The New York Times Crossword

About The New York Times Crossword

The Times first ran a crossword on 15 February 1942, in its Sunday edition, under its first editor, Margaret Farrar, who set many of the rules the puzzle still follows: symmetrical grids, a limit on black squares and no answers shorter than three letters. Will Shortz has edited it since 1993. The puzzles are made by a large pool of freelance constructors, and each one carries the constructor's name.

The week has a shape. Monday's puzzle uses direct clues and is meant for newer solvers; the clues get trickier each day. Monday to Thursday puzzles usually have a theme that links the long answers, and Thursday is known for tricks such as several letters in one square. Friday and Saturday are usually themeless, with open grids and long answers, and Saturday is the hardest. Sunday's 21x21 grid has a theme and sits around Wednesday or Thursday in difficulty.

Online, the next day's puzzle is released the evening before, at 10 p.m. Eastern on weekdays and 6 p.m. Eastern on weekend evenings. You solve in the browser or the NYT Games app with a timer running, and the app keeps statistics such as your streak and your average time for each day of the week. Subscribers can also play the archive of puzzles back to November 1993, and the related Mini and Midi crosswords.

The daily Crossword is not part of the free games: it needs a New York Times Games or All Access subscription. It suits anyone who enjoys a crossword with a recognisable weekly rhythm, from Monday beginners to people chasing a Saturday solve without help.

How to play The New York Times Crossword

1. Open the Crossword on nytimes.com or in the NYT Games app and sign in with a subscription.
2. Pick today's puzzle, or a date from the archive.
3. Select a square or a clue and type your answer; tap the same square again to switch between across and down.
4. Use the checks and reveals in the menu if you are stuck, or solve without them for a clean streak.
5. Fill every square; the game tells you when the grid is correct and records your time.
6. Come back each evening for the next day's puzzle.

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Tips

• Start with Monday and Tuesday puzzles and move later in the week as they get easier for you.
• Fill-in-the-blank clues are usually the quickest way into a grid.
• A question mark at the end of a clue means wordplay; expect a pun, not a definition.
• Clue and answer match in tense and number: a plural clue means a plural answer.
• On Thursdays, if an answer will not fit, look for a trick such as a rebus with several letters in one square.
• Use the archive to practise a single day of the week, such as Fridays, until it feels familiar.

Questions