How to Play

Basics

A crossword is a grid of white and black squares. Each white square holds one letter. The goal is to fill every white square so that each row and column forms valid words matching the clues.

Clues are numbered and split into Across (horizontal) and Down (vertical). Find the numbered square on the grid and start typing!

Controls

• Type — press any letter key to fill the selected cell.
• Click / Tap — select a cell. Tap again to switch Across/Down.
• Space — toggle between Across and Down direction.
• Arrow keys — move the cursor around the grid.
• Tab / Shift+Tab — jump to next/previous clue.
• Backspace — delete the current letter or move back.
• Escape — pause the game (grid blurs, timer stops).

Helps & Hints

• Check Letter (Ctrl+C) — marks the current letter green if correct, red with a slash if wrong.
• Check Word — checks every letter in the current clue's word.
• Check All — checks every filled letter in the grid.
• Reveal Letter (Ctrl+R) — fills in the correct letter at the cursor.
• Reveal Word — fills in the entire current word.
• Reveal All — reveals the entire puzzle (but makes you ineligible for the leaderboard).
• Clear — removes all your entries (revealed cells stay).

Note: Using Reveal makes your run ineligible for the leaderboard. Checks are fine — they just cost you a star at the end.

Scoring & Stars

• 3 stars — no reveals, no checks. Perfect solve.
• 2 stars — no reveals, but you used Check at least once.
• 1 star — you used Reveal. Still a solve, but not eligible for the leaderboard.

Your time is recorded in minutes:seconds. Faster times rank higher on the leaderboard.

Leaderboard

When you complete a puzzle, you can submit your nickname (up to 16 characters, letters and numbers only) to the leaderboard. Only your best time per puzzle set appears. The Daily leaderboard resets each day — so everyone has a fair shot!

Progress Saving

Your puzzle progress is saved automatically in your browser. Close the page and come back later — you'll see a "Resume" banner to pick up where you left off.

Streaks

Solve the daily puzzle for consecutive days to build a streak. A 🔥 streak badge appears next to the site title. Don't break the chain!