It had me at the aesthetics.
The clean lines, the symmetrical grids, the perfect square boxes, the blacks and the whites. Almost mathematical in its beauty, and sublime with its core mechanics.
In a world increasingly obsessed with how games look, play, cost and feel, one of the best to ever exist is delivered every morning right to your doorstep (that is if you are still part of the elite club that subscribes to physical newspapers), or more pertinent to the grand cause we have going here — to your electronic mailboxes or web browsers, often for free. And most likely, it just sits there ignored, not unlike you with your parents.
But within those squares is a world of its own, one rich in history and design, transcending demographics and linguistic monopolies. A word game so cool and evocative that it has been used seemingly forever in film, television, and literature to add depth to characters, a shorthand for intellectualism, easy sophistication, knowledge, and wit.
The rules are pretty straightforward (well, at least for regular crosswords) — you read the clues, use your worldly knowledge, make sure everything fits in just right, and solved! Well, I guess I should leave the explaining to the professionals. But nevertheless, consistency is the key. Like most things in life, the more you engage with and familiarise yourself with the game, the better you get at it. And before you know, it’s become an inseparable part of your routine, just like brushing your teeth. Unless, of course, you are one of those filthy bastards who lets them rot. Or like that child who hates going to preschool because even drawing seems like work.
Anyway, so now while you munch on some even more profound and soul-searching issues like, “Wait a second, can a crossword be classified as a videogame? What defines a videogame anyway? When does an analogue game becomes acceptable as a videogaeme? Is chess also a videogame? How about monopoly, or casino and card games? What dual lives they live in today’s world…”, here are some reasons to tightly embrace the magnificence of crosswords in your depraved existence:
- It’s omnipresent: Crosswords, much like bad relationships, can practically be found everywhere. Go to the website of your favourite newspaper or magazine, and more often than not you’ll find it sitting (or hanging upside-down) right there in some corner, hiding in plain sight like some ninja demon waiting to strike. And a lot of these also come with assistance features to hold your hand as you descend into this jolly abyss.
If it’s a more dedicated experience you are looking for, The New York Times has dominated the scene in the recent past (to the point that if you search for ‘crossword’ in a search engine, chances are you’ll see NYT before Wikipedia) with puzzle creator and editor Will Shortz at the helm, and has a great subscription-based space for word (and other) games.
Otherwise, websites like Daily Crossword Links provide an excellent curation of free and paid links from across the web every day. And lest we forget, you can even buy crossword books*.
- Language is no barrier: Whether English, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, French, Spanish or what have you, most languages from across the world are represented here. Take your pick (and clean those teeth). Who needs localisation when it’s already available localised?
- Single or multiplayer: Would you happen to be one of those who I keep hearing angry-sobbing in the dead of the night about the slow death of single player games? Whine no more because you can solo this bad boy to all your heart’s desire. But if you do like to interact with humans, or god forbid enjoy their company, crosswords have you covered there as well. Play it with your friends, enemies, frenemies, and everyone in between. I bet your grandma is better at it than you.
- A sense of belonging: Crossword has a small but quite a strong, dedicated and (mostly) pleasant community online. From blogs like, Diary of a Crossword Fiend and Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle to forums, Reddit pages and discord servers, it’s not difficult to find space to your liking, make friends, learn and discover some cool shit.
You can even participate in regularly-held events, competitions and tournaments, if that’s what gets your blood pumping. And not only that, there are whole communities built around crossword construction. Never a dull moment in these parts.
- That sweet, sweet satisfaction: I know what’s it all about, you caffeine-addicted TikTok-brained freaks. If it’s that tingling sensation of a dopamine hit that you crave, say no more. Every word you get right, every grid that falls into place, every time that dim little bulb lights up in your brain just as you are about to give up, and the sweet release of finishing the entire thing — oh, what mind-altering joy!
- Life in a box: But perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the whole game, at least for me, is how it integrates with life itself.
Crosswords reward curiosity, learning not only about things you care about and enjoy in your bubble, but expanding your horizons in every direction, be it history, popular culture, politics, geography, science, slang, news, anything and everything. Critical thinking is important, and so is (somewhat ironically) thinking outside the box.
And the progression here is not made in hours or with brute force, but slowly over days, weeks, months, years. A lifetime.
All this grandness-in-waiting, and we haven’t even got to the cryptic yet. Perhaps some other time; meanwhile, there are plenty of boxes waiting to be filled.
*book (noun) — a written work that is published as printed pages fastened together inside a cover, or in electronic form
Banner image via Ross Beresford, Flickr. CC.
