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Daily cryptic crosswords, free and paid, plus a clue a day

Several newspapers publish a full cryptic crossword every day that anyone can solve free online, among them the Guardian, the Independent and The Globe and Mail. The Times, the Telegraph and other papers keep theirs for subscribers, and a set of smaller games gives you a single cryptic clue a day, which is the gentlest way to learn.

The games

  1. Guardian puzzles on three phones: a crossword grid being filled in, a list of Cryptic Crossword grids dated October 2019 with setters Paul and Philistine, and a sudoku Guardian Cryptic CrosswordA free weekday cryptic with a named setter and a comments thread where solvers discuss the clues Crosswords Browser, iPhone, Android 30 to 90 minutes Midnight UK time
  2. The Independent Cryptic Crossword title with a grid showing FESTIVAL and IN PIECES The Independent's Cryptic CrosswordThe Independent's daily 15x15 cryptic, free in the browser with a timer and leaderboard Crosswords Browser 20 to 60 minutes Daily
  3. The Daily Cryptic illustration: a twisted cube of white and blue crossword squares Daily Cryptic (The Globe and Mail)A free daily cryptic, with a Canadian-made cryptic on Saturdays Crosswords Browser 20 to 45 minutes Midnight Eastern Time
  4. Best Daily Cryptic Crossword in play: an empty British-style grid with 15 Across, So or thus, highlighted, Across and Down clue lists on the right, a timer and Check, Reveal and Print buttons Best Daily Cryptic CrosswordArkadium's free daily cryptic grid, with a Reveal button for clues you cannot crack Crosswords Browser 15 to 45 minutes Daily
  5. Hindustan Times Cryptic 91 by Mind Enthusiast being solved: the 15x15 grid part filled beside its across and down clues, from a solver's video Cryptic Crossword (Hindustan Times)Hindustan Times' numbered cryptic, free six days a week, each credited to a pseudonymous setter Crosswords Browser 20 to 60 minutes 05:00 India Standard Time
  6. The Crusader Crossword of 26 October 2026 on a desktop: an empty 15 by 15 cryptic grid with the Across and Down clue lists, a timer and a hint button Crusader Crossword (Daily Express)The Daily Express's Crusader cryptic, free to play daily with ads Crosswords Browser 20 to 45 minutes Daily
  7. The Daily Mirror Cryptic Crossword for 26 October: an empty 11 by 11 grid with its across and down cryptic clues beside it, a timer and three Jokers Daily Mirror Cryptic CrosswordThe Daily Mirror's daily cryptic, free with an archive of earlier puzzles Crosswords Browser 10 to 30 minutes Daily
  8. The Times Quick Cryptic of 25 September 2026 by Mara: the 13x13 grid with across and down cryptic clues, from a YouTube solve video The Times Quick CrypticA shorter, easier cryptic from The Times, Monday to Saturday, for subscribers Crosswords Browser, iPhone, Android 10 to 30 minutes Daily
  9. A printed Times Crossword grid behind a solver, from a Dweebovision video working through the Times Cryptic of 15 September 2026 The Times Cryptic CrosswordThe Times daily cryptic, Monday to Saturday, for subscribers Crosswords Browser, iPhone, Android 20 to 60 minutes Daily
  10. A Telegraph cryptic crossword in the Telegraph Puzzles app on a phone, puzzle 30,031, with the clue Where one may see drinks dispensers in prison? (6,4) Telegraph Cryptic CrosswordThe Telegraph's cryptic, Monday to Saturday, with a Telegraph Puzzles subscription Crosswords Browser, iPhone, Android 30 to 60 minutes Daily
  11. The Irish Times app on an iPad, Crosswords section: tiles for Simplex, Crosaire and Sudoku, each with a Play button and a link to past puzzles Crosaire (The Irish Times)The Irish Times cryptic, a 15x15 grid six days a week, for subscribers Crosswords Browser, iPhone, Android 20 to 60 minutes Midnight Irish time
  12. The Herald app's Daily Crosswords and Sudoku screen, with Quick and Cryptic crosswords above easy, intermediate and expert sudokus Cryptic Crossword (The Sydney Morning Herald)The Sydney Morning Herald's daily cryptic, shared with The Age, for subscribers Crosswords Browser, iPhone, Android 20 to 60 minutes A new dated puzzle each day
