How to Play CrossEights™

Eight words, eight letters. One quick puzzle.

The Challenge

Fill an 8×8 grid with eight-letter words—4 across and 4 down, crossword-style. The corners are blocked, leaving a cross-shaped puzzle to solve.

How It Works

  • You start with a few anchor letters revealed
  • Strategically select letters (2 vowels + 2 consonants) to get hints about where they appear
  • Use up to 5 hint rounds to reveal more letters or validate your guesses
  • Fill in the remaining letters yourself to complete all 8 words

Tips for Success

  • Start with common letters — E, A, R, S, T, and N appear in most 8-letter words. Choosing these first reveals more of the grid.
  • Look for word patterns — Once letters appear, scan for recognizable prefixes (UN-, RE-, PRE-) and suffixes (-ING, -TION, -NESS).
  • Think across AND down — Each letter belongs to both a horizontal and vertical word. Use the transpose button (⇄) to flip the grid, or press the space bar on a physical keyboard.

Scoring Rewards Skill

  • 5 points for each letter you solve yourself
  • 1 point for hint-revealed letters
  • 10-point bonus for each unused hint
  • Insight Bonus for solving words from few revealed letters

Insight Bonus

Solving a word from just a few crossing letters is the heart of the game. The Insight Bonus rewards that moment: when you complete a word, you earn extra points based on how many of its letters were already revealed.

  • 3 revealed letters — 10 points (peak bonus)
  • 4 revealed letters — 6 points
  • 5 revealed letters — 3 points
  • 6 revealed letters — 1 point
  • 7 revealed letters — 0 points

Track Your Rivals

  • Add rivals — Click the person+ icon next to any player's name on the leaderboard to add them to your rivals list.
  • Head-to-head stats — See your win-loss-tie record and point spread against each rival across all shared puzzles.
  • Challenge rivals — Find puzzles your rivals have solved that you haven't tried yet, and compete to beat their score.
  • Stay notified — When someone adds you as a rival, you'll receive an alert so you can add them back.

Competitive Elements

  • Daily leaderboards for fastest times, highest scores, and fewest hints
  • Personal statistics tracking your progress over time
  • Play anonymously or create an account to save your history

A blend of crossword solving and strategic deduction — simple to learn, quick to play, satisfying to master.