Mini Crossword Daily

About Mini Crossword Daily

Mini Crossword Daily comes from Danger Apps Inc. and has been on the App Store since 2018, with a version on Google Play as well. It takes the quick five by five crossword that newspapers made popular and adds a clock that counts down rather than up: finish the grid before it reaches zero and your streak goes on, run out of time and it ends.

Two new dated puzzles come out every day. A calendar shows the day's puzzle and your current win streak, and you pick from four difficulty levels, so a beginner and a seasoned solver each get a grid to suit them. To make it harder, the screen changes colour as the seconds tick away; if the pressure is too much, the timer can be turned off.

Stats can be compared with friends on Game Center. Beyond the dailies, monthly puzzle packs are sold one by one or through the Unlock Everything subscription, which also removes the ads ($3.99 a month or $29.99 a year in the US, according to the store listing).

It suits players who like the NYT Mini and want a faster, timed version on their phone.

How to play Mini Crossword Daily

1. Open the app and tap Play on today's puzzle in the calendar.
2. Pick a square and type the answer to its clue, shown above the keyboard.
3. Move between across and down clues with the arrows.
4. Fill the whole grid before the countdown reaches zero.
5. Solve the daily puzzles each day to keep your win streak growing.

Screenshots

Tips

• Start with the short fill-in-the-blank clues: they are usually the quickest letters on the board.
• Do not stop to stare at a hard clue; jump to the crossing words and come back.
• If the colour changes throw you off, play untimed until you know the clue style.

Questions