Membership is exclusive.
Discretion is expected.
One tiny cryptic clue a day,
warmly explained.
The Society teaches complete beginners to love cryptic crosswords. A single bite-sized clue each morning, hints that never scold, and an explanation that takes the whole thing apart so the penny properly drops.
This is the actual game. Go on, try a letter.
An evening at the Society
How it works
Three small ceremonies, five minutes, one penny dropping
Solve today's clue
One clue, hand-set for beginners, fresh each day. Tap the tiles, type your answer, feel unreasonably clever.
Hint without shame
Two gentle hints wait behind a button. Stuck is a place, not a verdict, and revealing the answer is simply a worked example.
Watch the penny drop
Every clue ends with its full workings: definition, indicator, wordplay, answer. Do this daily and the code cracks itself.
Exhibit A
Every answer, explained kindly
A cryptic clue is two puzzles pointing at one answer
Notes rearranged for a small rock (5)
"Rearranged" says shuffle NOTES. That gives STONE, and a stone is a small rock. Both halves agree, so you know you are right. That little certainty is the whole addiction, and the Society explains every clue this way.
The curriculum
Nine tricks, taught through play
A ten chapter course, a practice room for each trick, and an archive of every past puzzle
Strictly between us
We do not advertise
The Society grows by whisper. Members may recommend one trusted confidante at a time.
TELEGRAM FROM THE SOCIETY OF CROSSED WORDS STOP YOU HAVE BEEN PROPOSED FOR MEMBERSHIP BY A PERSON OF EXCELLENT JUDGEMENT STOP THE DOORKEEPER ASKS ONE QUESTION STOP "SOME MONKEY BUSINESS REVEALS WHAT OPENS THE DOOR" (3) STOP TELL NO ONE STOP WELL PERHAPS ONE PERSON STOP
Invitations are composed inside the app. Each one carries a small clue for the door.
House rules
Private, offline, yours
- No adverts, no accounts, no tracking of any kind
- Your streaks and progress stay on your own device
- Works offline, on the train, where all the best solving happens
- Original clues, written for beginners and machine-checked for fairness
- Bright enough for mornings, with a night mode for the sleeper carriage
Read the privacy notes, all two minutes of them.
The door is open
Join the Society