Play crosswords with friends

How a match works

One player creates a room and picks a difficulty. That produces a short room code and an invite link. Send either one to the person you want to play, by whatever means you already use. They open it, type a name, and appear in your waiting room.

Nothing starts until both players press ready. There is no countdown pressuring you to join before you have your tea, and no lobby full of strangers. When you are both ready, the same crossword opens for both of you and the race begins.

You each fill your own copy of the grid, so nobody can take a square you were working on. What you see is your opponent's progress, which is quite enough to keep things tense.

Private rooms only

There is no random matchmaking here and no public game list. A room exists because you made it and shared the code, and it exists for the two of you. This is a deliberate choice rather than a missing feature. Playing a crossword against a stranger who might be pasting clues into a search engine is not much of a game.

No accounts are involved. You type a display name when you join, it lasts for the match, and nothing about the game outlives the room.

Picking a difficulty

Head-to-head play rewards speed, so a grid that would be comfortable alone can feel sharper under pressure. If your opponent is newer to crosswords, an Easy grid keeps the match close, and a close match is more fun than a fast win.

Two experienced solvers will want Normal or Hard, where the clues are oblique enough that raw typing speed stops deciding the outcome.

Playing on a phone

Matches work on phones as well as desktops, and the two can play each other. Nothing needs installing at either end. The invite link opens straight into the room, which makes this easy to start from a group chat without anyone having to set up an account first.

Prefer to solve alone?

Plenty of days call for a quiet grid instead of a race. The Daily Crossword is one compact puzzle a day, and the collections hold the rest. If crosswords are new to you, the beginner's guide is a better first stop than a head-to-head match.

Frequently asked questions

How do I play a crossword with a friend online?

Create a private room, pick a difficulty, and send your friend the room code or invite link. They enter a display name, you both press ready, and the same crossword opens for both of you at once.

Do we need accounts to play together?

No. Crow's Words has no accounts at all. Each player types a display name when joining, it lasts for that match only, and nothing about the game outlives the room.

Can we play a crossword together on our phones?

Yes. Matches work on phones and desktops, and the two can play each other. Nothing needs installing, and the invite link opens straight into the room, so it works well from a group chat.

Is there random matchmaking with strangers?

No, rooms are private by design. A room exists only because you created it and shared the code. There is no public game list and no matching with strangers.

Do both players fill in the same grid?

Each player fills their own copy of the puzzle, so neither of you can take a square the other is working on. You can see your opponent's progress as the match runs, which is what makes it a race.

Yassir Hantati — Builds and hand-reviews every crossword published on Crow's Words. Each grid is checked for fair clues, full crossings, and difficulty fit before it goes out.