Mini mots croisés du Monde

About Mini mots croisés du Monde

Le Monde's mini crosswords work just like its classic grids, only smaller. Most are 5 by 5, which means five answers across and five down, each with a short French definition. The paper suggests them as the place to start for newcomers to crosswords, and as a quick break for regular solvers.

A new mini appears every weekday, Monday to Friday, with no grid at the weekend. Each grid is dated on the Jeux page, and a month and year picker leads back through the archive. The grids were written by Philippe Dupuis, Le Monde's crossword setter since 1997; after his death in January 2026, the paper said it would keep publishing the grids he left and then grids from its archives.

The dated grids and the archive need a Le Monde Jeux subscription, which also covers the full crossword, sudoku and word search. Seven free mini grids (most 5 by 5, one 7 by 7) are open without subscribing, so you can try the format first.

It suits French speakers and learners who want a crossword that takes a few minutes rather than an hour.

How to play Mini mots croisés du Monde

1. Open the Mots croisés mini page on Le Monde Jeux and pick today's dated grid (or a free grid).
2. Select a square to see its across (horizontal) or down (vertical) definition.
3. Type the answer; letters you place also fill the crossing words.
4. Use the crossings to work out the harder definitions.
5. Fill all ten answers to finish, then come back the next weekday.

Tips

• Start with the shortest or most direct definitions; in a 5 by 5 grid every answer crosses five others.
• French crosswords often clue abbreviations and short grammatical words, so think of articles and pronouns.
• Try the free grids first to get used to the style of the definitions.

Questions