Midi is a free daily themeless crossword. The grid grows through the week, from 9 by 9 on Monday to 11 by 11 on Friday and Saturday. Everyone gets the same puzzle each day.
How do you play Midi?
- Tap any white square. The clue shows in the bar under the grid, and that word lights up.
- Type letters on the built-in keyboard, or on a physical keyboard on a computer. Each letter moves you along the word.
- Tap the same square again, or tap the clue, to switch between across and down. The arrows beside the clue step to the previous or next clue.
- Fill every square correctly to finish. If the grid is full but something is wrong, Midi says so and you keep going.
If you've played Mini, you already know the controls. Midi is the same game on a bigger grid.
What size is today's Midi?
The weekday sets the size of the grid and how familiar the words are. Monday and Tuesday are 9 by 9, Wednesday and Thursday are 10 by 10, Friday and Saturday are 11 by 11, and Sunday is 10 by 10.
Sunday is not the big one. Friday and Saturday are. Those two days also drop the familiarity filter on the word list, so rarer words can turn up. Monday and Tuesday only use the most familiar words, and the 10 by 10 days sit in between.
The number of black squares grows with the grid too. A 9 by 9 has 13 to 17, a 10 by 10 has 17 to 21, and an 11 by 11 has 21 to 26.
What does the grid look like?
Every Midi grid is built fresh from the day's number, so no two days share a pattern. A few rules hold every time:
- The black squares are symmetric. Turn the grid upside down and the pattern looks the same.
- Every answer is at least 3 letters long. The longest can run the full width of the grid.
- Every white square is part of both an across word and a down word. No letter stands alone.
- Answers can be phrases as well as single words.
That third rule matters most when you're stuck. Every letter you get right is also a letter in a crossing answer.
Midi is still labeled beta on the hub. The puzzles are playable every day, and the team is still tuning them.
What do Check and Autocheck do?
Both are optional, and neither fills in a letter for you.
- Check marks every wrong letter in red when you press it, and tells you how many are wrong. If nothing is wrong, it says "Nothing wrong so far".
- Autocheck flags a mistake the moment you type it.
Your results card counts how many letters were caught by checks. A solve with none says you finished "without any checks".
Tips for bigger grids
- Start with the short answers. Three- and four-letter words fall quickly, and each one hands letters to the long answers crossing it.
- Work one corner at a time. A filled corner gives you the first letters of several long answers.
- Guess the long answers from their shape. A few crossing letters in an 11-letter slot often point to a phrase.
- Expect the weekday. A Friday clue that seems impossible may just be a rarer word. Leave it and come back with crossings.
- Hold off on Check until you're stuck. It never ends your game, but your results card counts every letter it caught.
How is Midi scored?
There's no losing. You play until the grid is right, and a timer counts up while you solve. Your score is your solve time. You can hide the timer in your preferences.
Signed-in players get a daily leaderboard for solve time, plus a friends-only board. Your streak, best time and average stay on your device, or follow you across devices if you make an account.
How do you share your result?
The Share button copies the day number and your time:
Midi #10 / 3:07 perdiem.games/midi
It shows nothing about the grid, so it's safe to post.
On a phone, Share opens your share sheet.
Is Midi like the New York Times crossword?
In one way. Newspaper crosswords like the New York Times crossword are known for getting harder from Monday on. Midi follows the same idea with a bigger grid and wider vocabulary later in the week. Midi is themeless, and its largest grid is 11 by 11. Midi isn't affiliated with the New York Times or its games.
Common questions
Why is Sunday smaller than Saturday?
That's the schedule. Sunday is a 10 by 10, a step back down after the two 11 by 11 days.
Is there a hint button?
No. Check and Autocheck tell you whether a letter is wrong, but nothing reveals the right one.
Can I play yesterday's puzzle?
Yes. Past days open from the week strip on your results card.
Do I need an account?
No. Midi is free and runs in your browser with nothing to install. An account only keeps your streaks across devices and adds leaderboards and friends.