CrossConnect
CrossConnect

Release Notes

What changed in each release of CrossConnect.

v0.6.028 Oct 2026 · Minor feature release

Reactions and chat in Co-op, install on your phone, new home page and navigation

  • featureReactions and chat in Co-op - React to an answer someone else puts in with an emoji or a few words, and it pops up for them. Missed the moment? You can react to an answer any time, even after its pop-up has gone. The new Chat button next to the timer shows every reaction and message in the game, and lets you message everyone.
  • featureInstall it on your phone - Add CrossConnect to your home screen and it opens like an app, with its own icon and no browser address bar. On an iPhone, the home page shows you how. There's also a new logo, spelt out in crossword squares.
  • improvementNew home page and navigation - New visitors see what CrossConnect does and can sign in with Google in one tap. Once you're in, the home page shows what's waiting for you, your games and who's playing, how far through each puzzle you are and your recent results, with every past game under Games. On phones, a tab bar along the bottom puts Scan in the middle, and your photo opens a menu with What's new and Sign out. Signing in from a game or invite link now brings you back to it.
  • improvementCo-op waits for the right answers - When every clue is filled in but some answers don't match the answer key, the game keeps going so you can fix them, or you can choose to stop.
  • fixLinked clues - Clues that refer to others, like "See 8 across" or an answer split across "8, 21 across", are now read from the scan, solved and checked correctly.
v0.5.022 Oct 2026 · Minor feature release

Play as a guest, challenge friends to beat your time, link previews

  • featurePlay as a guest - Friends you send a game link to can type their name and start playing straight away, with no account needed. If they later sign in with Google using Keep your progress, their games, times and puzzles come with them. Scanning crosswords and adding friends still need a Google account.
  • featureChallenge friends - Once you've solved a puzzle on your own, press Challenge friends to send a link with your time to beat. Whoever opens it can solve the same puzzle, as a guest if they like, and see how they compare.
  • featureTimes - Each puzzle now shows the times of your friends, whoever challenged you and whoever took up your challenge, along with who's still solving.
  • improvementLink previews - Game, challenge and friend invite links now show a card in Messages, WhatsApp and other apps saying who sent them and which puzzle it is, never its clues. Friend invite links also open before signing in.
v0.4.021 Oct 2026 · Minor feature release

Solve with friends in Co-op, race friends in Combat, invite-only puzzles

  • featureCo-op games - Press Solve with friends on any puzzle to fill in one grid together, with each answer credited to whoever got it. There's no lobby, so friends join whenever they like, and it can start before the answer key is ready. The players judge the answers: two votes rule one wrong, and you can take back your own. Once the grid is done, every answer is marked against the key.
  • featureCombat games - Press Race friends on a puzzle to invite friends to a race on the same grid. The first right answer to a clue claims it and scores a point per letter, and a wrong answer costs a point, seen only by the player who gave it. "I'm sure" appeals work in games too. Your games and invitations show on the home page and under Games.
  • improvementInvite-only puzzles - You now see only the puzzles you've scanned or played in a game, not everyone's. Scanning a puzzle someone else has already added gives you their copy, as long as your grid matches, and joining a friend's game lets you solve its puzzle again on your own afterwards.
  • fixGame lobby - A race can't start until a second player has joined, and calling a game off takes the host back to the puzzle instead of leaving them in an empty lobby.
v0.3.018 Oct 2026 · Minor feature release

Solve on your own, timed solving, check your answers, appeals

  • featureSolve on your own - Every puzzle is now a crossword you can fill in, with keyboard controls on a computer and an on-screen keyboard on phones. Your letters save as you type, and the home page lists puzzles you haven't finished under Carry on solving.
  • featureTimed solving - The clues stay hidden until you press Start, and the clock only runs while the puzzle is on screen. Get every answer right and your time is recorded, shown on the puzzle and in the series list.
  • featureCheck my answers and appeals - Once the grid is full, check it against the answer key: each answer is marked right or wrong without giving away the key. If you're sure an answer marked wrong is right, press "I'm sure" and AI judges it against the clue. An accepted answer replaces the key's for everyone.
  • improvementFaster typing - Each letter moves to the next empty square, skipping ones already filled in, then on to the next clue with gaps.
  • fixClock and odd-shaped grids - The clock keeps its time when you reload the page. Grids that aren't square, like a 9 x 14 Sunday puzzle, now scan, and puzzles printed without a number are filed under their date.
v0.2.018 Oct 2026 · Minor feature release

Scan a crossword, puzzle library, AI answer key

  • featureScan a crossword - Photograph the cryptic in the paper and AI reads the paper's name, the date, the puzzle number and every clue in about 10 seconds. The grid is worked out from the clue numbers and lengths. You check it all next to your photo, and fixing a misread clue fixes the grid too.
  • featurePuzzle library - Browse scanned puzzles under Puzzles by paper, series and number, newest first. Whoever scanned a puzzle can correct it afterwards.
  • featureAI answer key - Every puzzle is solved by AI in the background, which takes 2-3 minutes, so answers can be checked. Whoever scanned it can see the key behind a spoiler, with any answers the AI is unsure of marked.
v0.1.018 Oct 2026 · Minor feature release

Sign in with Google, friends list, invite links

  • featureSign in with Google - Sign in with your Google account, with no new password to remember. Your name and photo appear in the header, and pages you open while signed out take you back there once you've signed in.
  • featureInvite links - Everyone has their own invite link on the Friends page, ready to share from your phone or copy. Whoever opens it and signs in becomes your friend straight away, even if they're new to CrossConnect.
  • featureFriends list - Add friends who already use CrossConnect by their email, accept or decline requests sent to you, cancel ones you've sent, and remove friends. If someone has already asked you, adding them accepts their request.