How to play 4Cross
4Cross is a crossword in four sizes: a 5×5 Easy grid, a 7×7 Medium, a 9×9 Hard, and an 11×11 Expert. Black squares divide the grid into separate across and down answers, and every white square belongs to one of each — so each letter you write serves two clues at once, which is exactly what makes the crossings so useful. Practice grids are always open: play as many as you like.
How to play
- Choose a size: Easy 5×5, Medium 7×7, Hard 9×9, or Expert 11×11. New puzzle deals another grid at the same size.
- Fill every white square so the across and down answers match their clues.
- Tap a square to select it, then type a letter. Tap the same square again, or press Enter or Space, to switch between its across and down clue.
- The clue bar under the grid shows the current clue. Tap it to switch direction, or use the ‹ and › buttons to step to the previous or next clue.
- Move around with the arrow keys or by tapping a clue in the Across or Down list. The current word is highlighted.
- Stuck? Another clue describes the same answer a second way without giving you a letter. Check marks any wrong letters, and Reveal fills in the current letter or the whole word.
- From 15 November there is also a Daily: one 5×5 mini a day, the same grid for everyone, checked on our server so the answers stay hidden. Check and Reveal still help there, and a Daily finished with them is marked as solved with help.
Tips & strategy
- Start with the clues you are certain about — every answer you fill hands you letters in the answers that cross it.
- Use the crossings deliberately. A single confirmed letter often turns an impossible clue into an obvious one.
- Fill the short answers first on the bigger grids. Three- and four-letter words come quickly and they seed the long ones.
- When a clue resists, switch direction and solve the words crossing it instead of staring at the same one.
- Reach for Another clue before Reveal. A clue that has stopped making sense often gives way immediately to a different wording of it, and unlike a reveal it costs you no letters — your result records the two differently.
- Save Reveal for a genuine dead end. Check is the gentler help — it tells you something is wrong without telling you the answer.
Accessibility
Fully playable by touch, on-screen or physical keyboard, and screen reader. Checked and revealed squares carry a corner mark as well as a colour wash, so help never depends on colour alone.