CrossEights: An Independent 8 Letter Word Game That Will Keep You Coming Back For More
Created by WordFinder
What is CrossEights
CrossEights is a quick, scored, and clueless crossword: fill a grid with eight intersecting 8-letter words, 4 reading across, 4 reading down. Puzzles take about three minutes to complete, and the scoring system is designed to create competition among players.
What makes CrossEights unique is that it's a performance game, not just a completion game. The scoring system rewards play that is efficient (fewer moves) with high-value placements (letters that complete multiple words), strategic risk taking (use of hints), and speed (to break ties).
Who Created CrossEights
CrossEights is the brainchild of Andres Echenique. Andres is a lifelong entrepreneur and tech enthusiast. When we asked him about the inspiration behind CrossEights he said the following.
“The inspiration was a print-only NYT puzzle that shows up a few times a year in the Sunday Magazine. It’s a similar clueless grid, but the first and last two letters are provided for each word. That version also is a quick play, and it always left me wanting more.”
“I studied Computer Science in college and have started a few tech companies over the years, and I figured I could dust off some coding skills to write software to create puzzles. As I got some traction creating puzzles, I started to imagine what variations on gameplay an on-line version could provide. This led to the hint system, the scoring system and ultimately the competition system.“
Where to Play CrossEights
You can Play CrossEights at CrossEights.com. It is a mobile, tablet and desktop web experience. There is no download required.
How to Play CrossEights
Players enter letters into empty cells in the grid to complete words reading down or across. When their letters complete a word correctly, the word turns green and points are earned. The puzzle is complete when all eight intersecting words are correctly entered. Guessing is encouraged: correct words are highlighted immediately when all correct letters are entered.
How the Scoring Works
The first letters of each word are provided to get the puzzle started, and players can use up to five hints (in Wheel of Fortune style) to reveal letters that help to guess words. Letters revealed through hints are worth 1 point, but letters entered correctly by the player enter are worth 5 points each. Unused hints earn bonus points, so completing the puzzle with as few hints as possible is the key to earning high scores.
How the Leaderboard Works
High scoring puzzles are featured on leaderboards, and players can try to beat any high score through a “challenge”. Challenges give players the chance to play using the exact same puzzle as a high scoring player, so they can compete on par to beat the score. Players can also issue challenges to friends via shares. And for long term competition, players can tag other players as rivals and keep a lifetime record of wins, losses, and total points earned against their rivals.
What About the Hints
At 10 points each, unused hints are the key to high scores. The first hint is unique, giving players the chance to choose 2 vowels and 2 consonants to reveal in the grid. Subsequent hints allow revealing one letter per hint. For easy puzzles, one hint often reveals enough letters to complete the puzzle.
While revealing letters through hints earns points (1 point for each letter), they block the opportunity for the player to enter an (unhinted) letter. Unhinted letters are worth 5 points each, so overusing hints not only reduces bonuses, but also chips away at scores by replacing cells with 1 point letters instead of 5 point letters.
Tips and Strategies to Win
There are three keys to high scores:
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 (think Wheel of Fortune).
Look for word patterns — Once letters appear, scan for recognizable prefixes (UN-, RE-, PRE-) and suffixes (-ING, -TION, -NESS). Remember, there’s no penalty for guessing!
Think across AND down — Each letter belongs to both a horizontal and vertical word but sometimes for vertical words, it’s hard to visualize the solution. The transpose button ( a ⇄ in the lower right corner of the grid, or press the spacebar if you have a physical keyboard) will flip the grid back and forth, swapping vertical and horizontal words.
Play CrossEights Today
If you haven’t already, head over to CrossEights.com and give the game a try! A daily version of the puzzle is also available at CrossEightsDaily.com. In addition to being a regular addition to your daily word games, CrossEights play can really improve your ability to solve longer words in standard crosswords, especially when the clue is completely opaque and all you have is a few letters.
Also, keep an eye out in the future at CrossNines.com for a 9 letter take on the CrossEights format.
