common type] in this cryptic and this is one of the only entries it works for" versus "the clue of [other type] I already have is clearly better"
August 18, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Weighing "I should have a clue of [common type] in this cryptic and this is one of the only entries it works for" versus "the clue of [other type] I already have is clearly better"
I realized the other day that I am autistic *and* polyamorous, which mens I can have multiple special interests to talk your ear off about.
July 8, 2026 at 8:49 PM
I realized the other day that I am autistic *and* polyamorous, which mens I can have multiple special interests to talk your ear off about.
New variety cryptic "This Old House" now available for free at www.patreon.com/posts/160568...!
Free Variety Cryptic: This Old House | Nathan Curtis
Free Variety Cryptic: This Old House by Nathan Curtis on Patreon. Join Nathan Curtis's community for exclusive content and updates.
www.patreon.com
June 9, 2026 at 12:00 AM
New variety cryptic "This Old House" now available for free at www.patreon.com/posts/160568...!
Day 3 of grinding through writing clues for this variety cryptic and I have *got* to come up with easier gimmicks
June 2, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Day 3 of grinding through writing clues for this variety cryptic and I have *got* to come up with easier gimmicks
Reaching the point of making a variety cryptic where I have to figure out the punny message that I will hide in the puzzle and this is, as usual, one of the hardest parts.
May 27, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Reaching the point of making a variety cryptic where I have to figure out the punny message that I will hide in the puzzle and this is, as usual, one of the hardest parts.
Here's a free Pathfinder to start off the month: www.patreon.com/posts/free-p...
Free Pathfinder | Nathan Curtis
Get more from Nathan Curtis on Patreon
www.patreon.com
April 1, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Here's a free Pathfinder to start off the month: www.patreon.com/posts/free-p...
I plan to make a more fleshed-out argument in another medium, but I wanted to put together some thoughts on the use of generative AI in puzzles. Tl;dr: don't. Apart from everything else about GenAI, it is fundamentally opposed to the whole reason for solving and writing puzzles.
March 24, 2026 at 9:05 PM
I plan to make a more fleshed-out argument in another medium, but I wanted to put together some thoughts on the use of generative AI in puzzles. Tl;dr: don't. Apart from everything else about GenAI, it is fundamentally opposed to the whole reason for solving and writing puzzles.
Spent an hour issuing over 100 refunds, 1 at a time, because Patreon messed up my billing and their support was not helpful. Helpful tip if you're a creator on Patreon: if you want to pause billing for a month, do not pause on the first of the month.
March 4, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Spent an hour issuing over 100 refunds, 1 at a time, because Patreon messed up my billing and their support was not helpful. Helpful tip if you're a creator on Patreon: if you want to pause billing for a month, do not pause on the first of the month.
No streaming tonight. I've been busy this evening trying to deal with some issues with Patreon billing, and I need to take a break after that.
March 4, 2026 at 1:49 AM
No streaming tonight. I've been busy this evening trying to deal with some issues with Patreon billing, and I need to take a break after that.
It's been a while but I'll be streaming puzzle construction at twitch.tv/tshellstudio in 15 minutes! Much better than the State of the Union!
Twitch
Twitch is the world
twitch.tv
February 25, 2026 at 1:43 AM
It's been a while but I'll be streaming puzzle construction at twitch.tv/tshellstudio in 15 minutes! Much better than the State of the Union!
I occasionally get emails from a music store I frequent about new trombone-related items or sales. The fact that the latest one includes both trombone cases and wine cases reminds me how much of an outlier I am among trombonists.
February 16, 2026 at 9:35 PM
I occasionally get emails from a music store I frequent about new trombone-related items or sales. The fact that the latest one includes both trombone cases and wine cases reminds me how much of an outlier I am among trombonists.
For the last several days, I have been working on and off on drawing weirdly specific things for a puzzle. Just me, an iPad, and Procreate. I am not an artist by any means, and my people are vaguely terrifying if you look at them too closely, but I am very pleased with the results. AI can suck it.
