Guardian mini crossword
The Guardian mini is free, needs no account, and keeps its whole series online. A new one appears at midnight in the UK.
| Field | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Grid | 5 across and 5 down | 1 source · puzzle 322 |
| Access | Free, no registration | 1 publisher · series and puzzles FAQ |
| Archive | Full series, including No. 322 | 1 publisher · series archive |
| Release | 00:00 GMT on the 4 Nov 2026 puzzle | 1 source · dated puzzle page |
| Setter example | Brassica on No. 322 | 1 source · that puzzle page |
| App | Guardian app includes puzzles | 1 source · puzzles FAQ context |
| Price | Free | 1 publisher · puzzles FAQ |
A long free shelf
The Guardian’s puzzle note says the puzzles are free and do not ask you to register, and that the puzzle hub is not running ads the way a news article might. The mini series page is a real archive, not a seven-day teaser. When this page was checked, the series had reached mini No. 322. That number will move. I am recording 322 as the count on 4 November 2026, not as a permanent total.
Puzzle 322 shows the usual mini shape for them: five across and five down, with a setter’s name on the puzzle. That day’s setter was Brassica. Other days have other setters. I am not promoting Brassica to “the” Guardian mini editor.
One clock, two ways of writing it
The 4 November puzzle is timestamped 00:00 GMT. That is midnight in the UK and 19:00 Eastern Standard Time on the previous evening. Daylight-saving changes can alter the difference between UK and US clocks, especially in the weeks when one country has changed clocks and the other has not. Use the UK date and the timestamp on the individual puzzle rather than treating a US conversion as a permanent release rule.
Compared with the Times, the interesting difference is the door, not the square count. The Times mini wants a subscription. The Guardian mini, on the pages above, does not. Compared with our archive, theirs is already hundreds of puzzles long. Ours starts on 22 October 2026 and is original. If you want their setters, use their series. If you want a grid that is not theirs, use ours.
Questions
Do I need a Guardian subscription?
The puzzles FAQ says the puzzles are free and do not require registration.
What time is the new mini?
The puzzle dated 4 November 2026 was published at 00:00 GMT, midnight in the UK. Its Eastern conversion was 7 p.m. the previous day.
Can I play old ones?
Yes. The series page is the archive. No. 322 was up when we checked on 4 November 2026.
Sources
Public-source check: 2026-11-04. Pages from the same publisher count as one source.