What is the New Word Game? + Most Popular Free Crossword Puzzle

There are endless ways to tackle a free crossword puzzle. Do’ em at the dining room table on a slow weekend morning, pencil in hand (or pen, if you’re feeling reckless). Fill ’em out on an app, and make the commute whiz by. Gather ’round the Sunday puzzle with friends, helping each other with clues.

Brief History of Crossword Puzzles

Crossword puzzles are said to be the most popular and widespread word game in the world, yet have a short history. The first crosswords appeared in England during the 19th century. They were of an elementary kind, apparently derived from the word square, a group of words arranged so the letters read alike vertically and horizontally, and printed in children’s puzzle books and various periodicals. In the United States, however, the puzzle developed into a serious adult pastime.

The first known published crossword puzzle was created by a journalist named Arthur Wynne from Liverpool, and he is usually credited as the inventor of the popular word game. December 21, 1913 was the date and it appeared in a Sunday newspaper, the New York World. Wynne’s puzzle(see below) differed from today’s crosswords in that it was diamond shaped and contained no internal black squares. During the early 1920’s other newspapers picked up the newly discovered pastime and within a decade crossword puzzles were featured in almost all American newspapers. It was in this period crosswords began to assume their familiar form. Ten years after its rebirth in the States it crossed the Atlantic and re-conquered Europe.

The first appearance of a crossword in a British publication was in Pearson’s Magazine in February 1922, and the first Times crossword appeared on February 1 1930. British puzzles quickly developed their own style, being considerably more difficult than the American variety. In particular the cryptic crossword became established and rapidly gained popularity. The generally considered governing rules for cryptic puzzles were laid down by A. F. Ritchie and D. S. Macnutt.

These people, gifted with the ability to see words puzzled together in given geometrical patterns and capable of twisting and turning words into word plays dancing on the wit of human minds, have since constructed millions of puzzles by hand and each of these puzzlers has developed personal styles known and loved by his fans. These people have set the standard of what to expect from a quality crossword puzzle.

What is the most popular Free Crossword Puzzle?

1. New York Magazine Sunday Night Crossword

Certainly one of the most iconic crosswords in history, you don’t need a subscription to New York Magazine in order to play its weekly puzzle. All of Matt Gaffney’s crossword puzzles are available to solve online for free at New York Mag online, so you can retroactively play. Or, you can hop on the website every Sunday night when a new weekly puzzle is posted.

2. The Atlantic Daily Online Crossword

The Atlantic offers a free daily online crossword puzzle that can be accessed online. But, there’s an age-old twist. Each day of the week, the crosswords grow increasingly difficult. By the time it gets to Sunday, The Atlantic‘s online daily crossword is for the experts only. Of course, the more you do, the quicker you’ll work your way to expert level.

3. The New York Times Crossword

You don’t need a subscription to The New York Times itself, but a New York Times‘ crossword subscription will gain you access to more than 1,000 crossword puzzles, plus other logic puzzles that stimulate your brain.

The only crossword on this list that isn’t totally free, you can opt to pay 81¢/wk. for a monthly or 38¢/wk. for a yearly subscription.

4. The Washington Post Daily Crossword

Up for the daily challenge? You can take your aim at solving The Washington Post‘s daily crossword online for free at Washington Post. Made by editor Rich Norris, you can either print out the puzzle if you prefer to play the old fashion way a la pen and paper or you can play digitally, while the website’s puzzle timer runs in the background.

5. USA Today Crossword Puzzles

Free—albeit thanks to ads—USA Today gives players the option of choosing a “beginner” level or “expert” level puzzle for the daily. USA Today‘s daily crosswords are also available on their app for iOS and Android, if you prefer to play on your smartphone. The app comes with a 7-day free trial, then requires a subscription.

6. The Guardian Cryptic Crosswords

Cryptic is The Guardian’s daily online crossword puzzle series that is posted every weekday. Not only can you access today’s daily puzzle, but you can also take a look back in their crossword puzzle archives to play retroactively. You know what they say, practice makes for perfect puzzles!

