While conventional crossword puzzle books are still available, smartphones such as Android, iPhones, and tablets have made it easier than ever to get your crossword fix thanks to a simple input method that allows crossword problems to transition smoothly into app form, complete with answer-checking and hint systems. If you’re looking for some of the best options among the many free crossword apps available online, then read on.
First, though, let’s take a quick look at the definition of a crossword app before diving into which one is the best for doing crossword puzzles online.
What is a Crossword App?
A crossword app is a digital application designed for solving crossword puzzles on smartphones, tablets, or computers. It provides a platform for users to engage in the popular word game conveniently. These apps offer a wide variety of crossword puzzles, ranging from easy to challenging levels, catering to different skill sets and preferences. Users can input letters, view clues, and solve the puzzles directly on the app interface.
Crossword apps often come with user-friendly interfaces, intuitive controls, and interactive features. Some apps allow players to compete with friends, track their progress, and participate in timed challenges. They may also include hints and solutions for difficult clues, aiding players who get stuck. Furthermore, crossword apps frequently update their puzzle libraries, ensuring a continuous stream of fresh challenges for enthusiasts.
Additionally, these apps may offer features like in-app purchases for additional puzzle packs, thematic puzzles, and collaborative puzzles where multiple players can work together to solve a single crossword. Overall, crossword apps provide a convenient and entertaining way for people to enjoy this classic word game on digital devices.
Features of a Crossword App
Most crossword puzzle apps are packed with extras designed to please puzzle fans and make solving the puzzles easier. Some features that are standard in crossword apps are as follows:
- Clues and Hints: Users can access clues for each crossword puzzle, helping them solve challenging words. Some apps also offer hints or reveal specific letters or words.
- Puzzle Variety: Crossword apps provide a diverse selection of puzzles, including different grid sizes and difficulty levels to accommodate various player skills.
- Offline Play: Many crossword apps allow users to download puzzles for offline play, enabling them to solve puzzles without an internet connection.
- User-Friendly Interface: intuitive interfaces with easy-to-use controls for entering letters and navigating the puzzle grid.
- Cross-Platform Sync: Crossword apps often sync progress across devices, allowing users to switch between smartphones, tablets, and computers without losing their current puzzle state.
Overview of the Best Crossword App
Here are our top picks for the best crossword puzzle apps:
#1. Crossword Unlimited
If you’re a fan of traditional crossword puzzles and are looking for a free app that you can download and start playing right away, look no further than Crossword Unlimited (Android | iPhone).
This app functions similarly to a typical crossword puzzle, with the added flexibility of letting you pick the puzzle’s size, difficulty, theme, and language. After you’ve set these options, you can begin playing by selecting “Play” from the menu.
Also, you’ll see the indication for a “down” or “across” space on the board at the top of the screen when you click on it. Just start entering what you think is the proper term. If you make a mistake, just click on the letter box and choose a new one. The same holds true if you think the word as a whole is incorrect; simply edit it.
When no box is chosen, you can read the help menu at the bottom of the screen, where you can also check whether your term is correct and discover which words are incorrect. Inconveniently (if you care about time), using all of these nifty aids will slow down your play.
Although Crossword Unlimited is completely free to play, it does have advertisements and a clumsy user interface. If you can get over it, though, it’s a fantastic crossword app for everyone.
#2. New York Times Crossword
The New York Times Crossword app (Android | iOS) is a fantastic option for anyone, as it comes from the owner of one of the major newspapers in the world.
The New York Times publishes a brand-new crossword puzzle every day, varying in complexity. When you launch the app, you may go through the crosswords from the preceding few days, with the level of difficulty listed at the very top. In addition to the daily puzzle, you can purchase crossword packs containing a variety of puzzles from “The Archives” (previous puzzles).
The game plays very well, as you’d expect. Time spent solving, an option to examine all hints in a list (for fast solving), details about the current crossword, and the options menu are all accessible from the top bar. You can see the line-specific tip and a keyboard to enter your answers just below the board. There is no method to check your answers, and no hints are provided, so be prepared to put in some serious effort.
In a nutshell, this is a top-tier crossword app. The worst part is that you can’t always get the best stuff for free. After a free week with The New York Times Crossword, daily plays will cost you $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. However, they also provide free daily mini-puzzles that can be accessed without a membership.
