Yahoo Finance PlusWord: Play new crossword puzzle daily
Brainteasing puzzles and crosswords have existed for years in various forms - from the decades-old game of Bulls and Cows, via the Mastermind board game of the 1970s, through to the recent Wordle craze.
All have at their heart a simple code-breaking game: using a series of guesses to identify a series of four or five letters, numbers or colours, then being told after each guess whether each letter, number or colour is a) part of the series and b) in the correct position.
And, for all those who love the challenge of head-scratching puzzles, the Telegraph has launched PlusWord - combining code-breaking with all the fun of our famous crosswords.
The initial concept for the game came about almost two decades ago, in the form of a cryptic crossword in which a group of cells in the middle of the grid acted as a further puzzle in which a number of coloured cells led to a Wordle-style challenge.
The new letters-based puzzle consists of a miniature version of our Quick Crossword, in which some squares are coloured; the letters in those shaded squares let you work out the additional five-letter PlusWord.
Each of PlusWord's daily crossword challenges is simple, easy and fast to play, taking only a few minutes to complete.
When to play the PlusWord puzzle crossword
Telegraph's new PlusWord can be found in the newspaper every day and online. It can also be accessed at telegraph.co.uk/plusword, where a new puzzle is published each day at midnight.
How to play the PlusWord puzzle crossword
If you are hoping to give the Telegraph's crossword-style puzzle a try, read on to find out the step-by-step rules about how to play.
Step one
Solve the crossword, then use letters in the shaded squares to complete the additional PlusWord.
Step two
A letter in a green square appears in the same column in the PlusWord as it does in the crossword.
Step three
A letter in a yellow square appears in the PlusWord, but in a different column than it does in the crossword.
Step four
There is only one possible answer for the PlusWord; it may be that the PlusWord contains letters that aren’t found in the crossword, but it can always be worked out logically and without guessing.
All puzzle-lovers can give it a try here at telegraph.co.uk/plusword. PlusWord Book 1, containing 150 puzzles, is also available now from retailers including Waterstones and from the Telegraph book shop.
