The goal in Clink is to fill in all of the shaded blanks that form the answers to the clues on the right. Each of the answers shares a word (or part of a word) with the answer above and below it. The top and bottom answers are also (c)linked.

To play, drag a word part from the top of the board to the correct shaded blank. Then check if it also belongs in an adjacent answer. If so, pick it up from the filled-in answer and drag it to the correct adjacent block.

If you finish before time runs out, you are a Power Puzzler.

Power Puzzler Hint: Remember that not every word travels up or down. In a three-word phrase, at least one of the words only appears once.

Play Clink!

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CrossWire! is a knowledge matching game that challenges you to match up facts from a wide range of categories. Your goal is to get to the HighWire Round and win it. To get to the HighWire Round you must first score a total of at least 1500 points in the two CrossWire Rounds. The titles of the two CrossWire Rounds and the HighWire Round are shown on the opening screen. The titles give a hint about the content in that round.

First you must decide which CrossWire category you want to play first and which you want to play second. You should play your WORST category FIRST, because the point value for a correct answer is higher in the SECOND round of CrossWire. In the first round, correct answers are worth 100 points. Incorrect answers subtract 50 points. In the second round, the point values are 200 points for correct answers and minus 100 points for incorrect answers.

After you have decided which CrossWire Round category you want to play first, click on that category to start play.

When you start a round of CrossWire, nine pairs of facts will start to display. Each fact on the left has a matching fact on the right. The title of the round will give you a hint about how to match up the pairs. Match a pair by clicking first on one side, then on the matching clue on the other side. You have one minute to try to match all nine pairs.

If you click a clue to start a match, then change your mind, you can deselect it by clicking it again or by clicking on another clue in the same column. Once you have clicked the second of a pair, your guess will register as either correct or incorrect. An incorrect guess will flash briefly, while a correct guess will turn blue. You can start on either side.

After the first CrossWire round, you must click the button in the upper right-hand corner to move on to the second round. Keep an eye on your score and remember that you need to have 1500 points at the end of the second round to make it to HighWire. And remember, you will LOSE points for incorrect guesses.

If you finish the second round with 1500 points or more, you make it to the HighWire Round. The HighWire Round is so named, because if you make one false step, you lose. In HighWire, there are only eight matching pairs. The ninth clue on each side is a "BOMB" - a bogus clue with no matching pair on the other side. To win, you must correctly match the eight "good" pairs, without attempting to match either of the two BOMBs. If you try to match either BOMB, you lose immediately.

If you finish HighWire before time runs out, you are a Power Puzzler.

If you don't make it to the HighWire Round, or bomb out in the HighWire Round, you can hit the Refresh (or Reload) button on your browser to try again.

Power Puzzler Hint: Always play your worst CrossWire category first. Once you've gotten 1500 points or more, be extra careful... wrong guesses can deduct points and put you back below the 1500 level.

In tournament play, if you finish the whole puzzle your time will be the total of your times for each round. If you can't complete the entire puzzle before the clock runs out, you will receive a time of 4:00+. If you hit a bomb clue, all your incomplete matches will be added to your time. If two players playing against each other both have a time of 4:00+, the player that submitted their time first wins.

Play Crosswire!

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Crossword Plus is a traditional crossword puzzle with some nice help options, and a "Crossword Plus word" with a special bit of crossword trivia (called a cruciverbal morsel by our editors) that reveals itself at the completion of the puzzle.

When you launch the puzzle, you will see the puzzle grid and title. Click "Start" to start the puzzle. The grid will then become active and the clues will become visible. The Across clues are on the left and the Down clues are on the right. To begin filling in the puzzle, highlight the word you want to fill in and type in the answer. You can highlight the word either by clicking on the square in the grid where you want to start typing, or by clicking on the clue that you want to answer. Switch the across/down direction either by pressing the space bar or by clicking on the words "Across" or "Down" at the top of their respective clue boxes. The clue in red is the active clue... the clue in blue is the active clue in the opposite direction.

The Delete key deletes the highlighted box and the Backspace key deletes the highlighted box and moves one square backward in the highlighted direction.

Three help options are available. The first is a toggle button to show or hide errors. When the button label says "Errors", that means errors are currently being hidden, and you would click the button to show them. When the button label says "Hide", that means errors are currently being shown, and you would click the button to hide them.

When the puzzle starts, the "Hide" errors option is already activated. This means that you will receive no feedback as to whether the letters you type are right or wrong. All typed letters will be shown in black. You can choose to show errors at any time (and at NO penalty) by clicking on the "Errors" button. If the "Errors" button is activated, any incorrect letters you type (or have already typed) will be shown in red. You can choose to hide errors again at any time by clicking on "Hide," thus toggling the switch back.