  13. An NZ Herald Cryptic Crossword in play: an empty 15x15 grid between the Across and Down cryptic clues, with a timer, Hint and Menu bar Cryptic Crossword (NZ Herald)The NZ Herald's daily 15x15 cryptic, with the past week open, for Premium subscribers Crosswords Browser 20 to 45 minutes Daily
  14. The SCMP Cryptic Crossword for Thursday 22 October being played: MANAGED entered at 1 Across in the 15x15 grid, beside the Across and Down cryptic clues. SCMP Cryptic CrosswordThe South China Morning Post's dated daily 15x15 cryptic, with full access through its app or a subscription Crosswords Browser 30 to 60 minutes Once a day
  15. Minute Cryptic in the app: the clue 'Prince's home extremely late after play group?' above six answer boxes, a par marker and hints and check buttons Minute CrypticOne cryptic clue a day with hints, a par score and a video explaining it Word Browser, iPhone, Android 1 to 5 minutes Once a day
  16. Parseword Daily Puzzle #266, a clue by Steve Mossberg: Loudly decline classroom instruction as word tiles, the definition underlined, hint and check buttons, a 6-letter solution box and learn mode ParsewordOne cryptic clue a day that you solve by taking its wordplay apart step by stepNo ads Word Browser 3 to 10 minutes 08:00 UTC
  17. Daily Cryptic on iPhone: the clue Devil embracing Romeo, an ally (6) with FRIE typed into the answer boxes, Hint and Letter buttons and a keyboard, under Learn cryptics, one clue at a time. Daily Cryptic - Solve & LearnOne hand-picked cryptic clue a day with layered hints and a step-by-step explanationNo ads Word iPhone, Browser About 5 minutes Daily
  18. The Daily Cryptic No. 49 for Monday, 19 October 2026: the clue Texas Democrat makes waves thrashing orca tail (8), eight empty answer boxes, the Press Par line and Check The Daily CrypticOne numbered cryptic clue a day with progressive hints that name the clue type, indicator and definitionNo ads Word Browser 2 to 10 minutes Daily
  19. Daily Crypticle No. 720 for October 21, 2026: the clue 'Surprisingly sparse asparagus?' above three empty rows of six tiles and the on-screen keyboard Daily CrypticleOne cryptic clue a day, answered in three Wordle-style guesses with coloured tiles Word Browser 2 to 10 minutes Midnight US Eastern Time
  20. Riddle Grid #288 on 21 October 2026: today's 8 by 8 letter grid above the first cryptic clues, such as Quiet letter is less deep? (9), none solved yet Riddle GridA daily set of cryptic clues whose answers you trace through a grid of lettersNo ads Word Browser 10 to 20 minutes Midnight UTC
  21. Cluword No. 166 for Thursday 29 October 2026, Medium, 7 letters: clue 1 reads Where the sky appears to meet the earth, above a grid with one grey guess, EXAMPLE, and four empty rows CluwordA cryptic clue and five Wordle-style guesses for one word a day, harder as the week goes on Word Browser 3 to 6 minutes Midnight UTC
  22. PokeCryptic for October 26, 2026 by PC: a nine-letter cryptic clue about thorns and a rose, empty letter boxes, a Par 2 bar, Hints and Check buttons and an on-screen keyboard PokeCrypticOne cryptic clue a day whose answer is a Pokémon termNo ads Gaming Browser 2 to 10 minutes Midnight local
  23. Word Eile on 18 October 2026, Quick level: a first guess STREAM with S green, R and E orange, T, A and M grey, and the keyboard coloured to match Word Eile (RTÉ)RTÉ's daily word-guessing game, whose Cryptic level is an eight-letter word to find from the day's clue in five tries Word Browser 2 to 10 minutes Once a day
  24. Estimation Gym's Fermi Questions for Sun 18 Oct: How many words does an average person speak in a day, with a guess box, a x10^n button, Go and a Hint Estimation GymIts Crossword Clues game gives one word a day with three cryptic clues, hardest first, each explained afterNo ads Estimation Browser 1 to 5 minutes per game Midnight local
  25. The Times Cryptic Quintagram 2485 on the web: five clues with answer boxes, three solved, above the shared pool of letters with used ones crossed out The Times QuintagramFive clues sharing one pool of letters, with a cryptic version each day beside the concise one, for Times subscribers Anagram Browser, iPhone, Android 5 to 15 minutes Daily

