The Mini Crossword is a free daily crossword puzzle featuring a compact 5x5 grid with 10 clues. Unlike full-size crosswords that can take 30 minutes or more, the Mini Crossword is designed to be solved in just 1-5 minutes — perfect for a quick brain workout during your coffee break.
Need more help? Read our Mini Crossword strategy guide for advanced solving techniques. You can also get spoiler-free help with our daily crossword hints, or read our guide on how to use crossword hints effectively.
Crossword puzzles are proven to improve vocabulary, boost memory, and sharpen problem-solving skills. The Mini Crossword gives you these benefits in a quick, accessible format. Studies show that regular word puzzle solving can help maintain cognitive function and may even reduce the risk of cognitive decline.
Our archive holds 672 daily 5x5 minis, with answers drawn from a 23,373-entry clue bank built from real published crossword clues. Across the full archive that comes to 6,720 answer slots filled by 3,523 unique answers, and the average answer is just 4.3 letters long. How we assemble and check the puzzles is described on our about page.
Crosswordese, the odd little words that appear in crosswords far more often than in everyday writing, is real and measurable in that data. ESS (the letter S spelled out) appears 29 times in our archive, ERST 18 times, SET and SER 15 times each, and NESS 14 times. Learning these recurring short answers is the single fastest way to get quicker at minis: in a 5x5 grid they keep coming back, and recognizing one on sight hands you crossing letters for the harder clues around it.
A few product details worth knowing before you chase a fast time: the timer starts the moment you begin, and the Reveal tool works at any point, but each reveal consumes one of your 3 free daily hints (shared across all our games, unlimited with Premium). If you'd rather get help without writing answers into the grid, our daily crossword hints page covers each day's clues.
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