How to play Cryptogram

This cryptogram is a crossword with a twist: every clue is a pun or a play on words. In Dutch, "cryptogram" is the usual name for this kind of puzzle, which English speakers call a cryptic crossword. The grid works like any crossword, but the clues ask you to read sideways, not literally.

The rules

1. Fill the white squares so that each numbered Across and Down run spells the answer to its clue. The number in brackets is the answer's length.
2. Crossing answers share letters, so every letter must fit both words.
3. The clues are cryptic. A clue may hide the answer inside other words, sound like it, describe it twice in two different ways, or lean on a pun. The surface reading is often a deliberate red herring.
4. Answers use plain letters A to Z; accents are dropped.
5. The puzzle is solved when every square is correct. If you used help, the status line tells you how many hints it took.

Getting started

When the puzzle loads, the first clue is selected and shown in full above the grid. Typing fills the current answer letter by letter and stops at its last square. Press Tab or Enter to jump to the next clue (Shift+Tab goes back), Space to switch between Across and Down, and use the arrow keys or click a square to move freely.

Look for a short clue first. Suppose 1 Across, starting at row 1, column 1, reads "Motor hidden in Oscar (3)". "Hidden in" is a classic signal that the answer sits inside the following words: OSCAR contains CAR, which is also a motor. Type CAR and you have the first letters of the Down answers starting at row 1, columns 1 and 3. Another favourite type is the homophone: "Colour read, they say (3)" points to a colour that sounds like "read", so RED. Use each solved word to give the crossing clues a head start.

Strategies and tips

• Find the definition. Most cryptic clues contain a straight definition, usually at the very start or the very end. Decide which end it is and the rest of the clue is the wordplay.
• Spot the signal words. "Hidden in", "some of" or "part of" suggest a hidden word. "We hear", "they say" or "reportedly" suggest a sound-alike. Learning these signals is half the skill.
• Try a double reading. Some clues are two definitions side by side, like "Diamonds to kill" for ICE: ice is slang for diamonds and also slang for kill.
• Do not trust the picture. If a clue paints a vivid scene, the setter probably wants you to see it wrongly. Separate the words and consider each one's other meanings.
• Lean on the grid. In these lattice grids about every other letter is crossed. A couple of checked letters can confirm a guess that the wordplay only half explained.
• Use the plain clue as a stepping stone. "Show plain clue" puts an ordinary crossword clue beneath the cryptic one. Once you have the answer, go back and work out why the cryptic clue fits; that is how you learn the tricks.

How the difficulty adapts

The cryptogram does not adjust itself; you choose the level. Easy uses a 9×9 grid, Medium 11×11 and Hard 13×13, and larger grids contain more clues and allow longer answers. Help is graded too: showing the plain clue is the gentlest hint, then "Reveal a letter", then "Reveal current word", and "Check my answers" marks wrong letters in red. "Give up" shows the full solution with all the plain clues. Hints are counted, so you can aim to need fewer of them each time.

Moving up a level once a grid feels easy is worth it. The brain seems to benefit most when the challenge keeps rising with your skill, so a puzzle that is always slightly hard is better training than one you solve on autopilot. Read more about what research says about puzzles and brain health.

A short history of Cryptogram

Cryptic clues grew up in British newspapers in the 1920s and 1930s, soon after the crossword itself crossed the Atlantic. Setters such as Torquemada, the pen name of Edward Powys Mathers at The Observer, made wordplay the heart of the puzzle. His successor Ximenes, Derrick Macnutt, argued that every clue should be fair: a precise definition plus wordplay that leads to the same answer. Those principles still guide setters today. The Netherlands developed its own strong tradition of cryptic puzzles, known there simply as cryptograms, which tend to rely heavily on puns and double meanings.

Frequently asked questions