Crossword is certainly the single most popular solo activity in the English world. The magical game of words is solved successfully when the players are provided with the clues.
The black and white grid boxes make everyone eager to fill in the empty spaces.
Do you know the creator of first ever crossword? It’s Arthur Wynne. He made the first ever crossword published in The New York World newspaper in the Christmas edition.
He suddenly came up with the idea while thinking of a new game that would entertain people. This happened way back in 1913. It is more than 100-years now but the craze is still on.
With the advent of technology, most of the crossword games have gone mobile. Some crosswords are easy to solve than others, however, there is an inclination that can be observed with the design technique.
Every crossword is based on a particular theme that has a fascinating concept for wordplay. This very well constructs the puzzle grid skeleton so that the solver can fill in the answers correctly.
The conversion of newspaper crossword into an online crossword game has made more people go crazy over the game. The sole reason is the easy accessibility factor.
Online crossword has given the players a vast experience. The built-in timer acts like a barometer of the crossword progress. The elegant, easy-to-use interface is a great promoting factor.
A few of them are captivating because they are real money games. Players comfortably use their smartphones to play the game and submit their answers.
So, do you know who the crossword leaders of today are? Not all? Don’t worry, we have you covered.
1. The New York Times
The New York Times is an American newspaper based in New York City with the worldwide readership.
Source: Google Images
Started in 1851, it has managed to bag 125 Pulitzer Prizes which is more than any other newspaper. Ranked 17th in the world and 2nd in the US, the newspaper is quite popular among the readers.
The digital shift
In 1986, the newspaper switched to digital production. It offered immediate access to readers across the globe. Even today, it has many thousand million page views every day.
The American Newspaper is regarded as the national newspaper of record serving the region. While it covers local activities, it also focusses towards the nation, the world news and this makes it a must-read for the influencers across the planet.
The newspaper puzzle created first by Arthur Hays Sulzberger began appearing regularly in 1942 and was appreciated by all. Now, there is a daily crossword published in The New York Times website.
The puzzles that it publishes is created by many freelance constructors and further edited by Will Shortz. It begins at an easy level and the difficulty level increases as the days proceed. The easiest one is on Monday and the toughest ones on Saturday.
The standard puzzle is 15X15 square, Sunday crossword 21X21 squares. NYTimes mini crosswords are also loved by many. Some common crossword constructors of The New York Times have been Margaret Farrar, Will Weng, Eugene T. Maleska and Will Shortz.
Besides editing the daily crossword, Shortz also runs the annual tournament called The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.
Crossword popularity has grown over the years. There have been various celebrities who have confessed their love for crosswords.
In addition to the printed newspaper, The New York Times puzzles appear online on a paper website that requires subscription access.
How to solve NYTimes crossword puzzles:
Almost all the New York Times puzzles have rotational symmetry. The rotation of 180 degree doesn’t make any difference to the puzzle.
The clues and answers have to be matched in the part of the speech, tense, number and degree. A plural clue will have a plural answer.
- The theme will be consistent throughout the puzzle.
- The New York Times mini crosswords have five by five grid.
- Phrases said by someone are always mentioned in quotations.
- The solver has to always capitalize the first letter of the clue. Despite the fact, if the clue is a complete sentence or the first word is a noun.
2. Boatload Puzzles
This is the home for the largest crossword puzzles online. Anyone can play as many puzzles as he wants in one day. It works great on both desktops and mobile devices.
Source: Google Images
If you have an iPad, Android or iOS phone, you can enjoy the free Boatload Puzzles daily crosswords app.
Take consideration of the fact that the app allows you to play one online puzzle every day but you can play as many from their website.
Boatload crossword puzzle app has a small 13X13 puzzle format. The collection includes 40,000 small puzzles so that you can easily play puzzles without a single repeat for a lifetime. There are no purchase packs as the game is absolutely free.
The puzzles are quite easy and don’t have any obscure words that are rarely found outside the crossword world.
If you are playing via the app, the puzzle game for the day will be downloaded in your device and then you can solve it while turning off your internet connection.
The app is easy to learn. It simply takes a single tap to use any of the features that are present. All the basic features that you may be expecting are present in the game.
Some of them include: show or hide incorrect letters, getting hints by showing letter/word or the complete puzzle.
There are five different screen layouts. To make the best use of screen despite the orientation and size, the app automatically chooses the layout.
You can only see one across and one down grid at one time, and no grid numbers are there so that everything is larger and easy to read.
3. Wealth Words
Offering a huge cash amount, Wealth Words has undoubtedly one of the most played online crossword game.
