Crosstune

Crosstune takes the standard crossword format and swaps text definitions for audio clips. Instead of reading a written clue, you click a speaker icon, listen to a short snippet, and figure out what song, artist, album, or music term it points to before typing the answer into the grid. A new puzzle goes up every day.

What is Crosstune?

The core loop is a normal crossword grid with an audio twist. Each Across and Down clue has a speaker icon next to it. Clicking it plays a short clip, and you identify what it refers to: a song title, an artist name, an album, or a music-related term. You then spell the answer into the connected squares. Because the grid is interlocking, letters you fill in from clues you already solved help you narrow down the ones you are still stuck on, exactly like a normal crossword leans on crossing words.

This is what separates Crosstune from most other music-guessing daily games. Games like Heardle give you a limited number of guesses at a single song. Crosstune instead spreads many audio clues across a full crossword grid, so solving depends on both your ear and your crossword instincts. A clip you cannot place on its own might become obvious once two or three of the crossing letters are already filled in from clues you got right.

Because every clue is audio, the difficulty of a given day depends on how well the puzzle overlaps with the music you know. A snippet from a song you recognize lands instantly, while an unfamiliar one forces you to work around it using the crossing letters. The puzzle is free to play in the browser at crosstune.io, and it refreshes with a new grid each day.

How to play Crosstune

1. Open Crosstune at crosstune.io.
2. Look over the crossword grid and pick a numbered clue to start with.
3. Click the speaker icon on that clue to play its audio snippet.
4. Identify the song, artist, album, or music term the clip points to and type it into the grid.
5. Use letters from clues you have already solved to help narrow down the harder, less familiar clips.
6. Keep working clue by clue until every square in the grid is filled in.

Tips and strategy

• Do not try to solve the clues in order. Jump to whichever clip you recognize instantly and use those letters to help crack the harder ones.
• Play a clip two or three times before guessing. Short snippets can be misleading on a single listen.
• Lean on crossing letters the same way you would in a text-based crossword. A couple of confirmed letters can turn a fuzzy guess into an obvious answer.
• If a clip sounds like an artist you know but you cannot place the specific song, check whether the crossing letters already spell out part of the title.
• Pay attention to word length in the grid before committing to an answer. It can rule out songs or artists whose names do not fit the available squares.
• Come back each day. A new grid is released daily, and the front page shows the current puzzle's date.

Good to know

Category

Music

Resets

Daily, new crossword grid each day

Cost

Free to play

Format

Interlocking crossword grid with audio-snippet clues

Clue types

Song titles, artists, albums, and music terms

Platform

Web browser at crosstune.io

Crosstune FAQ

Is Crosstune free to play?

Yes. Crosstune is free to play in the browser at crosstune.io.

How do you play Crosstune?

Click the speaker icon on any clue in the crossword grid to hear an audio snippet, then type in the song, artist, album, or music term it refers to. Use the crossing letters from clues you have already solved to help fill in the harder ones.

Does Crosstune reset every day?

Yes, a new crossword grid is released each day.

Is Crosstune like Wordle?

Not exactly. Wordle-style music games such as Heardle give you a limited number of guesses at a single song. Crosstune instead spreads many audio clues across a full crossword grid, so you are solving multiple interlocking answers rather than guessing one song.