A small grid with no loose ends
The crossword has been a newspaper staple for over a century, and the small 5×5 version has become a popular quick puzzle in its own right. Mini Crossword follows the standard small layout. The top-left and bottom-right squares are black, so the top and bottom rows and the left and right columns hold four-letter answers, and the three middle rows and columns hold five-letter answers.
That layout has a useful effect. Every white square belongs to both an across answer and a down answer. Every letter you place is checked twice, so a wrong letter shows up quickly as a crossing word that will not work.
Start with the easy wins
You do not have to solve the clues in order. Read all ten clues first and fill in the ones you are sure of.
- Fill-in-the-blank clues are usually the quickest. Your brain completes the phrase without effort.
- Short, plain definitions come next. A clue like "Calendar entry" has few possible answers of the right length.
- Clues with a question mark usually involve wordplay. Leave them until you have some crossing letters.
Once a few answers are in, use the crossings. Here is a worked example. Say 1-Across asks for a four-letter answer to "Opposite of west", and you write EAST. Those four letters now start four down answers. If the down clue that starts on the E is "Before the expected time" and needs five letters, EARLY fits at once. Each crossing letter makes the next down clue easier, and those answers feed back into the rows below.
Reading clues like a solver
Crossword clues follow conventions that make them more precise than they first appear.
- Match the form. A clue in the past tense wants a past-tense answer. A plural clue wants a plural answer. "Watched warily" suggests a word ending in ED.
- Parentheses add context. A clue like "Dig (into)" means the answer works with that word, even though the word is not part of the answer.
- Abbreviations signal abbreviations. If the clue shortens a word, the answer is often short too.
- "As" phrases narrow meaning. "Loosen, as a knot" tells you which sense of loosen is meant.
Moving around the grid
Good navigation saves a lot of time. Tap a square to select it, and tap it again, or press Space, to switch between across and down. Tab jumps to the next clue. Typing moves you along the current word and skips squares you have already filled. Backspace clears a square, or steps back if the square is already empty.
Use the clue list too. Tapping a clue jumps straight to its first empty square, which is quicker than hunting on the grid.
Mistakes and how to catch them
- Trusting a first guess too long. If two crossing answers refuse to fit, one of them is wrong. Clear the one you were less sure of.
- Ignoring answer length. A tempting word that is one letter short is not the answer.
- Filling the whole grid before checking. The Check button marks any wrong letters among the squares you have filled, and leaves empty squares alone. It carries no penalty, so use it when you are stuck rather than at the very end.
The Reveal cell button fills the selected square with the right letter and locks it, and Reveal puzzle solves the whole grid. Both are counted on the results card when you finish.
Getting quicker
There are no difficulty levels, and each new game picks a fresh puzzle from the collection. Your results card shows your time and how many squares you revealed. A good first goal is to finish without any reveals, using Check as often as you need. Next, aim to finish without Check, trusting the crossings alone. After that, work on speed by reading all the across clues first, then all the down clues, before you type a single letter.
