Newsroom Puzzles

CMS

TownNews / BLOX CMS Install

Add Newsroom Puzzles to a BLOX site — HTML assets, Flex pages, and what to ask your TownNews contact.

TownNews BLOX powers more local and regional US newspapers than any other purpose-built CMS. Adding Newsroom Puzzles is a single script tag — the main variable is where BLOX lets you place custom HTML.

Before you start

  • Know your BLOX site domain (e.g. www.yourpaper.com) — use it as site= in the embed URL.
  • Decide placement: games section page, article sidebar Flex, or 404/error template.
  • If script tags are blocked in your tenant, loop in your TownNews contact early (see below).

Option A: HTML block on a Flex page

Most BLOX sites can add raw HTML to Flex layouts — the fastest path for a dedicated games page.

  1. In BLOX, open the Flex page or asset where the puzzle should live (e.g. /games or /puzzles).
  2. Add an HTML or Raw HTML block to the content area.
  3. Paste the embed snippet: 
    <script src="https://newsroompuzzles.com/embed.js?site=yourpaper.com&game=sudoku&flat=1"></script>
  4. Publish and load the page in a private browser window to confirm the grid renders.

Layout tip: Use a single-column or wide content well. Sudoku and Word Search need roughly 300–400px width. flat=1 strips our outer card border so the puzzle sits cleanly inside BLOX chrome.

Option B: Site asset / global include

For a puzzle on every 404 or across a section, your dev team may add the script to a shared template partial or a BLOX site asset that loads on specific URL patterns. The snippet is identical — only the surrounding template logic changes.

Example use cases:

  • 404 template — see our 404 page guide
  • Games hub with multiple puzzles — two script tags, different game= values
  • Seasonal word search — game=wordsearch&pack=seasonal

Option C: Ask TownNews to allow the script

Some BLOX tenants restrict external JavaScript. If the HTML block saves but the widget never appears, contact TownNews support or your account rep and request allowlisting:

  • Script origin: https://newsroompuzzles.com
  • File: /embed.js (loaded with query parameters)
  • Connect endpoint: https://newsroompuzzles.com/api/events (small JSON POST for analytics)

No cookies, no reader PII, no login — just anonymous engagement counts per domain.

Choosing games & themes

All Tier 1 games use the same script. Swap game= per page:

  • game=sudoku — daily classic, zero reader education
  • game=akari — logic puzzle differentiator
  • game=wordsearch&pack=newsroom — on-brand word list for newsroom sections
  • game=hangman&pack=sports — sports desk tie-in

Try every game in the gallery before publishing.

For your engineering team

Full parameter reference, CSP headers, and verification steps: Developer install guide.

Troubleshooting

Script tag stripped on save

BLOX may sanitize HTML in certain block types. Try a different HTML block, a site asset, or escalate to TownNews for script permission on that template.

Widget loads but looks clipped

Check parent containers for overflow: hidden or fixed heights in the Flex row. Move the HTML block to a full-width row.

Stats not incrementing

Confirm site= matches your live domain exactly (including or excluding www consistently).