You may also receive help by clicking on the "Word" or "Letter" buttons at any time during the puzzle play to show the word or letter in the highlighted square or squares. However, using EITHER the "Word" OR "Letter" buttons to show the answers during play will prevent you from being a Power Puzzler for that puzzle.

Hitting the TAB key moves you to the next clue on the board in the same direction. Hitting Shift+Tab moves you to the previous clue in the same direction.

The arrow KEYS move you up/down or left/right within the squares in the grid.

The arrow symbols at the tops and bottoms of the clue boxes move you up and down within the clue boxes. The single arrow symbols move you one line, the double arrow symbols move you one "page."

If you finish before time runs out (15 minutes), you are a Power Puzzler.

When the puzzle is over, the Crossword Plus! word is highlighted in orange. To see the interesting information about the word, either click on the orange-shaded word in the grid, or click the Crossword Plus! button in the upper-left corner.

Power Puzzler Hint: Use the Show Errors option. It doesn't cost you anything and it will speed you up significantly. However, there are two Power Puzzler lists for Crossword Plus! - one for those who haven't used this help, and one for those who have.

Play Crosswire Plus!

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Daily Jigsaw

Daily Jigsaw is a traditional jigsaw puzzle that is fun, relaxing and versatile with numerous features that let you play the puzzle with different difficulty levels and help you solve it. Once you choose how many pieces you would like to play with, use the features and tips below to get the most out of your jigsaw experience. There is also a help feature in the puzzle application. You also can play with up to 520 Pieces per puzzle, jigsaw and square puzzle shapes and configure the background for your puzzle.

Rotate Pieces:
If you chose the Rotation option before starting your puzzle, click on a piece then press the SPACEBAR.

Magnify the Area:
Hold SHIFT and click the mouse.

Scatter Pieces:
Either click the left mouse button while holding the CTRL key, or click the right mouse button.

Hide Non-Edge Pieces:
Either select EDGES ONLY from the MENU, or press E on your keyboard to toggle edge pieces on and off.

Rearrange Pieces:
Press X. Loose pieces will be rearranged in a random fashion.

To qualify as a Power Puzzler, you must play the puzzle with 50 or 100 pieces. If you solve the puzzle in 15 minutes or less with 100 pieces, or in 5 minutes or less with 50 pieces, you are a Power Puzzler.

Play Daily Jigsaw!

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Dingbats! 

In Dingbats! you try to guess the three answers before time runs out. The answers can be words or phrases. The three answers are related in some way, and their clues and the title give you a hint about the answers and the relationship between them.

The vowels in the answers are represented by "Dingbats." Each Dingbat symbol represents one vowel... the same vowel in all three answers. So if you know a certain Dingbat is an E in one answer, then you know it is an E in each of that day's three answers.

Click "Start" to start the puzzle. After the puzzle has started, the puzzle title moves to a spot in the upper-right corner of the puzzle and the "Letter Bar" becomes active. You may now make up to ten "letter guesses" to help you solve the puzzle. You make a letter guess by clicking on that letter in the "Letter Bar." After you click a letter, it "runs" through the puzzle, filling in any space in any of the three answers in which it belongs.

You may make up to ten "letter guesses." If at any time during play, you think you know one of the answers, you may click the "Solve" button for that answer and type it in. [Note: Type only the missing letters, not all the letters.] If you get it right, you are given the option to select a "Dingbat" that will fill in, in the remaining answers. If you are wrong, you can either keep guessing or click on the Pass button to return to guessing letters. The Pass button is located where the Solve button used to be. If you guess wrong too many times, you are automatically returned to guessing letters.

[Note: Letters that you type in fill in only for that answer. Letters that you guess from the Letter Bar fill in for all three answers.]

When you think you know all three answers, you should click the "Solve Puzzle" button. You must then type in the correct missing letters for all three answers. Or, if you have used up your ten guesses, you are also put in the position of having to type in all the correct answers.

If you finish before time runs out, you are a Power Puzzler.

If you have used up your ten guesses, and can't complete the puzzle, but want to try again, you can hit the Refresh (or Reload) button on your browser and start over.

Power Puzzler Hint: Try to remember the Dingbats that you have already filled in. Then, when you are given the option to select a "free Dingbat," pick one of the ones you don't already know.

In tournament play, if you don't complete a puzzle you will get a partial score (which will appear in the bracket as 4:00+), which will always be higher than someone who completed the puzzle.

If two people fail to complete the puzzle, the player who was "more complete" will advance in the tournament.

Play Dingbats!

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The goal in The A-List is to unscramble all four words by dragging the letters into the correct order. The top line is a scramble of a famous person's name. The other three words are scrambles of words that relate to the person.

To move a letter, click on it, drag it into a new position, and drop it. When the letters are arranged correctly they turn red and one letter moves into its correct position in another line. It is possible to spell a legitimate English word that does not turn red. This means that it was not the right word - a message will appear that says so - keep scrambling to discover the word that relates to the person.

