TappyPotato logic puzzles

Word puzzles

Crossword — rules and where to play

CROSSWORD · Cross-word / Word Cross / Grid puzzle

Clues run across and down; every crossing square must satisfy both words. The longest-lived word puzzle there is.

Origin
1913 · United States
Difficulty
★★★★★ 2–4 / 5
Time
10–60 min
Grid
15×15 / American
Sites
6

Rules

  1. White squares take letters, black squares separate words; each clue fills one run of whites.
  2. A crossing square belongs to one Across and one Down word — the letter must match both.
  3. Clues are numbered Across and Down in diagonal order.

How to start

Open on the certain short words

Three-letter answers (names, abbreviations, common words) lock fastest; crossings hand free letters to neighbouring long words.

Use length plus known letters

With the length and one crossing letter, the candidate list shrinks hard; clue style (pun, abbr., foreign) usually seals it.

Read the clue conventions

A "?" hints wordplay, "abbr." means short, a hyphen often means a compound. Reading the form beats guessing.

Where players get stuck

  • Treating a crossing as two separate words and patching later — assume the match first.
  • Grinding one hard Across clue while ignoring letters the Down already gave.

Play Crossword

6 sites
BestCrosswordsFree

Several free crosswords a day — play or print; huge archive.

Open → Puzzle BaronFreemium

Timed play with boards and scores, and the archives go a long way back.

Open → Play CrosswordsFree

14,000+ free crosswords by difficulty; no signup.

Open → OnlineCrosswords.netFree

Free daily crosswords, including printable sheets.

Open → BePuzzledFree

Forty-plus logic types, no account. Nonogram, Slitherlink, Nurikabe and Hashi share one door.

Open → OneCrosswordFree

Free weekly online crosswords with a calm layout.

Open →

Browse Word & language puzzles →

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About this page
  • Last updated 2026-09-22
  • Source Curated compilation of established puzzle rules and listed third-party play sites
  • Audience Players learning Crossword rules or looking for online sites to play
  • Covers Rules summary, how to start, common pitfalls, and the dedicated play sites listed on this page
  • Does not cover Hosted puzzles, worked solutions, official contest rankings, third-party uptime or pricing guarantees
  • Not advice This page is puzzle reference content only. It does not constitute financial, legal, medical or other professional advice.
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