#3. CodyCross
When it comes to crossword puzzle apps, CodyCross Crossword Puzzles is often considered to be among the best because of its fresh take and engaging design. CodyCross, made by Fanatee, is unique due to its compelling narrative and thematic puzzles. A variety of worlds, each with its own theme, visual style, and soundtrack, await the player as they progress through the game. The game’s crossword puzzles are thoughtfully designed to be difficult to solve using a variety of hints and word structures. CodyCross is more than just another puzzle game, thanks to its unique blend of crossword problems and exploration.
Players not only increase their knowledge while having fun by solving crosswords but also by learning intriguing information linked to the puzzle themes. The game’s accessibility to players of varying ages is due in part to its user-friendly interface and aesthetically pleasing design. CodyCross is one of the best crossword puzzle apps out there since it constantly improves and has a large library of puzzles to choose from.
#4. Crossword Clue Solver
When it comes to apps for solving crossword puzzles, Crossword Clue Solver stands head and shoulders above the competition. The app’s two main features are its wide selection of crossword puzzles for users of all skill levels and its ability to help them decipher tricky clues. The app’s user-friendly design makes it a great tool for learning new words and solving challenging puzzles by allowing users to enter partial clues and obtain possible answers in real-time.
With Crossword Clue Solver’s extensive database, you can feel confident that even the most obscure riddles will be solved. Users are able to improve their crossword-solving skills thanks to the app’s instantaneous feedback and thorough explanations. The software also provides gamers with helpful suggestions and advice, allowing them to progress without giving away all of the answers.
In addition, Crossword Clue Solver is one of the best crossword puzzle apps available for those wanting both amusement and knowledge, and it proves to be an important companion whether you’re stuck on a single clue or looking to tackle complete puzzles.
#5. 5-Minute Crossword Puzzles
If you’re seeking a crossword game that you can play and finish quickly throughout the workday, I highly recommend either 5-minute Crossword Puzzles (Android) or Little Crossword Puzzles (iOS).
The crosswords in this app often include only six or seven clues, whereas a conventional crossword could have dozens. As the name suggests, the goal is to complete them in less than five minutes.
To solve, all you have to do is look at the hint offered below the puzzle and use the given letters to create the correct word. The game displays the word as you write and immediately notifies you of the correctness or otherwise of your entry.
For a fee (coins, which you earn as you play), you can have the game reveal a letter, remove additional letters, or reveal a word if you get stuck. If you’d rather not, the puzzle can be ignored until later.
5-Minute Crossword, often known as Little Crossword Puzzles, is a fun and challenging puzzle game that doesn’t cost a dime to play.
#6. Alphacross
With its unique combination of crossword and Sudoku features, Alphacross has quickly become one of the most popular crossword puzzle apps. This app offers a new spin on the classic crossword puzzle by having players place letter tiles in a grid to create words that are correct up and down the board.
Alphacross stands apart from the crowd since it provides a fun and challenging experience for fans of both crosswords and Sudoku. The app caters to users of varying ages and ability sets because of its user-friendly interface and dynamic layout. Players of alphacross puzzles need to be well-versed in both vocabulary and logic, which challenges and stimulates their minds.
Also, the difficulty of an alphacross puzzle can be adjusted to suit both novice and expert solvers. Alphacross is a good pick for those who enjoy crosswords and are searching for a new and challenging puzzle experience due to its cleverly designed problems and engaging gameplay. It’s one of the most fascinating crossword puzzle apps because it combines wordplay with math riddles in a way that’s both challenging and fun.
#7. Shortyz Crosswords
The adaptability and simplicity of use of Shortyz Crosswords have quickly made it one of the most popular crossword puzzle apps on mobile devices. One unique feature of this software is that users can add puzzles from other sources, such as popular periodicals, to their library. This ensures a steady stream of new and interesting riddles for users to enjoy. With puzzles ranging in difficulty from easy to challenging, this collection has something for crossword fans of all experience levels.
As a puzzle-solving app, Shortyz Crosswords excels at impressing users with its minimalist aesthetic and intuitive interface. Because the software may be used without an active data connection, fans can indulge in their passion whenever they choose. Because it has an automatic puzzle downloader, the puzzle library is always current, giving customers plenty of options.
