We get to meet the dean of crossword puzzles, Will Shortz, who is the crossword editor of the New York Times, the main station of challenges for those determined to tackle the daily puzzles in that newspaper, easier on Monday and getting progressively more difficult as the week goes by.

We also meet various celebrities who do the puzzles. It isn’t surprising to find someone like Bill Clinton working away at them. But I was surprised to find baseball pitcher Mike Mussina as one of the addicted. Television broadcaster Jon Stewart is another, and he is extremely funny dispensing his comments as he faces the task.

Apart from these celebrity forays, the film is mainly built around the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Stamford, Connecticut, where some 500 assemble to compete for the championship title. The top grouping is a colorful lot, and we get to share their passion and gasp in awe at the speed with which they can fill up their squares. Among them is Jon Delfin, who has won the title seven times and is an accomplished pianist in his non-puzzle moments.

Also notable is Ellen Ripstein, an editor, who kept coming close but never became the champ until 2001 when she scaled the heights and won the title.