Crossword puzzles began as a newspaper feature in 1913 and spread through newspapers, books, websites and phone apps. Their grids and delivery have changed, but the basic idea—using clues to fill words that intersect—has endured.
Where the modern crossword began
Arthur Wynne, a British-born journalist working in New York, created the puzzle for the New York World’s Sunday “Fun” section. It appeared on December 21, 1913, under the title “Word-Cross Puzzle.” The diamond-shaped grid had no black squares, and its interlocking answers formed one connected pattern. Teachers College, Columbia University says Wynne’s first puzzle contained 31 questions. Columbia’s account of the first crossword and Guinness World Records’ history both place the puzzle in 1913.
The title is commonly said to have become “Cross-Word” after a typesetting error, though that explanation is repeated in secondary accounts rather than established as certain. Wynne later incorporated black squares, bringing the puzzle closer to the familiar grid. The early format was not fixed: publishers could change the shape, pattern, size and difficulty while preserving the essential crossings.
How newspapers made crosswords a phenomenon
Crosswords spread rapidly through American newspapers in the 1920s. Publishers experimented with different patterns and audiences, including puzzles for children and adults, and some offered prizes. The Library of Congress describes this as a period of newspaper competition and adaptation: newspapers tried different ways to make their puzzles stand out.
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That experimentation mattered because the crossword was more than a new puzzle format. A newspaper could publish it regularly, vary its challenge and invite readers to return. Within a decade, crosswords appeared regularly, and sometimes daily, in leading American newspapers, according to Jennifer Govan’s history for Columbia’s Gottesman Libraries.
From newspaper page to puzzle book
The crossword crossed the Atlantic in print. The National Library of Scotland dates the first British crossword to Pearson’s Magazine in February 1922. The library also describes how demand for collections of New York World puzzles helped bring crossword books into publishing. Its account of the crossword book shows how the puzzle could move from a dated newspaper page into a collection that readers could keep and solve at their own pace.
A 1924 book in the library’s collection illustrates how much grids could vary: its first puzzle measured 11 by 11 squares, for 121 squares total, including 24 black squares. Those dimensions describe that specific puzzle, not a standard that all crosswords followed. The library’s discussion also highlights a preservation trade-off: solving a printed historical puzzle changes the page, while leaving it untouched keeps it as an artifact.
What changed as crosswords moved online
Digital crosswords retained the clue-and-grid structure while changing how people access and complete puzzles. Instead of writing answers on a newspaper page or in a book, solvers can play interactively on a computer or phone. The Library of Congress discusses newspaper puzzles, books and crossword apps, while a Wiley excerpt describes interactive play on computers and mobile devices. The Wiley excerpt on cryptic crosswords provides an example of that shift across formats.
The New York Times offers one documented publisher-specific example: the Associated Press reported in 2026 that its crossword went digital in 2009. That date applies to the Times crossword, not to the launch of crossword apps as a whole. The Times’ current help pages describe access through print, its website and mobile channels. Its archive and subscription conditions depend on the product, so those details should not be taken as universal rules for other crossword services. See The New York Times Crossword help page and its archive help page.
The same Associated Press report said New York Times Games were played 11.2 billion times in 2025. That is the publisher’s reported total across its Games products, not a count of crossword solves alone or a measure of crossword use across the industry. The Associated Press report also places the digital crossword within a broader evolution in the Times’ games business.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the shift from print to apps means for solvers
Print and digital formats offer different ways to keep and work through puzzles; neither marks the end of the other. A newspaper or book gives a solver a physical page, while websites and apps make interactive play available on screens. Some digital services also offer archives, but whether past puzzles are available—and under what account or subscription conditions—depends on the service.
- Newspaper: a puzzle appears as part of a daily or weekly publication.
- Book: a collection gathers puzzles in a portable, retainable print format.
- Website or app: puzzles can be completed interactively on computers or phones; specific archive and access rules vary by publisher.
From Wynne’s connected diamond grid to digital play, the format has adapted to new places and habits without losing its defining feature: answers cross one another, so each clue contributes to a larger pattern.
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