{"id":82,"date":"2022-02-13T20:32:25","date_gmt":"2022-02-14T01:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/virlan.com\/game\/?p=82"},"modified":"2022-02-13T12:33:00","modified_gmt":"2022-02-13T17:33:00","slug":"what-is-the-new-word-game-most-popular-free-crossword-puzzle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/virlan.com\/game\/trends\/what-is-the-new-word-game-most-popular-free-crossword-puzzle\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the New Word Game? + Most Popular Free Crossword Puzzle"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are endless ways to tackle a free crossword puzzle<\/strong>. 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<\/strong> with friends, helping each other with clues.<\/p>\n

Brief History of Crossword Puzzles<\/h2>\n

Crossword puzzles<\/strong> are said to be the most popular and widespread word game<\/strong><\/a> in the world, yet have a short history. The first crosswords<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

The first known published crossword puzzle<\/span> was created by a journalist named Arthur Wynne from Liverpool, and he is usually credited as the inventor of the popular word game<\/strong>. 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

What is the most popular Free Crossword Puzzle?<\/h3>\n

1. New York Magazine Sunday Night Crossword<\/h4>\n

Certainly one of the most iconic crosswords in history, you don\u2019t need a subscription to New York Magazine in order to play its weekly puzzle. All of Matt Gaffney\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

2. The Atlantic Daily Online Crossword<\/h4>\n

The Atlantic offers a free daily online crossword puzzle that can be accessed online. But, there\u2019s an age-old twist. Each day of the week, the crosswords grow increasingly difficult. By the time it gets to Sunday, The Atlantic\u2018s online daily crossword is for the experts only. Of course, the more you do, the quicker you\u2019ll work your way to expert level.<\/p>\n

3. The New York Times Crossword<\/h4>\n

You don\u2019t need a subscription to The New York Times itself, but a New York Times\u2018 crossword subscription will gain you access to more than 1,000 crossword puzzles, plus other logic puzzles that stimulate your brain.<\/p>\n

The only crossword on this list that isn\u2019t totally free, you can opt to pay 81\u00a2\/wk. for a monthly or 38\u00a2\/wk. for a yearly subscription.<\/p>\n

4. The Washington Post Daily Crossword<\/h4>\n

Up for the daily challenge? You can take your aim at solving The Washington Post\u2018s 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\u2019s puzzle timer runs in the background.<\/p>\n

5. USA Today Crossword Puzzles<\/h4>\n

Free\u2014albeit thanks to ads\u2014USA Today gives players the option of choosing a \u201cbeginner\u201d level or \u201cexpert\u201d level puzzle for the daily. USA Today\u2018s 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.<\/p>\n

6. The Guardian Cryptic Crosswords<\/h4>\n

Cryptic is The Guardian\u2019s daily online crossword puzzle series that is posted every weekday. Not only can you access today\u2019s 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!<\/p>\n

7. The Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle<\/h4>\n

The LA Times also publishes a daily crossword puzzle that\u2019s free online. You can also access The LA Times puzzle archives for free, so you can choose from playing today\u2019s daily or working your way through the previous puzzles.<\/p>\n

8. Independent.co Crosswords<\/h4>\n

You\u2019ll 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\u2019t count succumbing to ads). You can also choose from other similar brain games on their site like The Independent\u2019s Concise Crossword, Penny Dell Crosswords, The Independent\u2019s Codeword, and Word Wipe.<\/p>\n

9. AARP Crossword<\/h4>\n

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.<\/p>\n

10. Arkadium Themed Crosswords<\/h4>\n

Arkadium is an online resource for all things games. From educational games to strategy puzzles, there\u2019s 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\u2014from the mini to the commuter puzzle to themed puzzles.<\/p>\n