How to play the NYT Mini Crossword
The Mini is a complete crossword shrunk to a short sitting: a small grid, two sets of clues, and crossing answers that check each other as you type. Most puzzles use a 5 by 5 grid, and some grids grow a little. This page covers how a solve works and how the clock fits in.
The goal
Fill every white square of the grid with the right letter, using the Across and Down clues. It plays by the same rules as a full-size crossword, just in miniature: every answer runs either across or down, black squares separate the answers, and the two directions cross each other, so every letter you place has to satisfy two clues at once.
How a round works
Step 1 - Look at the grid size first. The weekday grid is usually 5 by 5. Some puzzles are bigger: our own archive includes 6 by 5 and 7 by 7 grids, so check the board in front of you rather than assuming.
Step 2 - Pick a clue and type its answer. Clues are numbered, and each number on the grid starts an Across answer, a Down answer, or both. Select a clue, or tap a square and switch direction, then type the letters into the white squares.
Step 3 - Let the crossings work. An Across answer and a Down answer share the letter where they cross. Every letter you are sure of in one direction is a free letter in the other, which is how a grid with a few known answers opens up quickly.
Step 4 - Finish the grid. The puzzle is solved when the grid is completely filled with the correct answers. A letter that makes one direction read wrong is the letter to rethink, because a correct grid agrees with itself everywhere.
Timing
The Mini is timed: a clock runs while you solve, and your finishing time is the record of the round. That is the extent of the pressure. There is no point score, and there is no streak penalty for a slow solve; a careful five-minute grid counts exactly the same as a fast one, apart from the time on the clock.
Good first moves
Fill in the answers you know cold first. A Mini is small, so two or three certain answers can cover a large share of the grid and hand you crossing letters for everything else.
When a clue stalls, change direction. Read the Down clues that cross it instead. One or two crossing letters often give the stuck answer away, and guessing at it cold rarely does.
Read the clue the way it is written. Crossword clues keep their promises: a clue ending in a question mark is wordplay, an abbreviation in the clue, like Abbr., means the answer is abbreviated too, and the tense and number of the clue match the answer.
Common questions
How big is the grid?
Usually 5 by 5 on weekdays, and larger on some days. The Clue Cache archive includes 6 by 5 and 7 by 7 Minis alongside the standard 5 by 5.
What if a letter will not fit both ways?
Then one of the two crossing answers is wrong, and the shared letter is where the mistake is hiding. Recheck the clue for the direction you were less sure of and rebuild from there.
Is there a new Mini every day?
Yes, one new Mini a day. Each puzzle is its own grid with its own clock, so a tough grid costs you nothing beyond that puzzle.