Tips for Crushing Crossword Puzzles Online

Online crossword puzzles offer a fantastic way to cure boredom, test your knowledge, and keep the mind active to improve cognitive performance in a fun yet engaging manner. Nevertheless, the enjoyment will be greatly improved when you actually beat the puzzles more frequently.

Whether starting out as a new crossword enthusiast or taking your puzzles online after years of enjoying the daily teaser in the newspaper, here’s how you can start crushing it in six easy steps.

#1. Start Easy

The harsh reality is that crosswords can become very frustrating, very quickly if you continually struggle to complete even half of the puzzle. Moreover, a large crossword can overwhelm players if they are not used to winning.

Thankfully, online crosswords like 247 Crosswords have options for players of all skill levels. Start with Easy crossword puzzles that only contain a few clues consisting of short words. Once you beat these regularly, you can progress through the levels of Medium, Hard, and Expert.

#2. Fill The Easy Clues In First

Tackling a crossword puzzle in a tactical way is essential if you want to boost your hopes of success. There are several types of clues that may be presented, such as cryptic clues, clues where the answers are foreign words and plays on words. Avoid them to start.

Instead, focus on easy clues such as fill-in-the-blank teasers or names of famous people. Aside from getting a good start on filling in the puzzle, it will provide some of the letters for more difficult clues. You’ll win more puzzles and find that your speed dramatically increases.

#3. Go Through The Whole Puzzle At Least Once

Completing “easy” clues is a great starting point, which should be followed by trying the two-, three-, and four-letter answers. However, there’s a strong chance that you will know the answer to at least one of the other clues within the puzzle.

Therefore, it makes sense to look at every clue in the puzzle and fill in any that you know instantly. The great thing with online play is that you can always undo your errors later on. So, you can test out potential answers and whether this could shed light on others.

#4. Analyze The Wording And Tense Within The Clues

When reading the clues within the crossword puzzle, you must pay close attention to the tense. After all, this can often provide an insight into how the answer will be formatted. For example, if the clue is in the past tense, you’ll probably find that the answer ends in ‘ed’,

Similarly, verbs ending in ‘ing’ within the clue suggest that the answer will end with those three letters too. Alternatively, if the clue focuses on a plural, the answer will follow this format too. Simply adding an ‘s’ in the final box is one step closer to completing the puzzle.

#5. Stay Sharp With Similar Puzzle Games

Crosswords are arguably the best type of brainteasing game available. However, keeping the mind active with other puzzles is great for your mental sharpness. Moreover, embracing a diverse range of games should make daily puzzles more enjoyable.

Any game that uses brainpower and cognitive skills will help, especially when trying to develop quicker strategic thinking. Sudoku, quizzes, and even word search puzzles are just some of the examples. Play online or offline today.

#6. Practice

It’s the oldest cliche in the book, but practice makes perfect. If you want to get better at crossword puzzles, you need to play crossword puzzles. It is truly that simple, and not only because it keeps your brain sharp and in clue-solving mode.

Perhaps more importantly, it allows you to familiarize yourself with patterns. For example, appreciating that words in brackets indicate the answer is a sound makes life easier. Likewise, knowing common answers like ‘epee’ can prove priceless.

DISCLAIMER: The games on this website are using PLAY (fake) money. No payouts will be awarded, there are no "winnings", as all games represented by 247 Games LLC are free to play. Play strictly for fun.