Login:

Password:





Who's online? | Login | Leaderboard | Anagrams

Introduction To Arrow Words

Arrowwords are a common crossword variant, and are also very popular with a set of dedicated solvers who much prefer them to standard crosswords.

The difference between standard crosswords and arrowwords is more than cosmetic. The cosmetic difference is, of course, that the clues appear in the grid squares. Arrows tell you in which direction to write the answers. Arrows usually point horizontally or vertically out of the boxes, although sometimes (not at Wordy Puzzle) you might see arrows that point diagonally too, or even require you to write the word in reverse order. In all Wordy Puzzle arrowwords, you always write the answer in starting with the first letter of the word in the square the head of the arrow is in. In other words, arrows always point to the first letter in the answer run.

So, that's the cosmetic difference, along with the minor difference that clues tend to be a little shorter than standard crosswords in order to fit in the boxes.

The more significant difference is that - from the UK perspective - the grids are a lot more tightly crossed. This means that each white square is a lot more likely to appear in both a down and an across run than in a standard crossword puzzle. So, as you make progress with solving arrowwords, then you start to get lots of information about other answers in the grid. Indeed, and unlike a standard crossword, in the majority of arrowword grids you can solve quite a few words just by getting all the letters of the word from other clues, or perhaps just leaving one letter.

Therefore even more than with standard crosswords it really pays to read through the whole grid at the start and solve the easy clues that you are certain only have one answer.

And that's really all there is to know about arrow word puzzles - we hope you enjoy solving them here at Wordy Puzzle if you are new to the puzzle type, and if you're a seasoned veteran, then we hope you enjoy the added benefit that comes from using our online solving tool.

Date written: 23 Mar 2015



Comment on this post

You must be logged in to comment - please Register or Login

Other Blog Posts You Might Find Interesting...

What Makes A Valid US Style Crossword Grid?
All the puzzles on Wordy Puzzle, at the time of writing, use the British style of crossword grid and also spelling. Here we look at what the US style of crossword grid is like. With US grids, every white square in the grid is checked. The term...
Added: 01 May 2015


Crossword Solvers Tend To Be Good At Scrabble
People who are good at solving crosswords also tend to be good at playing scrabble, which is interesting, as they are very different games. So why is this? Well, the most likely reason is that they both involve words and a good vocabulary. Obviously...
Added: 29 Apr 2015


Code Puzzles And Letter Frequencies
If you are interested in tackling the codewords on Wordy Puzzle, but are not sure how to get going with the puzzles, then here is one of many tactics you can use to help you crack open the puzzle: letter frequencies. You will no doubt know that some...
Added: 17 Mar 2015


Crossword Championships And Speed Solving
If, like most people, you plod along when solving a cryptic crossword, then have you ever watched a crossword championship? These events are truly incredible, where the best solvers literally read the clues and write answers in at the same time!...
Added: 21 Apr 2015


Using Our Online Puzzle Solving Tools
We have online player tools for a large range of different word puzzles. These include arrow words, pangrams, general knowledge crosswords, quick crosswords, wordwheels, word ladders, word fit, skeleton crosswords, A - Z puzzles, codewords, cryptograms...
Added: 26 Apr 2015




Back to Puzzle Blog


Puzzle Types:
Arrow word Puzzles
Pangram Puzzles
General Knowledge Crosswords
Quick Crosswords
Wordwheels
Word Ladders
Word Fit
Skeleton Crosswords
A to Z Puzzles
Codewords
Cryprograms Online
Every Letter Counts