Learn one clue at a time
Welcome! If you're new to cryptics - or if you've dabbled but felt stuck - this guide (and this game) is for you.
Minute Cryptic is here to make cryptic crosswords less intimidating and a lot more fun. Instead of dumping 30 cryptic clues on you with no help, we give you just one a day - with hints, video explanations, and space to get the hang of things at your own pace.
This guide walks you through the core tricks you'll need - but if you'd rather dive in and learn as you go, that works too. Minute Cryptic is made for that.
Ready to start? Let's crack the code.
Introducing Letterplay
Every cryptic clue is a tiny puzzle with two parts:
- a definition - a direct hint at the answer.
- wordplay - a clever way to build the answer using some mix of letterplay and language tricks.
The wordplay usually involves two ingredients:
- fodder - the letters and words you'll be messing with.
- indicators - words that tell you what to do with the fodder (like mix it up, reverse it, take initials...)
And then there's the surface - how the clue reads at first glance. It often forms a strange, clever, or even poetic phrase that disguises what's really going on. A good surface can completely mislead you - and that's half the fun.
Once you start spotting the patterns, cryptic clues become a lot more crackable - and kind of addictive.
First up, anagrams. Tap below and we'll walk through your first one together!
Introducing Wordplay
So far, we've focused on letterplay - using the position and order of letters to find the answer. We've picked letters out, rearranged them, reversed them. It's all been about what's physically there in the clue.
Now we level up to include wordplay - where clues rely on language as well as letters. That means swapping in synonyms or abbreviations, and thinking about how words relate to each other in meaning, not just form.
From this point on, solving becomes a blend of both: spotting patterns and interpreting meaning.
This is where cryptics start to draw on your feel for English - your vocabulary, your sense of tone, and your ability to see that cross might mean angry, traverse, or crucifix, depending on the clue.
If letterplay taught you how to see answers in clues, wordplay trains you to speak the clue writer’s language.