Easy Crossword is edited by Stan Newman, who has run the Newsday crossword since 1988 and won the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in 1982. That is an odd pedigree for a beginner puzzle, and it is exactly the point.
Making a crossword hard is easy. Anyone can clue obscurely. Making one that a new solver can finish, without the fill turning to mush and without the clues feeling like they are talking down to you, is the difficult version of the job. This is what that looks like when someone who knows the craft does it deliberately.
How to play Easy Crossword
A new themed grid every day. Fill every white square so that the across and down answers both read correctly.
- Click a square to select it, and click again to switch between across and down.
- Type your answer. The cursor advances by itself.
- Arrow keys move one square at a time, Tab moves to the next clue.
- Click a clue in the list to jump to its entry.
Read the puzzle title before you start. These crosswords are themed, and the title tells you what the longest answers have in common. That is not a decoration, it is a free hint, and using it is how the puzzle is meant to be solved.
You will find several clues you can answer immediately. That is by design. Write those in first and let the crossing letters carry you into the harder corners.
Check and reveal work on a letter, an answer or the whole grid, and using them costs you nothing.
Tips and strategy
- Start with the title. Work out the theme and you often get two long answers before you have read a single clue properly.
- Do the whole across list without stopping to think hard. In a puzzle built to be finished, the obvious answer is usually the right one.
- Count the squares before you write. In an easy crossword most wrong answers are the right word at the wrong length.
- When you stall, look at what crosses the gap rather than at the clue. One confirmed letter narrows a short answer to a handful of options.
- Reveal a letter rather than giving up. Finishing the grid is what teaches you the patterns, and the next puzzle will be easier for it.
- When these stop resisting you, move to Daily Crossword and then to Stan's Daily Crossword, which is the same editor at full strength.
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Frequently asked questions
Who makes Easy Crossword?
Stan Newman, the crossword editor at Newsday. It is his puzzle for beginners and casual solvers, distributed by Arkadium.
Is Easy Crossword good for beginners?
Yes. It is built so that several clues are answerable straight away, which gives you the crossing letters you need for the rest.
Are the puzzles themed?
Yes. The title of each puzzle hints at what the longest answers have in common, and reading it first makes the grid noticeably easier.
Is there a new one every day?
Yes, a fresh grid daily.
What should I play after this?
Daily Crossword is the natural next step, and Stan’s Daily Crossword after that. Both come from the same tradition, pitched harder.