Clicking on "Show Initials" fills in the person's initials in the correct position. If you unscramble all four words before time runs out, without using the Show Initials button, you are a Power Puzzler.

Power Puzzler Hint: For quick help in trying different scrambles, click on the starred buttons just to the right of the words. The scramble will change to a different pattern.

Play The A-List

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The goal in Flexicon is to complete the entire puzzle. It plays like a normal crossword puzzle, except that the four answer grids are overlapping and only one is played at a time. One long answer stretches across the entire puzzle. The overlapping grids give you many ways to attack the long answer.

To play a different grid, press the tab key or click on the grid with the mouse. Press the space bar to change between across and down. If you finish before time runs out, you are a Power Puzzler.

Power Puzzler Hint: Halfway through the puzzle, a hint appears right underneath the title. It is a reference to the nature of the long answer.

Play Flexicon!

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In KnockOut! clues are presented at the top of the boxing ring. The answers are shown in boxes in the center of the ring. To win you try to "knock out" all of the matching answers by clicking on them before time runs out.

To play just click on the correct answer or answers to the clue given at the top of the puzzle. This "knocks out" that answer, and it is then replaced by another answer. There may be a single answer to a clue, or multiple answers. A clue remains visible until all of its matching answers are chosen.

For the last clue, one of the answers shown is incorrect.

Play KnockOut!

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Magnet-O is a word phrase game in which you link "word magnets" together into phrases, and then link those phrases together into one long chain. Your goal is to piece together the entire chain. The "word phrases" can be common phrases or expressions (like "Dog Days Of Summer"), well-known names, song, movie, or book titles, or names of places.

Click "Start" to start the puzzle. You will then see a number of "word magnets" begin to appear around the playing area. The first three magnets that appear are already fixed in place and represent your starting points from which to work in constructing the entire chain. The fixed magnets appear in a shaded color, while the free-moving magnets are white.

As soon as all of the word magnets appear you should try to link magnets together into phrase answers. Phrases may be linked "vertically" (i.e., in "stacked" form) or "horizontally" (i.e., side-by-side). To build a phrase answer, click on a word magnet, hold down the mouse button, and drag it close to the word magnet to which you are trying to connect. If it doesn't link horizontally, then try it vertically. If the two belong together, they will "grab" onto each other and stick together. If they don't belong together, they won't grab or attach.

Once two word magnets are attached, you can continue to move them around the board together by clicking and dragging either magnet.

At the top of the board is a clue area. Every few seconds a clue will appear that gives you a hint about one of the phrase answers that has not yet been completed. If you successfully link the answer that is being clued, that clue disappears and a clue for a still-uncompleted phrase appears.

As you build individual phrases correctly, you must also try to connect them to the long chain (building off of the three "base" magnets that are in place at the beginning of the game). The game is over when you have linked all of the phrases into one long chain.

If you finish before time runs out, you are a Power Puzzler.

Power Puzzler Hint #1: When a magnet is fixed in place, it shows where its other links go by displaying little connectors in that direction. So if you see the word BASIC with the little connectors going off to the right, you know to look for a word like INSTINCT or TRAINING to complete the phrase horizontally.

Power Puzzler Hint #2: As soon as all of the word magnets are visible, try to spot common phrases among them and try connecting them. Sometimes you will get a connection for "free" just by accidentally dragging a word magnet near to its matching partner.

Play Magnet-O!

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The goal in Strip Search is to find and highlight fifteen hidden words that relate to the puzzle title. When you find a word, highlight it by clicking on one end and dragging across it while holding down the mouse. You may drag forwards or backwards over the word. If you are correct, the word fills in on the right. The words are at least three letters long. Some letters can be used in more than one word.

The letters in the grid that are not used in any word form a hidden phrase that is also related to the title.

Halfway through the time period a button appears that allows you to see a hint - the first letter of one of the missing words. Clicking on this button does not disqualify you from being a Power Puzzler.

Clicking on "Show Words" fills in all the words on the right. If you find all fifteen words before time runs out, without using the Show Words button, you are a Power Puzzler.

Power Puzzler Hint: When you are down to just a few words missing, try to follow the pattern of unused letters to figure out the hidden phrase. No letters that are in the hidden phrase are used in any of the words.

Play Strip Search!

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In Twistitz, we take a picture, break it into pieces, scramble them up, and then twist them to different degrees. Your goal is to reassemble the picture, while the pieces are twisting.

If you look at an individual piece of the puzzle, you will see it rotating. You must rearrange the pieces of the picture until each piece is oriented properly and is in its proper position, revealing the entire image.

