The crossword puzzle is a word puzzle game that consists of a grid of white and dark shaded squares (shaded squares as separators between words).

Crossword is a 1-player word game usually printed on a piece of paper. Originally people used to play the daily and weekly crosswords of the newspapers and magazines, but now many people also play crosswords online in various gaming sites and the online versions of the newspapers.

The object of the crossword game is to solve clues by filling the answers in the specified white squares. There are many online resources to learn how to solve crosswords effectively.

Variations of the crossword puzzles include the cipher crosswords, the diagramless crosswords, the fill-in crosswords, the crossnumbers and the acrostic puzzles.