Games
Introducing the Midi Crossword: A Free Daily Midi Puzzle
Meet the Midi Crossword, our free daily midi crossword. Bigger than a mini, smaller than a full grid, growing from 7x7 to a 9x9 Sunday finale. Play free.
The mini crossword has one flaw: it ends. Two minutes after you pour the coffee, the grid is full and the cup is still hot. The Midi Crossword is for that moment. It is a free daily midi crossword, bigger than a mini and smaller than a full Sunday spread, sized for the stretch between one more sip and actually starting your day.
A midi is a real size, not a name we made up. It is the step between the mini and the full daily grid, with room for some longer answers and a little real crossing logic, but still small enough to finish in one sitting. If you have seen the subscription version and wished it were free, that is exactly the gap this one fills. Ours is free every day, no account, no paywall.
How the Midi Crossword works
One grid a day, the same for everyone. Tap a square and type; tap again or press space to flip between Across and Down. The bar above the board always shows your active clue, the arrows or the clue lists jump you around the grid, and on a phone a built-in keyboard keeps the clue visible above your thumbs the whole time. Answers run three to seven letters and interlock through a handful of black squares, and the clues come in the classic crossword voice, the kind that rewards a sideways read over a dictionary lookup.
A grid that grows through the week
The board is 7x7 from Monday through Thursday, 8x8 on Friday and Saturday, and a 9x9 finale on Sunday. Like the best crossword weeks, the ramp is the point. The early-week grids are brisk, the weekend boards open up room for longer answers and trickier crossings, and Sunday earns its coffee refill. Whatever the day, everyone solves the same grid, and a fresh one prints at midnight US Eastern.
An honest clock
The Midi is timed, but the clock never sneaks up on you. Nothing starts until you press Start, you can pause whenever life interrupts, and the board hides while paused, so the time on your share card is real solving time. That time is the brag: the card carries the date and your solve, and it never spells out a single answer, so it is safe to send to your rival.
Stuck? Check and Reveal
Help stays close without spoiling the fun. Check flags any wrong letters so you can course correct without being handed the answer, and Reveal fills the whole grid if you would rather see it and get on with your day. A settings panel tunes how the cursor jumps as you type, so the grid moves the way your fingers expect.
One tip to start
Sweep the short answers first. Three and four letter entries are the hinges of a midi grid; fill the ones you know cold, and the longer crossings will start spelling themselves before you have read their clues. If you want a warm-up lap, the daily mini crossword is the two-minute version of the same idea.
The Midi Crossword is live now. Bigger grid, bigger finish.