Began in 20th April 2017, Wealth Words is a straightforward online crossword game that took the traditional idea of the crossword to another level. The amazingly crafted puzzles offer the players plenty of cash prizes.
Source: Google Images
Since its inception, the craze has always shot up. The various puzzles in the game are different so someone having a strong vocabulary will easily crack the answers.
You need to concentrate, have good skills, reasoning ability and apply logic to get the right answers.
What has managed to captivate so many puzzles lovers are the cash prizes as it has become a rage. Stimulate intellectuality, reduces stress owing to the modern lifestyle.
Maintain a healthy level of cognitive skill, comprehensive thinking and keep your mind active for years to come.
The best part is there is no need for PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo or any other console. You only require your device and a strong Internet connection.
This game can be either played with registration or without registration. You can play it for free or by purchasing a small amount of token.
Do you know that players can win up to a whopping $5000? If you are unable to believe, it is better to pinch yourself. You will be timed for an hour, so think faster and keep trying to win the cash amount.
The must-try crossword game
Unlike other crossword games, this game allows the player to play the game in three different languages: English, Hindi, and Chinese.
You can choose from three different formats as you play: standard crosswords, poem-based game, and story-based game. For every game that you play, you win some cash amount.
Individuals with the correct answers and nearly all right answers are liable for winning the prize money. The winning amount saved in the PayPal account and can be later encashed.
The charismatic real money game having left the player spellbound and awe-struck with the oh-so-interesting world of puzzles. Over the years, it has managed to bring smiles to the faces of the people.
Become active, be smart and improve your hold on the language as you play the crossword game. If you love crosswords, this free daily puzzle is sure to become your go-to source.
If you still haven’t played the money enticing game, you should certainly give it a try. You are sure to fall in love with the game. Enter in the impeccably carved world of words.
4. USA Today
The internationally distributed American daily is everyone’s favorite. It shares the position of having the widest circulation in the US with The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Source: Google Images
Initially started on 29th Feb 1980, the newspaper is now distributed in all the 50 states, the newspaper is also distributed in Asia, Canada, Europe, and the Pacific Islands.
USA Today crossword puzzle
To keep your mind sharp, the newspaper has introduced USA Today crossword puzzle online section. The challenging game has managed to captivate millions of players and many of them have attempted to complete the puzzles successfully.
The puzzle is an arrangement of the horizontal and vertical numbered square that have to be filled with a single letter in every square in order to form the complete word.
Every letter in the horizontal section is the part of the word that has been placed vertically. There are clues that form the words.
These clues can be related to anything: place, person, events and more. They are certain to improve your spellings, enhance vocabulary and help you learn general facts regarding arts, sports, history, politics and much more.
The answers to the puzzle are not available until the next publication is issued. The level is easy and difficult so you can choose as per your preference. You can pause the game, save it and continue to play it later.
When you will resume, the timer will restart and will continue to track your play. You should certainly go for it especially if you are a crossword aficionado. You can also try solving puzzles from the USA Today crossword books.
There are innumerable crossword puzzles in it and the answers to all of them are on the back pages of the book. The current editor of the USA Today Crossword is Timothy Eric Parker.
He has been termed as the “World’s Most Syndicated Puzzle Compiler” in the year 2000 by the Guinness World Records. Achieve a sense of intellectual accomplishments as you play the daily online puzzles from USA Today.
5. The Guardian
Earlier known as The Manchester Guardian, it is the mainstream newspaper of the British that started in 1821. Printed in vibrant colors, this was the first UK newspaper to utilize Berliner format for the main section. In 2002 the paper went online.
Source: Google Images
Later, The Guardian introduced the crossword section where the player solves the crossword. There is always a well-defined solution for every puzzle it has and the players love the puzzles.
It is the most played crossword game across the globe. You can play the game with the help of any digital device like a laptop, desktop, smartphone, and tablets. And if you haven’t tried yet, go ahead and try a few free crossword puzzles.
Play again and again!
Crosswords should not be associated with the nerd, elderly or intelligent type of a person. The solvers reach out to take help from family members and friends in order to solve the puzzle by cracking the clues.
You can play it on your laptops, desktops, mobile phone, tablets or any other device. Don’t Google the clue as it will spoil the play.
It is your puzzle, after all, go ahead and solve it in a way that you learn new things while having a good time. Everything becomes exciting even if you are giving a little amount of time.
There are a few sites that offer real cash pay-out games so you can go ahead and make more money.
Be very responsible for your submissions. You are born to get entertained, so why not entertain yourself with the fun game.
If you are a crossword lover who has played different games, it is high to experience a lot more with the twists. Enter into the world of words and intense brainstorming session.
