What is The Atlantic Crossword?
The Atlantic Crossword is a daily crossword with a neat twist: it grows during the week. Monday's grid is a tiny five-by-five that takes a minute or two, and the puzzle gets a little larger and a little trickier each day, so by the end of the week you are working on something closer to a classic crossword. It is the longest-running game on The Atlantic's games page and is edited by its in-house puzzle team. Starting small each Monday makes it friendly for newer solvers who want to build up to bigger puzzles. The most recent puzzles are free to play in the browser; older ones are kept for subscribers. It suits anyone who likes the NYT Mini but wants a gentle step up, and people who enjoy watching their solving time grow along with the grid as the week goes on.
How to play
- Tap a square and type. Switch between across and down by tapping again.
- Early-week grids are small; the puzzle grows and gets harder each day.
- Fill every square to finish the day's grid.
Quick facts
- Typical time
- 2–15 min · it grows through the week
- Difficulty
- Easy → medium
- Price
- The latest puzzles are free. The full archive needs an Atlantic subscription.
- Account
- Not needed for today's puzzle.
- Past puzzles
- For Atlantic subscribers.
- On a phone
- Works in your phone's browser.
- Grid
- 5×5 squares on Monday, growing a little each day to about 9×9 by Friday.
Tips to get better
- Begin your week on Monday. Monday's grid is the smallest and the gentlest. If you're new to crosswords, start there and see how far into the week you get.
- Go through all the across clues, then all the downs. Don't stall on one clue. In a small grid, every answer you fill in gives letters to several others.
- Check the grammar. The answer always fits its clue. A clue in the past tense wants an answer in the past tense, and a plural clue wants a plural.
- Later in the week, doubt the obvious. As the grid grows, the clues get slyer. If a clue seems too easy on a Friday, look for a second meaning.
- Compare Mondays with Mondays. Because the grid grows, your Thursday time will always be slower than your Monday time. To see whether you're improving, compare the same weekday.
Who it's for
Ideal if you want to get into crosswords without paying, and without being thrown in at the deep end. The week has a nice shape: a quick win on Monday and something to chew on by Friday. Experienced solvers may find the early-week grids over too soon. The clues are written for American readers, so the odd reference may pass you by.
