Large Print Crossword Puzzles for Seniors: Where to Find Them, Plus 12 Warm-Up Clues

A crossword is one of the most loved puzzles there is, and one of the most frustrating when the grid is the size of a postage stamp. If small squares and tiny clue numbers have made the daily crossword more of a chore than a pleasure, the good news is that it's easy to fix. Large print crossword puzzles exist in many forms, and any crossword can be made easier to read.

This guide covers where to find large print crosswords, how to make a regular one more comfortable, tips for beginners, and a dozen easy warm-up clues to get started.

What Makes a Crossword "Large Print"?

There's no official standard, but a comfortable large print crossword usually has:

• Squares big enough to write in without cramping your letters, roughly 1 cm (about half an inch) or more.
• Clue text of 14 point or larger, in a plain, bold typeface.
• Strong contrast: black lines on white or cream paper, never grey on grey.
• A smaller grid, often 13x13 instead of 15x15, so the page isn't crowded.

If a puzzle book's cover says "large print" but the inside still looks small, trust your eyes rather than the label.

Where to Find Large Print Crossword Puzzles

On Paper

• The library. Most public libraries keep large print puzzle books, and some will order titles on request. Ask at the desk, and ask about puzzle clubs too.
• Newsagents, supermarkets and bookshops. Puzzle publishers sell large print crossword magazines and books; look in the puzzle section rather than the books section.
• Your daily newspaper, enlarged. A photocopier set to 150% turns a newspaper crossword into a comfortable large print one. Many libraries and print shops will do this for a small charge.
• Print them yourself. Many newspaper websites let you print the crossword. Before you print, choose "scale" or "fit to page" in the print settings to make it bigger.

Online

• Newspaper puzzle pages. Many papers offer their crossword in the browser, sometimes free and sometimes for subscribers. Zoom the page with Ctrl and + on a computer, or pinch to zoom on a tablet.
• AARP Games offers a daily crossword along with many other word games in the browser. The site shows ads, and some games are for members only.
• Apps. Crossword apps let you make the grid big and type answers instead of writing. Check the App Store listing for "Contains: Advertising" and timers before you download. Our guide to brain training apps without ads shows what to look for.

Making Any Crossword Easier on the Eyes

1. Light from the side, not from behind you, so your hand doesn't throw a shadow on the grid.
2. A soft pencil (2B) or a felt-tip pen gives darker, easier-to-read letters than a ballpoint.
3. A clipboard or lap tray keeps the page still and at a comfortable angle.
4. A magnifier with a built-in light helps for clue numbers. See gifts for elderly parents for other practical aids.
5. On a tablet, raise the text size and turn on bold text in Settings. Our guide to games for seniors with low vision has more ideas.

Tips for Crossword Beginners

• Start with the short words. Three- and four-letter answers are usually the easiest, and each one gives you letters for the longer ones.
• Look for fill-in-the-blank clues like "___ and cheese (8)". They're often the most familiar.
• Check the tense and number. If a clue is plural, the answer usually is too. If the clue is in the past tense, so is the answer.
• Use the number in brackets. "(5)" means five letters. "(3,4)" means two words, of three and four letters.
• Leave it and come back. A clue that's impossible at breakfast is often obvious after lunch.
• Do it together. Reading clues out loud to a partner, a friend on the phone or a grandchild turns a crossword into a conversation. Word games for seniors has more ideas to share.

12 Easy Warm-Up Clues

Here are some straightforward clues in the style of a quick crossword. The number in brackets is the length of the answer. Answers are below.

1. Opposite of "hot" (4)
2. A baby cat (6)
3. The color of grass (5)
4. It shines at night and has phases (4)
5. Bread maker (5)
6. Twelve months (4)
7. Frozen water (3)
8. A bird that hoots at night (3)
9. Pen and ___ (3)
10. Day after Monday (7)
11. A doctor's place of work (8)
12. Fruit that keeps the doctor away (5)

Answers: 1. COLD, 2. KITTEN, 3. GREEN, 4. MOON, 5. BAKER, 6. YEAR, 7. ICE, 8. OWL, 9. INK, 10. TUESDAY, 11. HOSPITAL, 12. APPLE.

Did you notice that "Opposite of hot" could be COLD or COOL? Crossword setters love clues with two possible answers. The crossing words decide which one is right.

Crosswords on a Tablet: Mini Crossword in SilverMind

SilverMind is our own app of calm brain exercises for older adults, so we'll be clear about how it works. Its Mini Crossword shows a small grid with big squares; you tap a clue or a square and type the answer on large letter keys. You can check a word whenever you like, and there's no clock and no ads.

Mini Crossword is part of SilverMind Premium. The app also has 8 exercises that stay free for good, including Word Search and Finish the Phrase, which suit people who like words. You can try them in any web browser, with nothing to install, at silvermind.app/play, or on iPhone and iPad from the App Store.

Do Crosswords Keep the Mind Sharp?

It's a popular belief, so it's worth being honest about what's known. A large online study of more than 19,000 adults aged 50 to 93 found that people who did word puzzles more often tended to score better on tests of attention, reasoning and memory. But the study looked at one point in time, so it can't tell whether puzzles sharpen the mind or whether sharp minds simply enjoy puzzles.

The National Institute on Aging says people get better at the tasks they practice, while evidence for wider benefits is limited, and no puzzle has been shown to prevent dementia. So do crosswords because they're a pleasure. If you're concerned about memory changes, talk to a doctor.

Keep Going

• Prefer numbers? Try our beginner's guide to easy sudoku for seniors.
• Like printing puzzles? Our free printable worksheets include large print word searches and word scrambles, with answers.
• More ideas for puzzle lovers: puzzles for seniors and word search for seniors.

Research & References

• An online investigation of the relationship between the frequency of word puzzle use and cognitive function in a large sample of older adults - Brooker et al., International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2019
• Cognitive Health and Older Adults - National Institute on Aging
• AARP Games - AARP