Click "Start" to start the puzzle. To play, simply click on a piece of the picture, hold the mouse button down, and drag it to the location where you think it belongs. Click on the piece until it is oriented properly. If it’s oriented properly and is in the correct position, it will lock into place and will fill the square frame it is in. That piece will swap position with the piece that was already there. Drag each piece to its correct location, orient them correctly and they’ll "lock" into place and appear as they should, and it will stop twisting. After a piece is placed correctly, it is not possible to drag it into another position. If you are incorrect, the piece keeps twisting. You should then either try to move that piece to another spot, click to change the orientation or pick up and drag a different piece. Keep trying until all pieces are placed correctly.

The message in the bottom frame of the puzzle gives you a hint about the picture. After you correctly reassemble the picture, the message at the bottom describes the image.

If you finish before time runs out, you are a Power Puzzler.

Power Puzzler Hint: Find a unique-looking piece and drag it quickly around until you correctly place it. Then try to build off of that piece. Don't waste too much time just looking at the twisting pieces. Keep trying things as fast as possible until you have something to work from.

Play Twistitz!

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The basic rules of Wasabi (our version of the Japanese game Sudoku) are simple: fill in the 9x9 grid with the missing numbers so that each column, row and 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9 only once.

There is only one correct solution for each puzzle. Numbers that are already on the board when the game starts cannot be changed.

Click on a square to place the active number in that square. To change the active number, use your mouse wheel to scroll up and down, click on a number in the vertical list to the right of the puzzle board, or type in a number on your keyboard.

Double-click a number you have placed to erase it, or use the eraser tool.

The pencil tool appears when you move to the upper left of a square; use it to "pencil in" a number when you're not sure which square it goes in, but have narrowed it down to a few squares.

Of course, how you solve the puzzle is the challenging part, and something that takes a little practice to learn. There are many strategies and solving tricks that can help you, but the most basic is through process of elimination using numbers that cross a box horizontally or vertically. For a visual example of this, please see the Wasabi help page. Check back on this How To Play page soon for more tips and tricks.

If you finish the puzzle in 20 minutes or less, and do not use the Show Errors, Pause or Save features you are a Power Puzzler.

Power Puzzler Hint: When you solve a number on the grid, take a moment to see if the placing of that number solves the same number in other boxes above or across from the box you're currently working on. Also, if there is only one blank number left in a row, column or box you can solve that square by figuring out which number is missing in the series 1-9.

Play Wasabi!

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Wordsense 

This word game will have you racking your brain and racing against the clock. Every game is a fresh challenge for word puzzle lovers. Build words off of other words from a limited pool of letters, but be sure to play fast! These letters have a shelf-life. Play a new game every day, and try to beat your highest score.

Make one word and place it on the board's center across or down.
Score your word by pressing "score word." If your word isn't in the Wordsense Challenge Dictionary, try another one. You'll know your word is good when your Score increases and new tiles appear.

Continue scoring by making another word that interlocks with the first.
Until scored, each tile has a time bomb that counts down. As time runs out, it glows red. It blinks to warn you to play the tile immediately! Drag a tile to the Tile Dispenser's recycle chute if you can't play it. Up to 5 tiles can be recycled.

Score double for the first word played and words landing on Wordsense tiles. To quickly return unscored tiles from the board to the tile rack, press "don't score." Pause or quit a game by pressing the pause button.

The game ends when: All 40 tiles are played, all unplayed tiles explode or the player pauses the game and then chooses to "End & Score Game."

If you have word scoring problems, make sure the word is on the board and press "score word." Make sure the word is spelled correctly. Is one word formed in a multiple scoring play not a valid word? Press to clear unscored tiles from the board and try again. Is there a stray, unscored tile on the board? Remove it and try again.

Power Puzzler Hints: Build words; Playing AX, then AXE, AXEL, and AXELS scores more than playing AXELS. Use high scoring letters as many times as possible. Use S, ING, and ED to lengthen words and hit Wordsense tiles. Play or recycle a tile rather than let it time out. If you know there's one U, save it for the Q. Better yet, learn the sixteen Q words in the Wordsense dictionary that don't require a U! Know your two letter words!

If you score 100 points or more, you are a Power Puzzler.

Play Wordsense!

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Xamsa 

The object of the game is to construct sentences or phrases by rearranging five word tiles two at a time before the curtain falls. To win you must complete fifteen sentences before six unsolved sentences pile up, or the curtain comes down. Tiles are rearranged by clicking on the two tiles that you want to swap, and a sentence is cleared by clicking "Enter." If you take too long to solve a sentence, another one will appear above it and so on until you have over five sentences on the screen and its curtains for you!

If you clear all of the sentences before time runs out (and the curtain falls), you are a Power Puzzler.

Power Puzzler Hint: If you can not solve a sentence and another has appeared above it, solve the new sentence and return to the first one later.

Play Xamsa!

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