Crosswords

Apple News+ Crossword

A daily 15x15 crossword inside the Apple News app, edited by The Puzzle Society.

Every day: One new 15x15 crossword a day for all Apple News+ subscribers, easiest on Monday and hardest at the weekend, with a daily Game Center leaderboard of solve times. New puzzle: Once a day; each puzzle carries its date in the Puzzles feed.

Play Apple News+ Crossword on support.apple.com

Apple News on the App StoreHow to solve crosswords in Apple News (Apple Support)The Puzzle Society's guidelines for the Apple News+ Crossword

Apple News Puzzles screen on an iPhone listing today's Crossword Mini, Crossword and Quartiles with their dates

Apple News+ subscribers get a new crossword every day in the News app on iPhone, iPad and Mac. The grid is always 15x15, starts the week gentle and gets harder towards Saturday and Sunday. Solve times go onto a Game Center leaderboard for that day's puzzle.

About Apple News+ Crossword

The Apple News+ Crossword lives in the Puzzles section of Apple's News app, next to the Crossword Mini, Quartiles, sudoku and the Emoji Game. A new puzzle appears every day for Apple News+ subscribers, and older puzzles stay available in the archive. Apple notes that some puzzles may be playable without a subscription.

The crosswords are commissioned and edited by The Puzzle Society, whose submission guidelines name Erik Agard, Anna Gundlach, Jared Goudsmit and Taylor Johnson as editors. Every grid is 15x15. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday puzzles have a theme, while Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday are themeless. Difficulty climbs through the week: Monday and Tuesday are meant for first-time solvers, and the weekend puzzles have trickier wordplay.

You can solve in the usual grid view or switch to a list of clues and answers. Autocheck, check and reveal tools are there when you get stuck, but revealing any part of the grid keeps that puzzle out of your stats and streak. Since iOS 17.5 the News app posts your time for the daily puzzle to a Game Center leaderboard, where you can compare yourself with friends and with everyone else who solved the same grid.

It suits people who already pay for Apple News+ and want a full-size, modern crossword on their phone, with a gentle start to the week for newer solvers.

How to play Apple News+ Crossword

  1. Open the News app, go to Puzzles and tap Crossword (an Apple News+ subscription is needed for most puzzles).
  2. Tap a square to see its clue below the grid, then type the answer; the cursor moves on as you type.
  3. Tap the arrows beside the clue or pick clues from the list to move around.
  4. Use Autocheck or Check Square, Word or Puzzle to mark mistakes, or Reveal if you are stuck.
  5. Finish the grid without reveals to count the puzzle towards your streak and the Game Center leaderboard.

Tips

  • Start the week with Monday and Tuesday if you are new: they are designed for first-time solvers.
  • On themed days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) look for the theme in the longest answers or circled squares.
  • Use Check instead of Reveal when possible, since any reveal stops the puzzle counting for stats.
  • You can leave and come back later; the timer pauses while you are away.

Questions

Is the Apple News+ Crossword free?

Daily and archived puzzles are part of an Apple News+ subscription. Apple says some puzzles may be available without one.

Who makes the puzzles?

The Puzzle Society commissions and edits them for Apple News+.

Does the difficulty change during the week?

Yes. Monday and Tuesday are easiest, Wednesday to Friday are moderate, and Saturday and Sunday are the trickiest.

Is there a leaderboard?

Yes. Your solve time for the daily puzzle is sent to a Game Center leaderboard if Game Center is turned on for News.

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