Introducing The Globe’s all-new games destination | Canada Voices

We’re excited to introduce Globe Games, a new digital home for witty wordplay and clever logic games, bringing together our new puzzles with the classics you know and love.

Our redesigned destination delivers a smarter look, smoother navigation, and exclusive puzzles you won’t find anywhere else. All games are available on our website, the tablet edition and your phone. We especially love the experience on the Globe and Mail app: Just tap the new Play button at the bottom of your screen to start.

Here’s a run-down of the new Globe Games lineup:

Crosswords

Globe solvers can now enjoy North American–style crosswords every day of the week.

• Daily Crossword: Sunday through Friday, we challenge your word skills via the Universal Crossword, a popular puzzle made by constructors across North America, in our app and online, as well as in print.
• The Weekender: Every Saturday in the Daily Crossword slot, Globe Games features an exclusive Canadian crossword puzzle with a supersized 21×21 grid, made for us by a roster of accomplished Canadian crossword constructors. Available in our app, online and in print, The Weekender promises clever themes, fun wordplay and Canadian content, geared to a mid-range difficulty level to appeal to a wide range of solvers.
• Globe Mini: Every day, app and online solvers can tackle a quick, bite-sized crossword made exclusively for The Globe by our puzzles and games editor.

Cryptic Crosswords

For solvers looking for an extra challenge, Globe Games also features cryptic crosswords every day of the week.

• Daily Cryptic Crossword: Throughout the week, as always, digital and print solvers can take part in the particular joy – and challenge – of British cryptics in this regular puzzle by the Times UK.
• The Weekender Cryptic: In the Daily Cryptic slot on Saturdays, digital Globe Games puzzlers can now solve Fraser Simpson’s weekly cryptic crossword, a privilege once reserved for our print subscribers. A cryptic expert whose cluing is known for its elegance, Fraser has been making the Saturday cryptic for the Globe since 1994.

Haven’t done these before? You can learn to solve cryptic crosswords. It takes a bit of a mindset shift, but once you get the hang of it, you won’t want to stop. Get Fraser’s tips at How to solve The Globe’s cryptic crossword.

Even more games

The Games destination in the Globe app also features:

• Headliner: A new weekly Globe-exclusive “drop quote” puzzle, in which solvers drop mixed-up letters into a grid to unscramble a recent Globe and Mail headline.
• Sudoku: A perennial Globe favourite, offered daily at three difficulty levels, challenging solvers to fill a 9×9 grid with the numbers one through nine.
• Wordfinder: A classic word-search puzzle with a new theme each day.

Print solvers also continue to enjoy a suite of daily puzzles and games including Sudoku, Kenken and Bridge.

Discontinuing the Times Concise and the Wordrow

As we roll out our new Games experience, we’re making adjustments based on user feedback and game-playing data.

In crosswords, our solvers told us they wanted less focus on British vocabulary. With that in mind, we’re excited to offer the Universal Crossword from Sunday to Friday, and our very own “The Weekender” on Saturdays – both appearing in the Daily Crossword slot.

(The Times Concise crossword is no longer available in our app, and it will be discontinued from our print edition as of Feb. 23.)

We believe these crosswords will better resonate will our daily solvers, as they feature more familiar content and vocabulary. The puzzles are generally “themed,” meaning they feature a clever wordplay gimmick that typically appears across several of the longest Across entries (but it could be elsewhere!). They also feature “fully interlocked” grids, meaning every single letter is part of both an Across and a Down entry, giving solvers two possible ways to find each one for a more satisfying solving experience.

Keen-eyed puzzlers will also notice that we’ve discontinued Wordrow from our previous Games page, to make room for our new gaming experience.

Comments or Feedback?

Please reach out at gameseditor@globeandmail.com.

-Jess Shulman, Puzzles and Games Editor

-Jayne Bingler, Digital Games Lead