Additionally, Shortyz Crosswords is also flexible in that it can read a variety of problem formats, including. puz and .jpz, to satisfy different crossword enthusiasts’ preferences. Shortyz Crosswords is a great option for anyone who enjoys crosswords, from casual solvers to die-hard cruciverbalists, as it provides a flexible and powerful framework for the activity.
#8. Wordalot
Wordalot is an app (Android | iOS) that provides a more engaging crossword experience with minimal “reading.”
For each problem in Wordalot, a picture is displayed at the top instead of separate word clues. The crossword’s hidden-word answers are objects from the picture. As a result, you should compare the hints given by the problem with what is actually present in the image. If you’re looking for something a little different from the standard crossword, try this out!
Letters from the puzzle will show below your selected word to help you figure out what they are. This helps zero in on the specifics. If you’re still stuck, though, hit the hint button or “phone a friend” using the share button.
#9. Bonza Word Puzzle
When it comes to crossword puzzle apps, Bonza Word Puzzle is often regarded as among the best because of its fresh and original take on the genre. Bonza is a word game similar to crosswords in which players must arrange jumbled letters to produce meaningful phrases. This innovative spin on the time-honored crossword formula makes for a fun and challenging new take on an old favorite.
The wide variety of puzzle themes available on Bonza, covering everything from everyday knowledge to more niche areas of study, is one of the app’s most distinctive qualities. The game’s aesthetic design and simple drag-and-drop controls make it suitable for gamers of varying ages and levels of gaming experience. Bonza also fosters originality by letting players experiment with a wide range of word combinations within a narrower context.
Bonza Word Puzzle stands apart from the crowd because of its emphasis on originality, as well as its many available puzzle themes and straightforward UI. One of the most engaging and mentally stimulating crossword puzzle apps thanks to its expert blending of learning and fun.
What Do Grey Squares Mean in Crossword?
In crossword puzzles, grey squares usually indicate blocked or unused spaces where no letters can be filled. The crossword’s structure and word arrangement depend on these squares. Typically, crossword puzzles have a pattern of white and grey squares, with the white squares representing the places where words are filled in, and the grey squares serving as dividers or empty spaces.
The arrangement of these squares, along with the clues provided, challenges solvers to think critically and creatively to fill in the words correctly. By having both white and grey squares, crossword puzzles achieve a balance between the filled words and the empty spaces, making the puzzle enjoyable and challenging for enthusiasts of all levels. Also, read Best Offline Ios Games: Top 15+ Best Offline IOS Games In 2023.
Best Crossword App Free
There are several great crossword apps available for free, each with its own unique features and puzzles. Here are a few popular ones:
#1. The NYTimes Crossword
When it comes to free puzzle apps, the NYTimes puzzle app stands head and shoulders above the competition. It has a user-friendly layout and offers a free daily puzzle with challenging clues and interesting topics. The app’s puzzles cater to various skill levels, making it accessible for both beginners and seasoned crossword enthusiasts.
Users can engage with puzzles of different sizes and difficulty levels, ensuring a satisfying challenge for everyone. While a subscription option exists for additional features, the free version still grants access to the daily puzzle, making it a popular choice among crossword solvers. Its reputation for top-notch puzzles and user-friendly design solidifies its status as a go-to crossword app for puzzle lovers.
#2. Crossword Puzzle Redstone
One of the best free crossword apps, Crossword Puzzle Redstone, provides puzzle fans with a thrilling and exciting experience. Users of various ability levels can enjoy the app’s many puzzles, which range from simple to complex.. Intuitive navigation and the ability to quickly implement previously acquired tactics make problem-solving an enjoyable experience.
Crossword Puzzle Redstone stands apart from the competition because of its dedication to providing its users with novel and challenging puzzles on a consistent basis. An attractive interface and simple controls help make this app a hit with crossword fans of all ages. It’s also rewarding to see progress as you solve progressively difficult challenges. Thanks to the app’s constant upgrades and large crossword grid collection, users will never run out of fresh, engaging puzzles.
Word Search Puzzle Crossword fans looking for a free and interesting puzzling game regularly recommend Redstone due to its user-friendly design, hard riddles, and frequent improvements.
