Guardian Quick Crossword

Rate it

A daily British crossword with plain definitions instead of cryptic wordplay.

on theguardian.com

Three phones running Guardian puzzles: a crossword grid being filled in, a list of Cryptic and Quick crossword grids by date and number, and a sudoku

The Guardian Quick is a 13 by 13 crossword with straightforward clues, published every weekday and on Saturdays. You fill it in on the Guardian website with buttons to check or reveal a word when you get stuck. It is the gentle partner to the paper's famous cryptic.

About Guardian Quick Crossword

The Guardian prints a quick crossword every weekday in its G2 section and on Saturdays in the Review section, and each one is also posted free on the paper's website. The puzzles are numbered, and the series has passed number 17,600, so it has been running for decades. John Graham, who set cryptics for the paper as Araucaria, also set around a third of its quick crosswords during his career.

A Quick puzzle uses a 13 by 13 British style grid, where black squares leave some letters unchecked, so not every letter is crossed by another answer. The clues are mostly short definitions such as "Cane fruit (9)", with the length of each answer in brackets. Some clues are simple anagrams marked "(anag)", and multi-word answers show their word breaks, like (4,3).

On the website you click a square or a clue and type. Buttons let you check or reveal the current word or the whole grid, clear entries, and open an anagram helper that shuffles letters for you. Past puzzles stay in the archive, so you can work back through earlier numbers.

It suits solvers who like a classic newspaper crossword with British spelling and vocabulary, and who want something they can finish over a cup of tea without learning cryptic rules.

How to play Guardian Quick Crossword

Open the latest numbered Quick crossword from the series page.
Click a clue or a square to select an answer; the length is shown in brackets after the clue.
Type the answer; the cursor moves along the word as you go.
Use the crossing answers to fill letters you are unsure of.
Press Check Word or Reveal Word if you are stuck, or Check All when the grid is full.

Tips

Start with the anagram clues marked (anag): the letters are all in the clue.
Expect British spelling and terms, so think colour, not color.
Because some squares are unchecked, get the answer itself right rather than relying on crossers.
Use the Anagram Helper to shuffle letters when a word refuses to come.
If the Quick goes fast, the Quick Cryptic or Quiptic on the same site is the next step up.