Cross Spin

Cross Spin is made by JoPat Games, which also sells it as a board game and as an app for iPhone and Android. The website at crossspingame.com has one dated level a day, the same for every player, with a clock, a daily leaderboard, streaks and badges, and a calendar of past puzzles.

A level is a handful of empty squares laid out like a tiny crossword, and a list of categories such as a colour or a word that starts with L. You tap a square and type, and an entry that fits one of the categories turns green. The words have to share their crossing letters, so BLUE across and LAKE down, for example, meet on the L.

The twist is the spin. Arrow buttons rotate the board, which changes which way the words read and where they cross, and the game says that every level has more than one solution. If one rotation will not take your words, you clear them and try another. The clock counts up from the moment you start, and the daily leaderboard ranks finishers by their time.

It suits players who like Scattergories-style prompts and small crossword grids and want a puzzle that takes a minute or two. You can play as a guest or make an account to keep your stats on several devices. The iOS and Android apps offer a run of levels of their own.