A five by five, new every day. Click a square to flip between across and down.
Twenty-three white squares, ten clues, and usually two or three minutes. It is the same puzzle for everyone on the same day.
How to play
Click any white square to start typing. Clicking the square you are already on flips between Across and Down — so does the Tab key.
The squares of the entry you are in are shaded, so you can always see which word you are filling.
Type letters to fill the grid and use Backspace to go back. Arrow keys move a square at a time, skipping the black ones.
On a phone the keyboard is drawn on the page rather than the one your phone provides, and one clue shows at a time with arrows to step through them.
Check marks wrong letters without telling you the right ones. Reveal a letter fills the square you are on, and is counted in your result.
Questions
When does the puzzle change?
At midnight in your own timezone, not on a server clock somewhere else. Everyone playing on the same calendar date gets the same grid.
Does the timer keep running if I stop playing?
No. It holds after a minute without input, and immediately if you switch tabs, behind a panel that covers the grid — so a pause cannot be used to study the board. Any key or the Resume button starts it again. The clock is the number people compare, so it should measure time spent solving rather than time the tab sat open.
Can I play previous puzzles?
Yes. "Play previous puzzles" lists every day up to today, and each keeps its own progress and time. Puzzles after today are not offered — every file exists from the start because they are static, but only the days that have come round are anyone's to play.
Does revealing a letter ruin my result?
It does not stop you finishing, but it is recorded and shown with your time, so a solve with help is never mistaken for one without.
Where are my progress and streak kept?
In your browser, not an account. Clearing site data clears them, and they do not follow you to another device. If your browser blocks storage — private mode, or some embedded contexts — the game says so rather than losing a streak silently.
How many puzzles are there?
365, generated with the same two-black-square shape a standard mini uses, and checked so no grid repeats a word or leans on an abbreviation to fill a corner.