Minute Cryptic posts one cryptic clue each day, with the answer length in parentheses and a byline crediting the member who wrote it. Like any cryptic, the clue combines a plain definition with wordplay, and you type your answer on the on-screen keyboard. Hints are there when you stall, a par gives you something to aim for, and a check button confirms the solve. The three free courses, Letterplay, Wordplay and Weirdplay, explain the tricks, which puts the aha moment within reach of complete beginners.
Single-clue cryptics come first, since they share the one-clue-a-day rhythm and the hint-assisted solve. Games that use cryptic or double-definition clues inside a larger puzzle follow, then a crossing-clue game and clue-led mini crosswords for the days when straight definitions are enough.
Matches the one-clue-a-day format most directly: a lone cryptic whose answer sits inside its wordplay, but each attempt is colored tile by tile, so you learn which letters are right before you finish.
Nearly Minute Cryptic's design with a theme: the single clue always resolves to a Pokémon word, whether a species, a move or a place, help is split into definition, fodder and indicator hints, and a par sets the target.
The full-size step up: a whole grid of cryptic clues written by the Guardian's changing roster of setters every weekday, with a comment thread where solvers compare notes, for players who outgrow one clue a day.
Starts with one clue in the cryptic family, a double definition with a short answer, then adds a physical twist: you roll letter cubes over a board until the solution shows on top, with help available for both the word and the cubes.
Uses short cryptic clues for an everyday object, one at a time, with another arriving after each miss at the cost of a point, a gentler, layered route into cryptic thinking.
Mixes cryptic and plain clues in a growing stack: every answer is the last one plus a letter, rearranged, and you get only one check per word, which calls for the same careful reading a par encourages.
Two clues instead of one, an across and a down that share a letter where they intersect, in a small crossword-like puzzle with hints, a short daily solve close in length to Minute Cryptic.
Shares Minute Cryptic's habit of letting players write puzzles: alongside a new 5x5 mini each day, it offers a big library of user-made grids and a free tool for constructing your own.
A small daily grid you can finish in a few minutes, and if you stall, you can switch on automatic checking or reveal a square or a whole word, a safety net much like Minute Cryptic's hints.
From the same paper as the Guardian cryptic but with straight definitions only, in a compact grid six days a week, which makes a good warm-up before attempting the day's cryptic clue.
Each daily clue carries a byline, and many are credited to members of the Minute Cryptic community, so the voice changes from day to day. The site also has a Create section, a club, minis and an iOS app, and it offers ready-to-run clues to publications that want to print them.
Minute Cryptic runs three free courses, Letterplay, Wordplay and Weirdplay, which teach the common tricks using short lessons with clues to try along the way. Once the basics click, PokeCryptic lets you ask separately for the definition, the fodder or the indicator, a handy way to see how each part of a clue works.
The home page lists the past week by day with a See All link, and earlier clues and minis on the page are marked as being for members. Your streak is tracked on the page, so solving each day keeps it going, and creating an account lets the site track your progress.
