Daily Crossword

The crossword is just over a century old. The first one is usually credited to Arthur Wynne, who published a word-cross puzzle in a New York newspaper in December 1913, and the daily habit of solving one has been part of morning routines ever since. Daily Crossword brings that habit into the browser.

The premise is in the name: a new crossword puzzle every day. That makes it different from games built around a long list of levels to grind through. Here the rhythm is one grid at a time, a regular dose of mental exercise that tests your vocabulary and your wit. In crosswords generally, some clues are straightforward definitions and others reward a sideways way of thinking, which is what the word wit is pointing at.

Solving also earns rewards, giving a small sense of progress as you come back from one day to the next. It suits anyone who likes a short, regular puzzle and wants the satisfaction of a completed grid.

1. Open the crossword for the day.
2. Read a clue and count the squares for its answer.
3. Fill in the entries you are sure of first.
4. Use the crossing letters to solve the rest and earn your reward.

Solve the short entries first. Three- and four-letter answers are quick to find and give you letters in the longer words that cross them.