Rules, evidence & solving strategy
How to crack a detective crossword
This is a complete guide to the crossword, the case board and every piece of evidence standing between you and CASE CLOSED.
A detective crossword turns ordinary crossword answers into witness statements. You still solve Across and Down clues, check crossings and complete a proper grid—but the finished answers also tell you which suspect is lying, where the caper happened and what object connects the evidence.
Five suspects appear in every case file. Four attach their alibis to words that genuinely occur as answers in the crossword. The fifth relies on a word that appears nowhere in the grid. When you have solved enough clues to test all five claims, that missing alibi exposes the culprit.
Meanwhile, tinted squares collect letters for the scene, and a separate code points to letters for the object. These mechanisms use the crossword you were already solving, so the mystery does not sit beside the grid as decoration. The crossword is the evidence.
Solve the clues, test five alibis, read the shaded scene and decode the object. Mark one suspect, fill the case board and make your accusation.
Detective crossword rules
The investigation follows four stages. The first is familiar crossword work; the next three turn the completed grid into a cozy whodunnit.
- 01
Solve the crossword
Fill the grid from the Across and Down clues. Shaded cells are part of the mystery.
- 02
Test the five alibis
Four suspect words are answers in the grid. The suspect whose word is absent is the culprit.
- 03
Name the scene
Read or unscramble the shaded letters to discover where the caper happened.
- 04
Decode the evidence
Use numbered squares or crossword coordinates to identify the object, then submit your accusation.
1. Solve the crossword grid
Select a clue or a white square, then type the answer. Crossing letters help you solve uncertain words. The colored cells are ordinary answer squares as well as mystery evidence, so fill them normally. Use Check whenever you want to identify incorrect entries; it does not invalidate the case.
2. Check the suspects’ alibis
In a Rookie file, every suspect names an alibi word. Search your completed Across and Down answers for each one. Use the tick to clear a suspect whose word is present. Use the cross to mark exactly one suspect whose word is absent. The game deliberately leaves this work to you—the board will not clear innocent suspects automatically.
3. Recover WHERE and WHAT
The shaded cells spell the location in grid reading order on Rookie mode. Copy those letters into the WHERE boxes. The WHAT row displays a series of white-square numbers. Count only non-block squares from left to right and top to bottom, beginning with 1; copy each indicated letter into its box.
4. Make the accusation
When every crossword letter is correct, the accusation panel unlocks. Your case must name exactly one accused suspect, the full location and the decoded object. If any piece conflicts with the evidence, the case is rejected without revealing which part failed. Recheck the grid, just as an investigator would.
How to fill the online crossword
Click or tap a white square to select it. Tap the same square again to switch between Across and Down. Typing a letter fills the current cell and advances along the active answer. Backspace erases and moves backwards; arrow keys move through the grid directly.
The active clue is highlighted in the clue lists. Completed entries fade and strike through, helping you see which testimony remains unresolved. On phones, tapping a square opens the device keyboard while the grid and clues stack into a single-column investigation desk.
Choose the size of your investigation
Grid size controls the length of the solve. It does not change the basic evidence rules, so you can learn on a compact case and move upward without relearning the game.
What changes in Detective Grade?
Detective Grade keeps the same crossword but makes every case question less direct. It is designed for solvers who can finish the friendly clues comfortably and want the mystery layer to demand equal attention.
Half-remembered alibis
Suspects give a word length and one known letter position instead of naming the word. Four shapes fit answers; the culprit’s shape fits none.
Scrambled scene
The shaded cells contain all the location letters in no useful order. Rearrange them before filling the scene boxes.
Crossword coordinates
A code such as 6A2 points to the second letter of 6 Across. D means Down.
Ciphered motive
A fourth answer appears as a Caesar cipher. Shift every letter backwards by the number of Down clues.
The investigator rank is separate from grid size. A 5×5 Detective Grade case can be shorter but more cryptic than a 9×9 Rookie file. Your choice is remembered on the device until you switch it.
