Games
Free crosswords, word games, logic puzzles and quizzes written to teach. Each puzzle ends with the explanation behind its answers, so every game leaves you knowing something you did not before.
No account and no cost. Your progress is saved in your own browser.
Play Crossword No. 2Crosswords
Full 15 by 15 puzzles built to a professional standard. Every answer carries a short note on where the word comes from or why the fact matters.
Crossword No. 2: Market Animals
Crossword No. 2, Market Animals, is a 15 by 15 puzzle pitched at the harder end of the week. Its theme is the vocabulary of finance: three long answers borrow...
Play now →Starting Lineup: Crossword No. 1
Crossword No. 1, Starting Lineup, is a 15 by 15 midweek puzzle with a theme: three long answers each begin with the name of a planet. Every answer you solve...
Play now →Physical Fitness Crossword Challenge
Fifteen fitness-science terms, one 15×15 grid. Sequence, energy systems, movement mechanics and training theory, solve every crossing clue to fill the board, from DigestGames.
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Word games
Vocabulary and spelling challenges that end with an explanation of what the word means and where it comes from.
WordWise No. 1
WordWise No. 1 is a free five-letter word puzzle from DigestGames. Guess the hidden word in six tries against your own clock, then read the Professorial Note on the word,...
Play now →Word Basketball
A fast-paced vocabulary challenge from DigestGames: read the clue, shoot letters into the hoop to build the concept's name, and unlock a full explainer once the word is complete. Race...
Play now →WordQuest
A five-letter word puzzle, refreshed every day. Guess it in six tries or fewer, then unlock a Specialty Digest Knowledge Reveal on what the word actually means. From DigestGames.
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Logic puzzles
Problems solved by reasoning from stated rules to a single defensible answer.
Sudoku
Sudoku is a free logic puzzle from DigestGames. Fill the grid so every row, column and box holds each digit exactly once. Every puzzle is machine-verified to have a single...
Play now →Orbital Logic
Eight solar-system logic missions, scrambled by a navigation fault and waiting to be reasoned back into order. Sequence the planets, classify gas giants from ice giants, deduce a probe's destination,...
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Knowledge quizzes
Structured recall exercises on one subject, with the correct answer explained after each attempt.
The Weekly Quiz
Twenty essential terms from meteorology and climate science, presented as an interactive vocabulary challenge from DigestGames. Select a clue, answer it by typing or picking from the pool below, and...
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How these games teach
A game is a convenient way to practise recall, and recall is how knowledge is retained. Experiments on test-enhanced learning, notably Roediger and Karpicke (2006), found that students who retrieved material from memory remembered more a week later than students who simply re-read it. Each game here is built around that finding.
- Retrieval before readingYou attempt the answer first. The explanation comes only after you commit, which is when it is most likely to stay with you.
- An explanation behind every answerSolved clues, reveals and quiz answers each unlock a short note on etymology, science or history, written for an adult reader.
- Graded difficultyPuzzles are labelled by level and aimed at the point where a solver must think but can still succeed, so progress is real rather than lucky.
In preparation
Formats we are building next. They are not playable yet.
Sudoku In preparation
Classic 9 by 9 grids graded from easy to hard, with a written explanation of the technique each puzzle teaches.
Number and logic grids In preparation
Arithmetic and deduction puzzles that build fluency with quantitative reasoning.
Questions about the games
Are the games really free?
Yes. Every game on this page is free to play, with no account or subscription.
Is my progress saved?
Progress is stored in your browser on the device you use, so you can close the page and return to the same puzzle. Clearing your browser data removes it.
Can I play on a phone?
Yes. The crosswords and word games are built for touch screens as well as keyboards.
What level are the crosswords?
Crossword No. 1 is set at midweek difficulty, comparable to a Wednesday newspaper puzzle: fair, with a few clues that make you think.