Deselect the pencil icon to return to the default pen mode.Select the pencil icon (so it’s highlighted) to solve in pencil mode.Letters entered in the default pen mode are black, while letters entered in pencil mode are gray.For both app and online, select the pencil icon to switch from one mode to the other. When playing the Crossword, you can alternate between pen and pencil modes. You can toggle Clue View on/off by selecting the Clue View icon: Switch to Clue View, this presents clues in list form.Spread your thumb and index finger open to zoom in on the puzzle.

There are two ways to adjust the puzzle size in the app: You can switch from the standard keyboard to the secondary by selecting the More button in the lower left corner of your screen. There is a secondary keyboard in the app for symbols and numbers. Players have the option to turn the following cursor settings on/off: To customize cursor movement in the app, select the gear icon in the upper right corner of any puzzle to open the Puzzle Settings menu.

Tab + Shift keys - Jump to the previous clue.

Backspace (Delete on Macs) - remove words or a letter from a word.

Spacebar - clear the current square and advance, toggle between Across and Down.

Arrow keys - stay in the same square, move in the direction of the arrow, jump back to the first blank in the word, or jump to the next clue.

You can use the following keyboard shortcuts to play the Crossword on a computer: This could mean they were solved after midnight EST on the publication date, you skipped a puzzle day, or you used Check or Reveal.

Blue Stars are puzzles that were solved but do not qualify as part of a streak.

Gold Stars reflect the number of consecutive puzzles solved before midnight EST on the publication date without using Check or Reveal.

If the board is completely filled in and you don’t receive a message, this means there is at least one incorrectly filled square.Ĭompletion of the puzzle is represented with different colored stars.

When you solve the puzzle correctly, music will play and a congratulatory message will appear on the screen.

How do I know if I’ve successfully solved the puzzle?

The Sunday puzzle is approximately on the same difficulty level as the Wednesday or Thursday puzzle, and is larger than other daily puzzles.

The New York Times Crossword increases in difficulty from Monday to Saturday.

The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases that cross each other, by solving clues in the Across and Down columns which lead to the answers.

Crossword puzzle solver free online