SATURDAY PUZZLE — Ryan Judge has constructed two prior puzzles for The New York Times, both of them themeless — one ran on a Friday and the other on a Saturday. For all the solvers who enjoy guessing which day a puzzle should fall on based on its difficulty, today’s began as a Friday but was upgraded to a Saturday. I think it’s a good example of what a fine line there is between the two days. Truth be told, I often wonder what would happen if a themeless puzzle that was discernibly easier ran regularly on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of later in the week and then Friday puzzles came with difficult themes.

This is a pretty grid that separates itself into five barely connected patches, which makes for its own challenge, as it is easy to get stranded. Each area includes at least one bit of difficult trivia and a couple of clues designed to throw us off. I think it’s well done and rises to the difficulty of a Saturday.

Tricky Clues

13A. You either know this one or you don’t, I think; I had to put it together letter by letter from crossing Down entries. The [Incan emperor captured by Pizarro’s forces] was its last leader, Emperor ATAHUALPA, who ruled for just a year before the Spanish overran the entire region.

16A. The pun in this clue — [In-tents dining experience?] — had me thinking of all the outdoor dining structures that were a fixture in New York City during the coronavirus pandemic. The answer isn’t specific to a place or time, though: It’s a STREET FAIR.

30A. I have absolutely no idea who this is, nor have I heard of the game in the clue, and it’s also a debut Times crossword entry. [_____ Aran, protagonist in Nintendo’s Metroid] solves to SAMUS. After a moment of research (how do you even pronounce SAMUS?), I learned that Metroid and the character in question have been around since 1986, so I don’t know if this is really arcane trivia or if it’s canon that I should be embarrassed not to have known.

33A. With a few crossing letters, most solvers will get this joke: [Snack items that can go to your head] are POT BROWNIES. They’ve been in the Crossword a few times before, with similarly wry cluing ([Delectable made with grass], for example).