how to play crosscheck
Crosscheck is a small crossword puzzle whose clues never define a word. Each clue describes how two entries relate to one another, so "3D is 5A with one letter changed" is all you get.
One entry is filled in from the start. Every puzzle has one solution that can be reached from the starting word and the given clues.
We've filtered out obscure, offensive, and archaic words from our dictionary. The words should be fairly common American English.
Our clues use "A" to mean "across" and "D" to mean "down". So 3D refers to entry "3 down".
the rules
Every clue is about letters, not meanings. Nothing tests vocabulary or trivia.
One word starts filled in. It is always correct, and every other entry can be reached from it.
The finished grid satisfies every clue, and every entry is named by at least one clue.
Every entry is an everyday English word.
the kinds of clue
Every clue in every puzzle is one of these seven.
Two entries of the same length differing in one square, like SHUN and STUN. A clue may say where: only the first letter, or only the last.
PUNCH and PINCH have the same consonants and different vowels. Some clues let the vowels move and change in number too, the way TRUST becomes TOURIST.
CHIN and INCH use the same letters in a different order. An anagram plus one letter is its own clue: CHURN plus one letter rearranges into CRUNCH.
Some clues name the rearrangement exactly. NUTS is STUN backwards, COLDS is SCOLD with its first letter moved to the end, and CLAM is CALM with two neighboring letters swapped.
TRUST is RUST plus one letter. Where the letter goes can be part of the clue: drop the first letter of SHOPS to get HOPS, or write one of SUPER's letters twice to get SUPPER.
PINCH ends with INCH and CRUNCHY starts with CRUNCH. Buried inside means touching neither end, the way ATTIC sits in LATTICE.
ARCH followed by BISHOPS spells ARCHBISHOPS. The longer word is never an entry itself.
a worked example
Let's walk through a five-word grid, smaller than a real puzzle. Its four clues are:
- 2D is 5A without its first letter
- 2D is 3D with its first letter shifted to the back
- 3D is buried inside 4A
- 1A and 4A, run together in that order, make a word
5A is the given entry: SHOPS. One of the four clues names it, so that is the only place to start.
2D is 5A without its first letter
SHOPS without its first letter is HOPS, and 2D is four squares long, so we can fill 2D.
2D is 3D with its first letter shifted to the back
Similar, but backwards: take the S off the end of HOPS and put it on the front. 3D is SHOP.
3D is buried inside 4A
We know 4A is seven letters long, and the clue says it has SHOP inside it touching neither end. This gives us BISHOPS.
1A and 4A, run together in that order, make a word
Four letters that make a word when written before BISHOPS: ARCHBISHOPS. 1A is ARCH.
Every clue holds and every crossing agrees. All done!
controls
Tap a word to select it and read its clues, then tap again to bring up the keyboard. Triple-tapping a square turns the corner between the across word and the down word.
If you're using a keyboard, you can enter letters directly. Backspace clears a letter.
In the clue list, you can tap a clue to jump to that entry in the grid.
tips
- Start at the given entry. It is the only word you know, so the clues that name it are the only ones you can act on.
- Let the crossings do the work. A clue usually leaves several candidates, and the letters already in the grid rule most of them out. Work on the entry that crosses what you just filled.
- Count the squares first. The grid tells you how long an entry is, and the clue turns that into the length of the other word.
- Run the relation backwards. Every clue works from either end. If 2D is 3D with its first letter moved to the back, then 3D is 2D with its last letter moved to the front.
- Re-read the clues if you think you're done, but the timer's still running. You may have entries that satisfy some of the clues, but not all of them.