February 11, 2026 at 9:28 PM
For the last several days, I have been working on and off on drawing weirdly specific things for a puzzle. Just me, an iPad, and Procreate. I am not an artist by any means, and my people are vaguely terrifying if you look at them too closely, but I am very pleased with the results. AI can suck it.
I nearly forgot today is Tuesday, but I will be streaming puzzle construction at twitch.tv/tshellstudio in 20 minutes!
Twitch
Twitch is the world
twitch.tv
February 4, 2026 at 1:42 AM
I nearly forgot today is Tuesday, but I will be streaming puzzle construction at twitch.tv/tshellstudio in 20 minutes!
Streaming puzzle construction at twitch.tv/tshellstudio in 20 minutes!
Twitch
Twitch is the world
twitch.tv
January 28, 2026 at 1:41 AM
Streaming puzzle construction at twitch.tv/tshellstudio in 20 minutes!
Streaming puzzle construction at twitch.tv/tshellstudio in 20 minutes! Will I still be in post-Mystery Hunt hangover mode? Only one way to find out!
Twitch
Twitch is the world
twitch.tv
January 21, 2026 at 1:41 AM
Streaming puzzle construction at twitch.tv/tshellstudio in 20 minutes! Will I still be in post-Mystery Hunt hangover mode? Only one way to find out!
While doing post-Mystery Hunt tab maintenance, I came across a whole set of hidden tabs with my work from the MH in...2024.
Maybe this is why Opera kept having memory issues.
Maybe this is why Opera kept having memory issues.
January 20, 2026 at 7:03 PM
While doing post-Mystery Hunt tab maintenance, I came across a whole set of hidden tabs with my work from the MH in...2024.
Maybe this is why Opera kept having memory issues.
Maybe this is why Opera kept having memory issues.
No streaming tonight, as I'm dealing with some difficult personal news.
January 14, 2026 at 1:38 AM
No streaming tonight, as I'm dealing with some difficult personal news.
I reeeealllly don't want to write clues today but I reeeeealllly gotta.
January 13, 2026 at 6:45 PM
I reeeealllly don't want to write clues today but I reeeeealllly gotta.
No stream today, as I will be entertaining friends. Stay tuned next week for more live puzzle construction!
January 6, 2026 at 9:49 PM
No stream today, as I will be entertaining friends. Stay tuned next week for more live puzzle construction!
Do any of my fellow Patreon creators know how to temporarily take down a post without deleting it outright? I can go into the specifics privately, but I don't want to say much more publicly.
January 6, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Do any of my fellow Patreon creators know how to temporarily take down a post without deleting it outright? I can go into the specifics privately, but I don't want to say much more publicly.
Doing my last constructing stream of the year at twtich.tv/tshellstudio in 20 minutes!
twtich.tv
December 31, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Doing my last constructing stream of the year at twtich.tv/tshellstudio in 20 minutes!
Reposted by Nathan Curtis
I was so busy today I forgot to promote a thing! I made a guest puzzle for today's Raddle at raddle.quest! Thanks to @pzlr.org for inviting me to contribute!
RADDLE
The daily word transformation game
raddle.quest
December 30, 2025 at 4:04 AM
I was so busy today I forgot to promote a thing! I made a guest puzzle for today's Raddle at raddle.quest! Thanks to @pzlr.org for inviting me to contribute!
I was so busy today I forgot to promote a thing! I made a guest puzzle for today's Raddle at raddle.quest! Thanks to @pzlr.org for inviting me to contribute!
RADDLE
The daily word transformation game
raddle.quest
December 30, 2025 at 4:04 AM
I was so busy today I forgot to promote a thing! I made a guest puzzle for today's Raddle at raddle.quest! Thanks to @pzlr.org for inviting me to contribute!
It's Tuesday night, so I'll be streaming puzzle construction at twitch.tv/tshellstudio in about 20 minutes!
Twitch
Twitch is the world
twitch.tv
December 24, 2025 at 1:33 AM
It's Tuesday night, so I'll be streaming puzzle construction at twitch.tv/tshellstudio in about 20 minutes!