#3. Epic Crossword Puzzles
Epic Crossword Puzzles stands as a standout choice among free crossword apps, offering an exceptional puzzling experience to enthusiasts. What makes this app remarkable is its vast array of challenging puzzles that cater to crossword solvers of all skill levels. From casual players to seasoned experts, everyone can find puzzles that match their expertise. The app’s user-friendly interface ensures smooth navigation, allowing players to focus solely on the thrill of solving puzzles.
With a commitment to delivering high-quality content, Epic Crossword Puzzles regularly updates its puzzle collection, ensuring a constant supply of fresh and engaging challenges. The app’s puzzles are crafted with precision, featuring clever clues and diverse themes that keep players hooked for hours. Its visually appealing design and intuitive controls enhance the overall gaming experience.
For crossword enthusiasts looking for a free app that combines a wide variety of puzzles with top-notch quality, Epic Crossword Puzzles proves to be an excellent choice, providing endless entertainment and mental stimulation without any cost.
Which Daily Crosswords Are Easiest?
The daily crossword puzzles in newspapers and magazines range widely in terms of complexity. There are “easy” crosswords available in several print and online publications for those who are new to the puzzle-solving hobby. USA Today, The New York Times (Mini Crossword), and Universal Crossword are among the easiest daily crosswords.
Additionally, a number of apps, such as Crossword Puzzle Free, Daily Themed Crossword, and Penny Dell Crosswords, offer crosswords with varying degrees of difficulty, making it possible to solve a crossword every day. In order to select a resource that suits your needs and interests, it’s best to look into several options.
Best Crossword App iPhone
Here are some of the best crossword apps for iPhone:
#1. 7 Little Words
7 Little Words is a popular crossword puzzle app for iPhone that offers a unique and engaging word puzzle experience. Unlike traditional crosswords, it presents players with a grid of letters and clues. The challenge is to combine these letter clusters to form complete words, solving the clues provided. The game starts with simple clues and gradually becomes more challenging, testing players’ vocabulary and word-solving skills.
What sets 7 Little Words apart is its simplicity and accessibility, making it suitable for players of all ages. It offers a relaxing and enjoyable gameplay experience, perfect for short bursts of entertainment. The app also features a sleek and user-friendly interface, enhancing the overall gaming experience. With daily puzzles and a vast array of levels, players can enjoy fresh challenges regularly. Whether you’re a word puzzle enthusiast or a casual gamer, 7 Little Words provides a satisfying and intellectually stimulating experience, making it a top choice among crossword enthusiasts on the iPhone platform.
#2. Crossword Puzzle by Berni Mobile
One of the best crossword games for the iPhone, Crossword Puzzle by Berni Mobile, provides puzzle solvers with a wide variety of challenges. People with different levels of experience may enjoy the game because it has a wide variety of puzzles, from straightforward to complex. Because of its user-friendly design, playing is a breeze.
The app’s dedication to variety stands out as a strong point. Players can enjoy a wide variety of game modes, grid sizes, and challenges to keep each playthrough exciting and novel. Berni Mobile’s Crossword Puzzle also features a hint mechanism to help players out when they run into tough clues without giving away the full solution.
The app makes solving crossword puzzles easy for newcomers and veterans alike, and it inspires pride with every task completed. The app’s offers are kept fresh and relevant with frequent upgrades that include new information. Crossword Puzzle by Berni Mobile is widely regarded as the best crossword app for iPhone users who enjoy wordplay and cerebral difficulties thanks to its intuitive interface, wide variety of riddles, and consistent updates.
#3. Crossword Puzzle Free
CROSSWORD PUZZLE FREE stands out as one of the premier crossword apps for iPhone, delivering an exceptional puzzle-solving experience to users. This app offers a wide array of crossword puzzles, ranging from easy to challenging, ensuring there’s something for every level of expertise. Its extensive puzzle library guarantees endless hours of engaging gameplay.
What sets Crossword Puzzle Free apart is its user-friendly interface, making navigation effortless and puzzle-solving intuitive. The app delivers a pleasant and fulfilling experience, letting users zero in on the fun of puzzle-solving without distraction.
Additionally, Crossword Puzzle Free frequently updates its puzzle collection, ensuring players always have fresh and exciting challenges to tackle. A hint system makes the game more fun by helping struggling players without giving away the solution.
For crossword enthusiasts seeking a comprehensive and enjoyable crossword app on their iPhone, Crossword Puzzle Free stands as a testament to its quality, offering a delightful combination of diverse puzzles, user-friendly design, and regular updates.
