CRSWRD FAQ
CRSWRD is a free daily crossword with no account and no ads. A new 7×7 puzzle goes live for everyone at 00:00 UTC, every past daily stays playable, and Rush, Race, Co-op and Duel add minis and games with friends. Below are short answers to the questions people ask most.
When does the new CRSWRD come out?
A new daily crossword goes live at 00:00 UTC every day, at the same moment for everyone in the world. While daylight saving time is in effect that is 8:00 p.m. in New York and 5:00 p.m. in Los Angeles on the evening before. The How to play page shows the release time in your own time zone.
Is CRSWRD free?
Yes. The daily crossword, every past daily in the archive, Rush minis, coached practice puzzles, Race, Co-op and Duel are all free to play. There are no ads, no subscription and nothing to buy.
Do I need an account or a passkey?
No. CRSWRD gives you a random display name and remembers you with a signed cookie in this browser, with no sign-up form, email or password. An optional passkey lets your name, streak and recorded results follow you to another device. Add one from your profile using Face ID, Touch ID or another supported device sign-in. Practice progress and your wordbook stay in their original browser.
How do streaks work?
A clean, ranked solve of today's daily extends your streak by one day. Yesterday's daily still counts if you opened it before the 00:00 UTC rollover and finish it within six hours of opening it. Solves of older archive puzzles count toward your total solved, but not toward your streak. Miss a day and the streak starts again from one.
What counts as a clean solve?
A solve is clean when you finish without revealing any letter and without a check ever catching a wrong letter. Checking a word or the whole grid is fine as long as every checked letter was right. Auto-check counts as checking, so a wrong letter it marks ends the clean run. Asking for a nudge does not affect it.
Why didn't my solve rank?
Only your first attempt at a puzzle can rank, and only if it was clean. A solve is also kept off the boards when its time is faster than 200 milliseconds per white square, or longer than the time that passed since the puzzle was handed to you (with 1.5 seconds of slack). Those solves are still stored, but they never rank or extend a streak.
Can I play old puzzles?
Yes. Every daily since CRSWRD #1 on September 12, 2026 stays playable from the archive, free. A first clean attempt ranks on that day's board and adds to your total solved, but only today's puzzle, or yesterday's within the grace window, moves your streak. Future puzzles are never available early.
Where are the answers?
The daily answer list appears on that day's page once the day closes at 00:00 UTC, listed clue by clue in the archive. Until then, use a nudge, check or reveal inside the grid if you are stuck. A reveal keeps the solve off the ranked board.
Can I play offline?
CRSWRD keeps previously opened puzzles for offline use when your browser allows it. Open the puzzles you want while online first. Practice and your wordbook can work from saved copies; personal data still requires an identity check. Finished Daily and Rush solves retry when you reconnect or reopen the same puzzle, if browser storage is available.
How do I play with friends?
Create a room from a mode page or the Arena, then send its link. Race holds up to 8 players solving the same grid at the same instant. Co-op holds up to 12 people on one shared grid. Duel is one against one, with a friend or the computer bot. Race and Duel also offer quick matchmaking. Everyone can join without an account.
How is the puzzle made?
Daily and Rush use a deterministic program that fills grids from a word bank, filters blocked terms and selects clues from a clue bank. Practice puzzles and their three clue styles are authored. The first version of every daily is saved, so later changes to the word lists never rewrite a past puzzle.
Does CRSWRD use AI?
Optional AI hints reframe a selected clue. Replies are checked and unsuitable or unavailable replies use guided fallback text. Practice also offers authored hints and a strategy coach. AI does not decide whether a solve is correct: the stored solution does. Daily and Rush grids are built by a deterministic program, and practice puzzles are authored.
How do I change my name?
Open your profile page, type a new display name of 2 to 20 letters, numbers, spaces, underscores or hyphens, and save it. The new name shows on the leaderboards and in multiplayer rooms. Your streak and results stay attached to you, because they belong to your identity rather than to the name.
What is practice mode?
Practice is a free collection of authored 5×5 crosswords in themed packs. Choose Gentle, Everyday or Tricky clues for the same grid, use guided hints and the strategy coach, and review explanations after solving. Progress stays in this browser; practice does not change daily streaks or ranked leaderboards.
Can I turn analytics off?
Yes. Open Privacy & analytics choices and turn optional analytics off for this browser. CRSWRD also respects Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals. Optional events contain no player IDs, display names, room codes or typed letters. Game records and anonymous operational counts still support the service.