Tips for Playing the Interactive Crossword

Playing on desktop? Use your keyboard. The tab key takes you to the next word. The / key toggles between across and down.

On your phone, a keyboard will appear below the puzzle. Keep your phone in portrait mode. The keyboard doesn't appear in landscape.

If you have trouble entering letters in the grid, try going into your browser's settings and clear history and website data.

The clues:  On desktop, the clues will appear to the right of the grid. Click the headers "Across" or "Down" to change which clues display, or you can widen your browser window to see across and down side-by-side. When you click inside a square in the grid, the clues should scroll to match your place. On your phone, the clues will appear below the grid. Tap twice within a square in the grid to switch between across and down. You can also use the arrows on either side of the clues to scroll through clues.

Settings:  (Cog icon in the top right. Click the cog icon again to close the settings menu and return to the puzzle.)

Email a link to the puzzle PDF to yourself or friends. Resize will change the type size of the clues. (Close settings to see the change.) Hide or show the timer by clicking the radio button. The timer will stop when you have finished the grid correctly. You can also change the settings to skip filled squares as you play. To check your answers in realtime as you play, you can turn on the autocheck feature. Click or tap the radio button to toggle on or off.  (When on, the button will be blue.)

Icons along the bottom:

*Note, not all icons will appear for every user, depending on the type of puzzle and the device you're playing on.

Pen/Pencil: You can use pencil mode when you are not sure about an answer. Using the default pen mode makes letters black. Letters entered in pencil mode are gray.

Reveal:  Need help? Click the reveal icon for help with a word you're stuck on, or, if you're ready to throw in the towel, for the answers to the whole grid.

Check: You can check if the current answer is correct, or check the entire grid.  Any squares that are incorrect will turn red. To turn on automatic checking, click or tap the cog icon in the upper right and click or tap the radio button next to autocheck. (When on, the button will be blue.)

Erase:  To clear the entire grid, click the erase button. To erase individual squares, click inside the square and hit delete or backspace. On desktop, you can also use the space bar.

On your phone: Click  "list" to fill the clues out in list mode, outside the grid.

Contest crosswords: The solution to contest crosswords will not be available until after the contest deadline has passed.  When you have finished the grid, if you get the contest answer, click submit to send, or email [email protected].