Field tactics for solving the case
- Work the crossings first. A short clue with two confirmed letters is better evidence than a clever guess with none.
- Read every alibi before finishing. A suspect word may solve a clue you were already considering.
- Keep a manual record. Use ticks only when the matching answer is genuinely present; the cross is your formal accusation.
- Copy shaded letters in order. Rookie scenes use page order, not the order in which you solved the cells.
- Number white squares carefully. Black blocks never count toward the Rookie evidence code.
- Separate clue numbers from rows. In Detective Grade, 8 Across is a numbered answer, even on a 5×5 grid.
- Count the Down list for WHY. That total is the Caesar key; move every cipher letter backwards by exactly that amount.
- Verify the complete story. Who, where, what and—on hard mode—why must all agree before the case closes.
Coordinate example
If the code says 6A2, find the little number 6 at the start of an Across answer and take its second letter. A clue number identifies an answer; it is never a row number.
Printable detective crosswords
Open the PDF panel beneath the case board to create printable detective crossword packs. Choose a grid size, the number of cases, a custom title, optional answer keys and a name-and-date line. Every puzzle gets a full-page case file with the suspects, shaded scene cells, evidence code and room to record the accusation.
Printed cases work well for classrooms, family puzzle nights, rainy afternoons and detective-themed parties. The crimes stay cozy: vanished trophies, stolen recipes, missing costumes and other playful capers. Nobody is harmed, and every answer comes from the puzzle itself.
For a group activity, give each investigator the same case and compare methods rather than simply racing. One solver may attack the crossword clues; another may notice an alibi word early or decode the evidence with fewer errors. Answer keys include the completed grid and case solution.
How the cases stay fair and fresh
The crossword engine fills a normal grid from a curated everyday word-and-clue pool. Only after that fill succeeds does the detective engine derive a case from the answers already present. Four real answers become alibis; one same-length decoy absent from the grid becomes the lie. The scene is selected only when its letters can be recovered from the grid, and the object code always points to real letter cells.
If a generated crossword cannot support a fair mystery, it is discarded before you see it and another is dealt. The same solved grid produces the same case, which keeps on-screen play and printable answer keys consistent. Local repeat protection also remembers recent answers and complete grids so new cases stay meaningfully fresh.
Questions from the crossword desk
What is a detective crossword?
A detective crossword is a complete crossword puzzle with a mystery built into its solved grid. Crossword answers verify four suspects’ alibis, shaded squares reveal the location and an evidence code identifies an object. Solve all three to make your accusation.
How do I find the culprit?
Each suspect connects their alibi to a word. Four alibi words are genuine crossword answers; one appears nowhere in the completed grid. Check each claim against your solved answers, clear the honest suspects and mark the person with the missing word as your accused culprit.
What do the shaded crossword squares mean?
In a Rookie case, read the letters in the shaded squares from top-left to bottom-right to spell the scene. In Detective Grade, those same letters are scrambled, so you must rearrange them into a location.
How does the WHAT evidence code work?
Rookie codes number the white grid squares in reading order. Each code number points to one letter. Detective Grade uses crossword coordinates: 6A2 means the second letter of the answer to 6 Across.
What is Detective Grade?
Detective Grade is the harder case mode. Suspects give partial word shapes instead of full alibi words, the scene letters are scrambled, the evidence uses crossword coordinates and a Caesar cipher adds a fourth WHY question.
Are Detective Crosswords free?
Yes. All three sizes and both investigator ranks are free to play in your browser, without an account or sign-up.
Can I print the detective crossword puzzles?
Yes. Open the printable case-files panel to build a PDF with one or more cases, optional answer keys, a custom pack title and a classroom name-and-date line.
Does using Reveal count as closing a case?
Reveal completes the grid so you can study the evidence, but that investigation does not increase your cases-cracked tally. Check is safe to use because it only identifies incorrect letters.
End of case procedure
The witnesses are waiting.
Return to the grid, test every statement and make the evidence hold up.
Back to the case ↑