Mini Meta

Mini Meta runs in The Washington Post's games section and is written by the constructors Pete Muller and Andrew White. It began in 2021, and a book of the puzzles, Mini Meta Crosswords, came out in 2024. It is free to play in the browser.

On most days it is simply a quick mini crossword: a 5 by 5 grid with across and down clues that takes a couple of minutes. Solving without checking or revealing anything counts as a perfect game.

The meta is what sets it apart. Once you have the week's six minis, you pick one answer from each of the Monday to Friday grids. In order, those five words make a clue. The answer to that clue, a word or phrase of six letters or more, is hidden in Saturday's grid along a path of squares that touch side to side, and you find it by dragging through the grid. A hint can show the category and the length of the answer. You need to sign in to play the meta.

It suits solvers who like a fast daily mini but want something to think about across the week, and anyone curious about meta puzzles without facing a full-size one.