For a free full cryptic, start with the Guardian's weekday cryptic: each numbered puzzle names its setter and has a comments thread where solvers explain the clues. The Independent publishes a 15x15 cryptic every day, free in the browser with a timer and a leaderboard, and The Globe and Mail runs a cryptic every day with a Canadian-made puzzle on Saturdays. Arkadium's Best Daily Cryptic Crossword adds a Reveal button for clues that will not crack. The Hindustan Times (six days a week, each puzzle credited to a pseudonymous setter), the Daily Express with its Crusader, and the Daily Mirror also publish free daily cryptics with ads.

If you subscribe to a paper, The Times Cryptic runs Monday to Saturday, with The Sunday Times setting its own on Sundays, and The Times Quick Cryptic is a shorter, easier grid that many solvers learn on. The Telegraph's cryptic needs a Telegraph Puzzles subscription, though the paper offers a free Mini Cryptic each day. The Irish Times's Crosaire, the NZ Herald's cryptic and the Sydney Morning Herald's cryptic, shared with The Age, are also for subscribers, and the South China Morning Post's SCMP Cryptic Crossword is a dated 15x15 grid on its SCMP Games page, with full access through its app or a subscription.

If a full grid is too much, try one clue a day. Minute Cryptic gives a single clue with hints, a par score and a short video explaining it; a paid membership adds the archive. Parseword lets you take the wordplay apart step by step until the answer appears. Daily Cryptic (dailycryptic.co) and The Daily Cryptic both give one clue with layered hints that name the definition and the wordplay before they give the answer away. Daily Crypticle turns the clue into a Wordle-style round: three guesses with coloured tiles. PokeCryptic does the same kind of single clue with Pokémon answers.

A few games mix cryptic clues with other puzzles. Riddle Grid gives a set of cryptic clues whose answers you trace through a grid of letters, Cluword pairs a cryptic clue with five Wordle-style guesses and gets harder through the week, and RTÉ's Word Eile has a Cryptic level beside its Quick and Median words. Estimation Gym's Crossword Clues game gives one word a day with three cryptic clues, hardest first, and fewer points for each clue you need. The Times Quintagram, for subscribers, sets five clues whose answers share one pool of letters, in a concise and a cryptic version each day. On iPhone and iPad, Teazel's Cryptic Crossword app has a daily grid and an Explain clue button; daily puzzles unlock with coins earned by playing or with a subscription.

To learn, start with Parseword, Minute Cryptic or Daily Cryptic for a week, move to The Times Quick Cryptic or Best Daily Cryptic Crossword, and then try a full Guardian or Independent cryptic. Every daily crossword we list, cryptic or not, is on the daily crosswords page (/daily-crosswords).

Questions

Which cryptic crosswords are free online?

The Guardian, the Independent and The Globe and Mail publish free daily cryptics in the browser, as do the Hindustan Times, the Daily Express and the Daily Mirror with ads. Arkadium's Best Daily Cryptic Crossword is free too.

How can I learn cryptic crosswords?

Start with a single clue a day in Parseword, Minute Cryptic or Daily Cryptic, which explain the wordplay, then move to a shorter grid such as The Times Quick Cryptic.

What is a quick cryptic?

A smaller cryptic crossword whose clues use the same kinds of wordplay as a full cryptic but are easier to crack. The Times Quick Cryptic runs Monday to Saturday beside the main Times Cryptic, for subscribers.

Is The Times cryptic free?

No. The Times Cryptic and the Quick Cryptic need a Times subscription.

Is the Telegraph cryptic crossword free?

No, it needs a Telegraph Puzzles subscription. The Telegraph does offer a free Mini Cryptic each day.

Is there a cryptic crossword clue of the day?

Yes. Minute Cryptic, Parseword, Daily Cryptic (dailycryptic.co), The Daily Cryptic and Daily Crypticle each give one cryptic clue a day, the same for everyone, with hints that show how the wordplay works.

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