The best daily puzzle games in 2026

FRAME 01 · BEST ALL-ROUNDER

NYT Games

The New York Times' games page lists The Crossword, The Midi and The Mini crosswords, Spelling Bee, Wordle, Pips, Strands, Connections, Tiles, Letter Boxed and Sudoku, plus Crossplay. Its help page says that without a Games subscription you can still play Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition, Crossplay, Pips, Strands, Sudoku and a limited Spelling Bee. The crosswords, Letter Boxed, Tiles and an archive of over 10,000 crosswords come with a subscription. The NYT Games app is free to download, lists in-app purchases, and has a 4.8 rating from 297,842 ratings.

Best for Anyone who wants several kinds of puzzle in one app. Free players get Sudoku and Pips every day; crossword fans will want the subscription.

FRAME 02 · BEST FREE LOGIC GRIDS

LinkedIn games

LinkedIn's games hub lists Queens, Tango, Zip, Mini Sudoku, Pinpoint, Crossclimb, Wend and Patches, each a short daily puzzle. Queens, for example, asks you to crown each region of a grid. LinkedIn's help page says any member can play without special access, that there are no prizes, and that scores stay private unless you join the connections leaderboard. You reach the games from the Games hub, search or the LinkedIn app.

Best for Short daily logic grids, if you already use LinkedIn.

FRAME 03 · BEST VARIETY

Puzzmo

Puzzmo is a daily puzzle site with its own iPhone app. The app's description lists Memoku, Bongo, Pile-Up Poker, Flipart, Typeshift, Cross|word, Cube Clear, Wordbind, Really Bad Chess and SpellTower, and says “it's free”. The App Store also lists Puzzmo Plus as an in-app purchase. The app has a 3.7 rating from 176 ratings, lower than the others here, so try the free games before paying. Its website needs JavaScript and we could not read the details of Plus there, so we don't list them.

Best for People who get bored of one puzzle type and want a mix of word, number and spatial games.

FRAME 04 · BEST FOR NUMBERS

Nerdle

Nerdle hides a sum instead of a word. Its App Store listing says “Guess the NERDLE in 6 tries” and, in its rules, “Each guess is a calculation.” Its App Store description lists many versions, including micro, mini, maxi, instant, speed and crossnerdle, and says you can replay past games. The iPhone app is free with a 4.9 rating from 1,773 ratings.

Best for Anyone who prefers arithmetic to spelling.

FRAME 05 · BEST FOR CRYPTIC CLUES

Minute Cryptic

Minute Cryptic gives you one cryptic crossword clue a day. Its App Store listing promises video walkthroughs that explain each clue, and says the project started on TikTok and Instagram. A membership, which the App Store lists at USD 9 a month or USD 90 a year, adds the archive of past clues, mini cryptic crosswords and a create-your-own mode. The app is free to download, with a 4.7 rating from only 16 ratings so far.

Best for Learning cryptic crosswords one clue at a time, without facing a full grid.

FRAME 06 · BEST QUICK BROWSER PUZZLE

Figure

Figure describes itself as “a daily logic puzzle game, free to play right in your browser”: clear all the tiles before you run out of moves, tapping tiles in the bottom row. We found no app, so it is a browser game. Best for A few minutes of pure logic with nothing to install.

FRAME 07 · HISTORY · WE MAKE THIS ONE

Decade

We make Decade. Each day brings five historical photos, the same five for everyone. You guess the year of each with a slider or by typing it, one guess per photo, and score up to 1,000 points a photo. The share card shows how close you were but never the answers. Photos come from public archives; the Library of Congress and Wikimedia Commons lead the collection. Free covers the daily set, one extra practice set a day and streak tracking.

Best for People who like reading clues in a picture: cars, clothes, signs. Skip it if you want pure logic, because it rewards knowledge of history more than reasoning. See the Decade page or get Decade on the App Store.

FRAME 08 · BOOKS · WE MAKE THIS ONE

Title

We make Title. Each day brings one public-domain classic book. The first clue is its opening line, and each wrong guess reveals another clue. You have six guesses and you tap the title from a short list, so spelling never matters. The daily puzzle is free, and your shared result does not give the title away.

Best for Readers who know their Austen and Doyle. Skip it if you have not read many classics, since it is a knowledge puzzle. See the Title page or get Title on the App Store.