Crossing Words Strategy: How to Win

Do not solve in order. Run down the clues and fill in the ones you know at once, wherever they are. Every sure answer gives you a letter in each word it crosses.

Fill-in-the-blank clues and short, plain definitions are usually the easiest. On the bigger sizes, look for them first.

If a clue stumps you, move on with the arrows. Coming back with two or three crossing letters in place is much faster than staring at an empty word.

Every square is in an across word and a down word. So every letter you write is a clue for another word.

When a word is half filled, read it with the gaps: _A_E_ is a much easier question than an empty five-letter word.

If you are torn between two answers, look at the words that cross the squares where they differ. One crossing usually settles it.

• A plural clue usually means a plural answer, often ending in S.
• A past-tense clue usually means a past-tense answer, often ending in ED.
• The answer is the same part of speech as the clue: a verb for a verb, a describing word for a describing word.
• Count the squares. The length rules out more answers than you think.

Nothing tells you a letter is wrong, so you have to check yourself. Before you tap Done, step through the words once and read each one against its clue.

Look hardest at squares you filled from one direction only. A letter that came from an across answer you were sure of can still make nonsense of the down word through it.

A square where neither word looks quite right is almost always the mistake.

In a race, a perfect board beats every board with a mistake, however fast. One wrong letter drops you below everyone who got it all, even someone who took twice as long.

So a few seconds spent checking is nearly always worth it. Tap Done when you are sure, not when the last square is filled.

If you spot something after tapping Done, tap it again to take it back. Your clock starts again, but a fix is worth more than the time.

With others racing there is a time limit, and the clock shows the time left in the last minute. When it runs out, boards are checked as they stand.

If no board ends up perfect, the most right squares wins. So when time is short, fill every square you can, with your best guess if you have to. An empty square is never right; a guess sometimes is.

The players along the top show how much of each board is filled, never the letters. A rival at 100% has not necessarily got it right, so do not rush your own check because of it.

In Together you earn a word by typing the letter that makes it right. Filling three letters of a word and leaving the fourth gives it to whoever types the fourth.

So when you know an answer, type the whole word. When a word needs only one more letter and you know it, type that letter now.

Watch the board for words that are nearly full. Someone else’s letters may have left a word one square short of right.

A square goes to the first right word through it. Once an across word is earned, a down word through it earns only its other squares.

So a long word earned first is worth the most. If you know a long answer, get it in before the short words crossing it take its squares.

One letter can finish an across word and a down word at once and earn both. A gap where two nearly-full words cross is the best square on the board.

Only words still right at the check count. A word you earned that someone later breaks earns you nothing, and its squares can go to a crossing word.

If you see a wrong letter in one of your words, fix it. If you see a wrong letter in anyone’s word, fixing it can earn you the word crossing it.

Undo only ever takes back your own letters. If you typed something wrong into a word someone else had right, undo puts their word back.

The check comes when everyone has tapped Done, so one player who taps early does not end the game. Tap it when you have nothing more to add.

If you see a full board with a word that does not read right, take your Done back and fix it. Every square that is wrong at the check earns nobody anything.

• Mini is quick and has easy clues: good for a first game, a game with children, or a race where the fastest fingers win.
• Small and Midi give the crossings room to help, and a race is less about typing speed.
• Large is the longest and the hardest clues. In Together it gives the most words to earn.

• Race bots fill their boards at a steady pace, fast at first and slower at the end, and tap Done a few seconds after they are full. A Hard bot clears a Mini in about a minute.
• Bots sometimes finish with a wrong square: Easy bots often, Hard bots rarely. A careful perfect board beats a fast bot that slipped, so check yours.
• In Together, bots think between words, then type a whole word at once. Easy bots think longest and are wrong most often. Fix their wrong letters and you may earn the words that cross them.

• Solving the clues in order and getting stuck on the first hard one.
• Tapping Done the moment the last square is filled, without reading the words.
• Leaving squares empty when the race clock runs out.
• In Together, typing most of a word and leaving the last letter for someone else.
• In Together, typing short crossing words before the long one you already know.

• Fill what you are sure of first, anywhere on the board.
• Use the crossing letters before guessing.
• Match the clue: plural for plural, past for past.
• Read every word once before you tap Done.
• In a race, perfect beats fast.
• When time runs short, fill every square.
• In Together, type whole words and finish nearly-full ones.
• Fix wrong letters: a right board earns more for everyone.

How do you win at Crossing Words?

In a race, finish with every square right: a perfect board beats any board with a mistake, and the fastest perfect board wins. In Together, be the one whose letter finishes each word, and keep your words right until the check.

Where should you start a crossword?

With the clues you are sure of, wherever they are. Each sure answer gives you letters in the words that cross it, which makes the harder clues easier.

When should I tap Done in a race?

When you have read every word against its clue, not just when the last square is filled. One wrong letter puts you below every perfect board. You can take Done back if you spot something.

How do you earn the most words in Together?

Type whole words when you know them, finish words that are one letter short, and get long answers in before the short words crossing them take their squares. Only words still right at the check count.

Should I guess when the race clock is running out?

Yes. If no board is perfect, the most right squares wins, and an empty square is never right.

How do you beat the bots at Crossing Words?

Race bots sometimes finish with a wrong square, so a careful perfect board beats a faster bot that slipped. In Together, fix the bots’ wrong letters: a fix can finish a crossing word for you.