Free puzzles for seniors: a crossword, a word wheel, a word ladder and a quiz, every morning
Four short puzzles, fresh at 3am every day, built for people who grew up with the newspaper puzzle page and would rather not squint at a phone. Big cells, big type, tap or type, nothing to install, no account to make, and yesterday’s puzzle is still there if you missed it.
Today’s puzzles: loading…
Today’s four puzzles
Play one with your morning cup or finish all four in about ten minutes. Your streaks are saved on your own device, not on a server.
The 5×5 Crossword
The Nine-Letter Word Wheel
The Word Ladder
The Seven-Question Quiz
All four live on the Morning Post games page, where your daily progress bar and streaks are kept.
Which puzzle for which sort of morning
They are deliberately different. Between them they cover the things a crossword page used to: recall, vocabulary, spelling and a bit of logic.
Crossword: recall and general knowledge
Ten clues, five-letter answers, every letter crossed, so a stuck corner can always be worked from another direction. The gentlest start to the day and the one most people do first.
Word wheel: vocabulary and patience
The old newspaper “Target”. Nine letters, one in the middle that every word must use, and a nine-letter word hiding in there somewhere. Good targets are printed, and the full list is shown when you finish, so you learn a word or two most days.
Word ladder: spelling and logic
COLD to CORD to CARD. Short, sharp and satisfying, and the one to do when you have two minutes waiting for the kettle. Fridays are deliberately harder.
Trivia: memory for the world
Seven questions on one theme: a decade, a sport, a composer, a corner of Australian history. Every question carries a hint, and the quizzes are fact-checked before they go out.
Made for older eyes and hands
- Big cells and big letters. The crossword grid uses 60-pixel cells and the word wheel’s tiles are large enough to tap without a stylus. Your phone’s own text-size setting is respected.
- Tap or type. On a tablet or phone, tap the letters; at a computer, just type. The word wheel has a shuffle button for when the letters stop making sense.
- No pressure. The crossword has a timer for those who like one; nothing else does. There are no lives, no ads in the puzzle, and no penalty for using Check or Reveal.
- Australian. Australian spelling throughout, Australian subjects in the quiz, and the puzzles are written and checked here.
- Yesterday’s puzzle stays up. Miss a day and it is still there: add
?date=and the date to any puzzle page, or ask the games page for it. - Saved on your device. Streaks and finished puzzles are remembered in your own browser. There is no login, so there is no password to forget.
Do puzzles keep the mind sharp?
Puzzles are good for the mind the way a daily walk is good for the legs: regular mental activity is associated with better attention, vocabulary and mood, and a morning puzzle is a pleasant habit that gets you thinking before the news does. They are not a treatment or a prevention for any condition, and we don’t claim they are. What they reliably do is give you ten minutes a day of concentration, a new word now and then, and something to compare notes on over the phone.
Memory games, too: Morning Post Brain Training
For members, six short exercises that cover the things a crossword doesn’t: working memory, attention, processing speed and names-to-faces. About ten minutes a morning, a fresh workout every day, and your bests kept so you can see the trend.
- Speed Match
- Symbol Pairs
- Sequence Echo
- Name Game
- Colour Clash
- Trail Blazer
A puzzle in your inbox every morning
Morning Post is a free daily email for your city: local news, what’s on, the weather, and a brainteaser at the bottom with the answer further down so you can’t peek. It arrives at 6am and takes five minutes. Pick your city:
Questions people ask
Are the puzzles free?
Yes. All four daily puzzles are free, with no account, no sign-up and nothing to download. They are paid for by the Morning Post newsletter and its members.
Can I make the puzzles bigger?
The crossword uses 60-pixel cells and the word wheel uses large tap targets by design, and every puzzle works with your phone or tablet’s own text-size setting. On a computer, hold Ctrl (or Cmd on a Mac) and press + to zoom the whole page.
Do the puzzles use Australian spelling?
Yes. The crossword word list has no American spellings, and the word wheel dictionary accepts colour, favourite, organise and the rest. Metre is a word; meter is not.
Can I play yesterday’s puzzle?
Yes. Every puzzle page keeps its archive: add ?date=YYYY-MM-DD to the address (for example /games/crossword/?date=2026-09-08) to open that day’s puzzle. Archive plays don’t count toward your streak.
What if I get stuck?
The crossword has Check and Reveal buttons, the word ladder has one Reveal Step lifeline, and the word wheel shows the full word list once you press Finish. There is no penalty for using them.
Do puzzles keep your brain sharp?
Puzzles are good for the mind the way a daily walk is good for the legs: regular mental activity is associated with better attention, vocabulary and mood, and a morning puzzle is a pleasant habit. They are not a treatment or a prevention for any condition, and we don’t claim they are.
Are there memory games too?
Yes, for members. Morning Post Brain Training is six short exercises — Speed Match, Symbol Pairs, Sequence Echo, Name Game, Colour Clash and Trail Blazer — that take about ten minutes a morning and cover memory, attention and processing speed. It is part of Morning Post membership, $79 a year for the household.