What is Mini Crossword?
Mini Crossword is a daily five-by-five crossword puzzle with ten clues split between ACROSS and DOWN. Everyone solves the same grid each day, and the timer that starts when you open the page serves as your score. The grid accepts keyboard input, highlights the active square in orange and the current word in pale blue, and displays a check button for verification.
How to play Mini Crossword
- Click a square to select it. The square turns orange, the word highlights in blue, and its clue appears on the left.
- Type the letters directly. The cursor moves to the next square automatically.
- Press the space bar to switch between the across and down entries that use the same square.
- Press Tab to move to the next clue.
- Use crossing letters when a clue is difficult. Each square belongs to two words, so filling in the perpendicular entry may reveal the answer.
- Use the Check button only when you are stuck. It marks incorrect letters without fixing them, and each use counts as a help.
Why the timer matters
The five-by-five grid makes crossword solving a speed challenge. Everyone gets the same puzzle, and time determines the score, so you skip clues that don’t come immediately, rely on crossings, and use the check button strategically because each use is recorded. The format creates a breathless experience that resets every morning.
Reading the feedback
The grid provides no automatic validation while you type. It only moves the cursor, shifts the orange highlight to the active square, shades the current word in pale blue, and marks the corresponding clue in the list. The timer in the top bar is the only counter that moves, and it doubles as your score. Verification happens when you press the check button, which leaves incorrect letters in place while counting the action as a help.
Tips for faster solving
Use the keyboard exclusively. The space bar rotates direction and tab switches clues. On a grid this small, reaching for the mouse costs more time than difficult clues.
Fill only what comes immediately on the first pass. Three certain entries will usually seed more than half the board thanks to crossing letters.
Read the letter pattern alongside the clue. Short fill leans toward common vocabulary and easy letters, so an unlikely stack of consonants almost always signals a wrong crossing rather than a misunderstood clue.
Save the check button for a full grid that refuses to close. It is recorded as a help, so reserve it for when a single wrong letter hides somewhere in the completed puzzle.
Common questions
What does the check button do?
It flags wrong letters without replacing them. Using it counts as a help in your final result.
Does everyone play the same grid?
Yes. The page presents one five-by-five puzzle per day, identical for everyone, with time as the score.
How do I switch from across to down?
Press the space bar to rotate direction on the current square. Press tab to jump to the next clue.