How to play
Mini
Play today’s Mini →A small daily crossword. Solve the clues across and down.
- Tap a square and type your answer to its clue. Crossing answers share letters.
- Tap the clue bar to switch between across and down. The arrows step through the clues.
- Check word or Check all marks wrong letters; Reveal word fills an answer. The clock stops when the grid is correct.
A useful first move
Start with a clue you know, then use its crossing letters to tackle the others.
Doku
Play today’s Doku →A letter-placement puzzle: make a real word in every run across and down.
- Shaded letters are fixed. Fill the other squares using the letters in the bank.
- Tap a bank tile, then a square to place it, or select a square and type. Tap a placed letter to return it to the bank.
- Every across and down run must be a real word, using exactly the tiles provided. With Hints on, a word turns green when it matches the answer.
A useful first move
Look for runs with the most given letters. A letter that works across also has to fit its down word.
Sweep
Play today’s Sweep →Clear thirty-six squares without opening any of the seven mines.
- Dig the highlighted safe square first to reveal your opening.
- A number counts mines in the eight squares touching it, including diagonals. Tap to dig; use Flag mode, long-press or right-click to flag a suspected mine.
- Open every safe square to win. One mine ends the game. Every grid is checked to be solvable by deduction; Hint explains a forced move.
A useful first move
If a number already touches that many flags, its other neighbours are safe. If all its remaining neighbours must be mines, flag them.
Path
Play today’s Path →Connect 1 to 36 in one continuous thread, using every square.
- Tap the marigold 1, then an adjacent open square to place 2, and keep going in order.
- Move up, down, left or right. Diagonals are not allowed, and each square is used exactly once.
- Pass through every given number at the right point. Tap 1 or 36 to switch which end you are growing; Undo takes back a step and Hint shows a forced square.
A useful first move
Corners and narrow passages have fewer possible routes. Work out how the thread must enter and leave them before filling the middle.
Link
Play today’s Link →Find four hidden groups of four among sixteen word tiles.
- Select four tiles you think belong together, then press Submit.
- Every tile belongs to exactly one group, but several can suggest another connection. Three correct tiles earns a one-away message.
- Four mistakes ends the puzzle. Repeating the same incorrect group costs no extra mistake. Groups run from easiest to hardest: green, blue, yellow, then black.
A useful first move
Try to account for all four groups before committing to an obvious set. A word may have more than one meaning.
Tangle
Play today’s Tangle →Find as many common words as you can in ninety seconds.
- Drag through touching letters, including diagonals, to spell a word. Or tap letters in order and tap the last tile again to enter.
- Words need at least three letters. Use each tile at most once per word; a QU tile counts as two letters.
- A word scores its length minus two: three letters earns one point, four earns two, and so on. The board’s longest word scores double.
A useful first move
Look for familiar endings and revisit the same starting letter with a different route. A tile can be reused in a different word.
Borders
Play today’s Borders →Identify ten country outlines, shown one at a time from easier to harder.
- Look at the outline, then choose the country from the four answers.
- Show on map gives you a location clue, but makes that question worth half points.
- Continue through all ten outlines. Your final score is out of ten.
A useful first move
Check the shape’s distinctive features, such as a peninsula, a long coastline or separate islands, before choosing.
Reckon
Play today’s Reckon →Estimate ten numbers from different topics. The closer you get, the more you score.
- Drag the marker along the scale to set a guess. Each big mark is ten times the previous one; use − and + to fine-tune it.
- Press Lock in to submit your guess and see the answer. There are ten questions and a maximum of 1,000 points.
- Within 15% scores 100; within 30%, 75; within 60%, 50; within three times either way, 25. Gaps are measured from the smaller number, so half the answer scores the same as double.
A useful first move
Get the order of magnitude right first: is the answer nearer ten, a hundred or a thousand? Then refine the estimate. Dated figures tell you the period they refer to.