Daily Crossword

The puzzle is shared by everyone playing on that date, so you can pass a tricky clue across the breakfast table or ring a friend to compare answers. The clues mix everyday words with a few that are slightly harder, so there is a little stretch without anything obscure.

How the daily crossword works

Each puzzle is a free-form crossword on a 13 by 13 grid. The site builds it from its own word list, placing roughly 12 to 18 answers so that they cross wherever they share a letter. Not every square is used, and the grid is not a symmetrical block pattern like the ones you see in a newspaper. Instead the answers branch out across the board, and every letter you fill in can help you with the words that cross it.

Each answer is numbered, and the clues are listed under Across and Down. Fill in every square correctly and the puzzle is solved.

Your daily streak

Each time you finish the day's crossword, the Streak box above the grid goes up by one. Solve on consecutive days and the number keeps climbing. Skip a day and it resets, so your next solve starts a new run at one. The count lives in this browser only, so a tablet and a laptop keep separate streaks.

Because each date has exactly one crossword, this page has no New game button. Restart wipes your letters if you want a clean run at today's grid, and the easy crossword page is there whenever you want extra puzzles before tomorrow's arrives.

How to play: controls and tools

• Click or tap a square to select it. Tap the same square again to switch between across and down.
• Type letters on your keyboard. On a phone or tablet, use the on-screen letter keyboard below the grid.
• Press Backspace to delete a letter, and use the arrow keys to move around the grid.
• Press Tab to jump to the next clue, or Shift and Tab together to go back to the previous one.
• Click any clue in the Across or Down list to jump straight to its answer. The current clue is shown in large text above the grid.
• Undo takes back the last letter you typed. Restart clears the grid so you can begin again.
• Tick Highlight mistakes if you would like wrong letters to show in red.
• Hint reveals the letter in the selected square.
• Pause hides the grid and stops the timer. Sound turns the effects on or off, and Large makes the squares and text bigger.

Tips for solving the daily crossword

Start with what you know

Read through all the clues before you type anything. Fill in the answers you are sure of first, wherever they are. Short answers of three or four letters are often the quickest wins, and each one gives you letters for the words that cross it.

Let the crossings help

When a clue has you stumped, move on to a word that crosses it. Even one or two letters in place can make the answer jump out. Check the length of the answer too, because the number of squares rules out many possible words.

Watch for double meanings

Some of the slightly harder clues give two meanings for the same word, separated by a semicolon or the word or. A clue such as tree skin or a dog's call is pointing at one word that fits both. Think of each half on its own and look for the answer they share.

Use hints wisely

If you are truly stuck, one revealed letter is often all you need. Choose a square where two answers cross, so a single hint helps with both words at once.

Scoring and personal bests

The daily crossword starts with 1500 points. You lose one point for every second on the timer, 25 points for each letter revealed with Hint and 10 points for each wrong letter you type. The timer stops while the game is paused. Your progress is saved automatically in your own browser, so a refresh simply picks up where you left off, and your personal best is kept there too.

Other styles of crossword

Crosswords come in many styles, and it can be fun to know a little about them. Cryptic crosswords use clues that are small word puzzles in their own right, mixing a definition with wordplay such as anagrams or hidden words. Themed crosswords link several answers by a common topic. Barred crosswords have no black squares at all, and thick lines between squares mark where answers end. Our daily puzzle keeps things straightforward, with plain definitions and the occasional gentle double meaning.

A short history of the crossword

The first crossword is generally credited to a word puzzle printed in a newspaper in the United States in 1913, although simpler word squares had been around for much longer. The idea seems to have caught on quickly, and within a decade or so crosswords were appearing in many newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic. For a great many people a daily crossword has been part of the morning routine ever since, and this page carries that tradition on.

Common questions