Bird Mini 📰

What's a "word square"?

A 4×4 grid where every row reads as a 4-letter word and every column reads as a 4-letter word. So a single cell at position (2, 3) belongs to two words simultaneously — the across word in row 2 and the down word in column 3. Get one right and you've made progress on two.

The classic example:

• Row 1 (across): SWAN
• Row 2 (across): WIRE
• Row 3 (across): AREA
• Row 4 (across): NEAT

Read the columns down and you get: SWAN, WIRE, AREA, NEAT — same words. That's the elegant geometry of a word square.

How to play

• Tap a cell to select it. The active row + column highlight, and the clue for that row (across) or column (down) appears at the top.
• Tap the same cell again to switch between across and down for that cell.
• Type letters on the on-screen keyboard. Letters auto-advance to the next cell.
• Backspace clears and moves backwards.
• The puzzle auto-completes the moment every cell is correct — no submit button needed.
• Solve = +10 bonus points to your Birdedex score.

How clues are themed

Every clue has a birding angle even when the answer isn't a bird word. So you might see:

• "What this whole website is about" → BIRD
• "Lifeless, as a feather found in the woods" → DEAD
• "Square footage of a park" → AREA
• "Hawaiian goose — the world's rarest" → NENE

Some clues describe a bird directly ("UK's tiny brown garden bird" → WREN), others use birding context to clue a more general word ("Same as 1-across — Britain's smallest songbird").

Why a Mini instead of a full crossword?

30-second daily wins. The NYT Mini became their most-played game by being short enough that not playing felt silly. We've gone one notch smaller — 4×4 instead of 5×5 — because most daily players just want a quick puzzle on the train. Want longer? We'll release a full 7×7 weekly puzzle if there's demand.