Who Has the Best Crossword Puzzles?
Choosing the “best” crossword puzzles is often a matter of opinion. However, there are a number of print and digital sources that have earned a reputation for producing excellent crosswords. Most people agree that the New York Times crossword puzzles are among the most difficult and sturdy in the world. The Guardian, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal are three other widely read newspapers.
There are many websites dedicated to crossword puzzles and related apps available online, such as Crossword Nexus, Crossword Compiler, and Crossword Solver. Independent builders and blogs also contribute to the proliferation of unique and interesting puzzles. The ideal crossword puzzles for you will depend on your experience, interests, and tolerance for difficulty.
What Is the Easy-to-Use Crossword App?
There are several crossword apps known for their user-friendly interfaces and engaging puzzles. One such app is “Crossword Puzzle Redstone,” available on both iOS and Android platforms. This app offers a sleek design, intuitive controls, and a wide range of crossword puzzles catering to various difficulty levels. Its user-friendly layout allows for smooth navigation, making it easy for beginners to start solving puzzles right away.
In addition, it provides hints and clues to assist users when they get stuck, enhancing the overall user experience. Crossword fans also like “Shortyz Crosswords” and “NYTimes Crossword,” which are simple and straightforward to use.
Best Online Crossword Puzzles
Did you know solving crossword puzzles has health benefits? While doing crossword puzzles on a regular basis won’t help you get a six-pack or strengthen your abs, it will do wonders for your brain. Crosswords improve cognitive ability and may possibly extend life expectancy. Not convinced? Science confirms it.
Doing crossword puzzles has been shown to increase cognitive function, memory and delay the onset of dementia. What a great win-win scenario!
You need not be a crossword puzzle master to enjoy them. If you perform one crossword puzzle per week, you will be providing your brain with the stimulus it requires to enhance its function and memory.
Here are some of the best online crossword puzzles you might want to consider to boost your brain:
#1. New York Magazine Sunday Night Crossword
You don’t need a subscription to New York Magazine to play its weekly crossword, which is undoubtedly one of the most famous in the world. Any and all of Matt Gaffney’s crosswords can be played and solved for free at New York Magazine Online. Alternatively, a new puzzle is uploaded online every Sunday evening.
#2. The Atlantic Daily Online Crossword
If you have access to the internet, The Atlantic has a free daily crossword puzzle that you can do online. But there is a catch that has been around forever. The difficulty of the crossword puzzles rises by one level each day of the week. By the time Sunday rolls around, only true crossword masters should attempt The Atlantic’s daily online crossword. The more practice you put in, the quicker you’ll become an expert.
#3. The New York Times Crossword
A New York Times crossword membership is worth it if you want access to more than 1,000 crossword puzzles and other brain-stimulating logic challenges, but you don’t need to subscribe to The New York Times itself.
The subscription prices are $81/month or $38/year for one of the few non-free crosswords on this list.
#4. USA Today Crossword Puzzles
USA Today’s daily crossword puzzle is available for free (although supported by advertisements) and features both an “expert” and “beginner” option. If you prefer playing crosswords on your smartphone, USA Today also has an app for iOS and Android. The app has a free trial for 7 days, after which a subscription is needed to continue using it.
#5. AARP Crossword
While AARP’s daily crossword puzzle can be played without signing up for an online account, registered users gain access to additional features not available to “guest” users. Having an account on the site allows you to maintain tabs on your stats and performance over time. The AARP Daily is a good choice if you want to practice your crossword skills or compete with others (there is a public ranking system so you can know where your score stands in comparison to other players).
Bottom Line
In conclusion, you can choose from thousands of crossword puzzle apps, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Your ideal app is one that caters to your specific wants and needs.
If you want a traditional crossword app with several puzzle types and difficulties, Wordscapes and Crossword Puzzles are great. CodyCross and Crossword Hero are two excellent options if you want a more difficult experience. Letris and Daily Themed Crossword Game are two excellent choices if you want to play a game with others.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I play NYT crossword for free?
The New York Times Crossword Puzzle is available in the NYTimes iOS and Android apps, as well as on nytimes.com/games. You can play it there for free.
Is USA Today crossword app free?
Yes, the USA TODAY Crossword app is free to download and play.
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