7. The Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

The LA Times also publishes a daily crossword puzzle that’s free online. You can also access The LA Times puzzle archives for free, so you can choose from playing today’s daily or working your way through the previous puzzles.

8. Independent.co Crosswords

You’ll need to turn off your ad blocker for this one, but Independent.co publishes a daily crossword puzzle that is also free of charge (if you don’t count succumbing to ads). You can also choose from other similar brain games on their site like The Independent’s Concise Crossword, Penny Dell Crosswords, The Independent’s Codeword, and Word Wipe.

9. AARP Crossword

The daily crossword puzzle from AARP is totally free, but there are some fun benefits to making a free account (rather than simply playing as a guest). With an account, you can keep track of your progress as the website will store your information and scores. For anyone looking to up their own crossword game or to get competitive with others (AARP actually has a public ranking system so you can see where your score stands versus others who play), the AARP daily is a fun one.

10. Arkadium Themed Crosswords

Arkadium is an online resource for all things games. From educational games to strategy puzzles, there’s a whole lot of brain-exercising you can do here on this website. With crossword puzzle updates occurring every day, Arkadium features different categories of crosswords—from the mini to the commuter puzzle to themed puzzles.

3 Top Tips For How to Improve Your Crossword Skills

Dan Feyer holds the record for the most wins at the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Feyer has a great claim to the “Finest crossword puzzle player in the world” title and he has three top tips that you can use when you’re playing crossword puzzles on our website:

Tip Number 1: Pick the Right Crossword Puzzles

There are a huge number of crossword puzzles you can choose from, ranging from introductory challenges all the way up to expert-level tests. That includes crisscross puzzles and specialized puzzle types and custom formats that are only available via a subscription.

Dan Feyer says that you need to select the ones that are right for you. So, check through our list of free online crossword puzzles and find the options you’re comfortable with.

Tip Number 2: Ask For Help When You’re Stuck On a Crossword Puzzle

One of Dan Feyer’s best pieces of advice is that you shouldn’t feel ashamed if you don’t know the answer to a crossword puzzle.

He recommends that each time you’re stuck you should use an unlimited access resource such as Google or Wikipedia to help you find answers.

Tip Number 3: Test Yourself by Trying Harder Crossword Puzzles

You don’t get to be the best you can be at crossword puzzles by sticking to the same standard every time you play one. Follow Dan Feyer’s recommendation and test yourself.

Testing your crossword puzzle skills doesn’t necessarily mean more complex options.

One way you can make your puzzles harder and develop your skills is by setting yourself a time limit for completing them. You could also set yourself a points total target.

This is something you can do with our free online crossword puzzles because they give you a monthly points score. So, if you want to improve your skills then start one now and decide how many points you want to achieve this month!

Are there any free crossword puzzle apps?

Crossword Puzzle Free (Redstone). On Google Android, it’s called Crossword Puzzle Free. Hop over to an iOS device like an iPhone or iPad, and you’ve got Crossword Puzzle Redstone. Both names are accurate, since it is indeed a free app published by Redstone Games. Enjoy free packs of crossword puzzles every week.

Are USA Today crossword puzzles free?

The USA Today is rather renowned providing crossword puzzles on newspapers, books and on the Internet. … These puzzles are free, can be played and print online.

Is NY Times crossword app free?

The New York Times Crossword is free to download, and all users get free unlimited access to the daily puzzle and calendar archive for seven days upon downloading.

How do I get the game Wordle?

Where to find Wordle. There’s no official app to download, but the game is available online at powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle. You can play using a mobile or desktop browser.

Is there an app that can solve crossword puzzles?

Shortyz Crosswords has been the definitive Android crossword app for many years, and it shows no signs of relinquishing its position. Its standout feature is its ability to download free puzzles from a number of sources.