Cross Atlantic – The Telegraph launches first new flagship crossword since 2008

The Telegraph has launched its first new flagship crossword in almost 15 years, taking inspiration from across the Atlantic, with a distinctly British twist.

Cross Atlantic is a hand-compiled, and resolutely British take on the classic American broadsheet crossword puzzle, with accessible clues comprising straight definition, humorous wordplay, general knowledge, cultural references, and current affairs. The Telegraph’s crack team of setters will also draw inspiration from historical anniversaries and topical events to create a crossword puzzle that offers character as well as challenge. The Cross Atlantic is available to solve in print on Saturday and Sunday, and daily on the Telegraph Puzzles website. It will also be free for all to try on Telegraph.co.uk for a limited post-launch window.

The Telegraph’s General Manager of Puzzles and Games, Dan Silver says: “This is an American-style crossword but wearing a bowler hat, carrying a briefcase, with a rolled up umbrella under its arm, and a British accent. All of the references and cultural touchstones are hand-tooled to delight homegrown crossword fans.” Assembled by the country’s best compilers it will have, he says “a real British twist, with that sense of fun and character”.

Cross Atlantic is the latest addition to the Telegraph’s esteemed collection of puzzles and part of the next iteration of the Telegraph Puzzles website, launched in August 2022. The website now includes compelling new features such as streaks and achievements. Streaks allow users to show off their prowess for solving puzzles on consecutive days, while achievements are fun in-game rewards that players can earn by solving the puzzles they love. These range from milestones recognising the number of individual puzzles a user has completed, to accolades recognising players who solve puzzles first thing in the morning (‘Early Riser’) or in the evening (‘Night Owl’).

Two other new puzzles are also joining the digital collection: an all-new, entry level Mini Crossword, and the existing print favourite logic puzzle, Killer Sudoku.  These join PlusWord,  a newly created puzzle from The Telegraph which was launched earlier this year and combines the challenge of a crossword with online word-finding games.

The Telegraph has a long and unrivalled history in puzzles, being the first quality newspaper in the UK to publish a daily Cryptic Crossword in 1925. The Cryptic Crossword is considered one of the most popular and well-known crosswords in the world.  British Intelligence used a competition held at The Daily Telegraph in 1942 as a hidden means of recruitment. Each of the successful competitors able to complete a crossword in 12 minutes or under were contacted by the War Office and invited to work in the code-breaking division at Bletchley Park. Among the Telegraph’s cryptic setters is Dave Gorman, better known as a comedian.

The new website follows further investments in puzzles within the Telegraph’s print weekend papers. In January 2022, the Sunday Telegraph launched Britain’s biggest weekly puzzles section – an eight page broadsheet pull-out including brain-training puzzles, an expanded selection of children’s puzzles along with a host of other new challenges. The Saturday Telegraph also gained a new weekly puzzles pull-out running across four broadsheet pages.

Digital Plus users will gain automatic access to the Puzzle site, with Digital Subscribers able to add it to their existing subscription. A standalone Puzzles Subscription to the site is also available.