Daily mini crossword

A few minutes,
well spent.

Crux gives everyone the same small crossword each day: a quick 5x5 from Monday to Friday, a bigger 7x7 on weekends. Hand-tuned clues, a calm grid, and nothing between you and the puzzle.

Available on the App Store and Google Play 19 languages Free

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5x5 weekdays · 7x7 weekends · No ads

What it does

One puzzle, the same for everyone

Crux publishes one crossword a day, and it is the same grid for every solver. Monday through Friday it is a quick 5x5. Saturday and Sunday it grows to a 7x7, with a little more room for longer answers and a slower solve. Clues are hand-tuned and original, built for a few focused minutes rather than an evening.

Crux is for people who want a small daily habit, not a marathon: a puzzle for the first coffee, the commute, or the last few minutes before sleep. It runs on iPhone, plays offline once a day's grid has downloaded, and ships in 19 languages, so clues and grids read naturally wherever you solve.

The interface stays out of the way: a calm grid, a steady cursor, and clues that respect your time. Two looks are built in, a modern dark theme and a classic newspaper style, so the puzzle can match the mood of the day.

Key features

Six small things, done properly.

Each one solves a real friction in a daily word puzzle, not a marketing checkbox.

Two Puzzles a Day

A 5x5 mini from Monday to Friday and a 7x7 on Saturday and Sunday. Each size keeps its own history and streak, and solving both in one day earns a golden streak.

Two Themes

A modern dark grid or a classic newspaper look, switched in a tap. Same puzzle, whichever one matches your mood.

Streaks That Forgive a Miss

Solve daily to build a streak. A streak saver covers an occasional missed day, and progress carries over to a new phone through iCloud.

Solve However You Like

Tap to select, swipe to change direction, and let the cursor jump smartly between clues. Pen mode turns off the built in checker; auto check flags a wrong letter as you go.

Fair, Original Clues

Everyday words and clear clues written for the puzzle, not pulled from a trivia bank. No obscure references, no proper names, no tricks for their own sake.

Nineteen Languages

Grids and clues are localized, not just the menus, so the daily puzzle reads naturally in nineteen languages.

Under the hood

How it actually works

Every solver gets the same grid on a given day. Weekdays run a 5x5 track and weekends run a separate 7x7 track, each with its own puzzle history, best time, and streak, so switching sizes never resets progress. Solving both puzzles on the same day marks it with a golden streak instead of the usual flame.

Input is built around fast typing rather than hunting for the next cell. Tapping a square selects it and highlights its clue; typing advances the cursor and skips filled cells; swiping the grid flips between across and down without lifting a finger to a toggle. Pen mode switches off the built in letter checker for solvers who want to work without a safety net; auto check turns it back on and flags a wrong letter as soon as it lands.

Once a day's puzzle has downloaded, solving it does not need a live connection, which is what keeps the timer, the keyboard, and the checker responsive on a slow signal. Streaks and best times sync through iCloud, tied to the device's Apple ID rather than a separate account, and the same puzzle data carries the clue text for all nineteen supported languages.

Privacy by design

A puzzle, nothing else

No ads, not even an option

Crux carries no ad units. The single optional purchase is a tip, and it never gates a puzzle.
iCloud sync, no MightyS account

Streaks, history, and best times follow a new phone through iCloud, tied to the player's Apple ID. There is nothing else to sign up for.
Solving works offline

Once a day's puzzle has downloaded, playing it needs no live connection.
No streak shaming

A streak saver quietly covers a missed day instead of resetting the count or pushing a reminder to guilt you back in.