Mini crossword: what it is and how to solve it faster

What a mini crossword is

A mini is a crossword shrunk to the size of a coffee break. Where a full quick crossword is 11×11 to 15×15 with thirty or more clues, a mini is about 5×5, with five or six answers each way. The grid is usually a solid block of white squares, sometimes with a few black squares round the edges, and every letter is crossed: each square is part of one across answer and one down answer.

That full crossing is what makes a mini feel different. In a big British-style grid, about half the letters of an answer are shared with another answer, so a single clue you cannot crack can leave a gap. In a mini, every answer is surrounded. If you know the five across answers, you already have all five downs, and the other way round. A mini can never really leave you stuck; it can only slow you down.

Both are new every day and the same for everyone, and every clue is written for Yuzool. The Mini is the one most people play first thing.

A tiny worked example

Here is a 3×3 grid built the same way as a mini: every letter is crossed. The clues are ours.

A real 5×5 works the same way, only with more chances to start. That is the whole art of the mini: find one certain answer, then let it spread.

How long should a mini crossword take?

There is no official par, but these are fair rough guides for a 5×5 with plain clues:

Your own trend matters more than anyone else's number. Yuzool's Crossword keeps your best and average time for Minis and Classics separately, and shows any checks or reveals beside a time, so a fast time with a reveal in it does not pass for a clean one.

Eight habits that make you faster

1. Read 1 Across, then 1 Down. The top-left square starts two answers. If one comes, you have the first letter of the other.
2. Switch direction the moment you stall. Do not sit on a clue. In a fully crossed grid the answer you cannot see will be filled for you by the other direction.
3. Type through, check later. Stopping to doubt every letter is the biggest time sink. If a word looks wrong, the crossing answer will tell you soon enough.
4. Fill the obvious plurals and endings. A plural clue usually ends in S; a past-tense clue often ends in D. Typing that last letter early gives the crossing down a start.
5. Let crossings choose for you. "Big (4)" could be HUGE or VAST. Do not pick: type the letters you are sure of, move on, and come back when a crossing letter decides it.
6. Learn the short answers. Minis lean on three- and four-letter words full of vowels. Our list of common crossword answers covers the ones that turn up most.
7. Use the keyboard if you have one. On a computer, Tab or Enter jumps to the next clue, Shift+Tab goes back, Space switches between across and down, and the arrow keys move the cursor. Your hands never leave the keys.
8. Set the cursor to work for you. In Settings, turn on Skip filled squares so typing jumps over letters already in place, and On to the next clue so finishing a word moves you to the next unfinished one.

Solving clean: no checks, no reveals

A "clean" solve means finishing without checking or revealing anything. It is a better goal than raw speed for most people, because it rewards reading clues carefully instead of guessing and fixing.

• Use pencil for guesses. Pencilled letters look different, so you remember which ones you were not sure of. In the app, tap the pencil, or press . on a keyboard.
• Finish the grid before you doubt it. When every square is full, the app tells you if something is not right yet, without saying where. That is your cue to reread the crossings, not to reach for reveal.
• Check a word before a whole grid. If you must, a check on one word leaves the rest of the puzzle to you, and checked letters that are right are locked in.
• Reveal last. Revealing a single letter is usually enough to free a corner.

When the Mini feels easy

When you are finishing Minis in a couple of minutes, the same habits carry straight over to bigger grids. Try today's Classic, then the packs: Midis are 9×9, Weekenders 13×13 and Jumbos 15×15. In a big grid the black squares mean not every letter is crossed, so reading the clue properly matters more; our guide on how to solve crosswords covers that. And if you would rather solve on paper, see how to print a crossword.