The demise of the Independent crossword
I’m not sure if there has been an official notice yet from The Independent but it appears that they will be discontinuing their cryptic crossword with effect from November 1st.
There is more information in this post: https://fifteensquared.net/2026/09/21/independent-cryptic-crossword-the-future/, which has already attracted 158 comments. Comments are now closed on that post but can be continued below.
Since I happen to have just seen this post go up, it seems sensible to copy eimi’s comment from that thread as the first one here, where it might get more notice. With regard to the possibility of setting up a replacement subscription service, he said:
“The managing editor’s reply seems to offer little hope, so it might be as well to start preparing the lifeboats
I’ve set up an email account merely to gauge interest – no obligation to subscribe if and when such a service is set up having been deemed viable
To register an interest please email trulyindependentcrosswords@gmail.com with the subject line truly
Please don’t include any messages as I won’t be replying individually at this stage”
Thanks to those who have sent emails so far – I can see the comments, but won’t be replying individually at the moment
Currently at about 75, so we will need to get the message out beyond the fifteensquared community to reach viable numbers – hopefully we can reach some of those 28,000 people so far who have watched Simon Anthony’s solve of Sunday’s Filbert puzzle on You Tube
Indeed. I blogged the Filbert on Sunday and there have been just over 500 views. Which is a lot less than 28,000.
Of interest perhaps – The Independent has just announced pre-tax profits up 9% to £3.5m.
https://pressgazette.co.uk/media_business/independent-doubles-revenue-in-six-years-to-reach-55m/
Having contacted the Independent to ask them not to stop publishing the daily cryptic crossword I got the following response which seems to contradict what others are hearing and might mean they’ve changed their plans?
Dear Bill,
Thank you so much for reaching out, and most of all, thank you for being a dedicated reader of The Independent since our very first broadsheet days. Loyalty like yours is incredibly rare and deeply appreciated.
Please rest assured that the daily cryptic crossword is currently still up. It remains a staple of our daily offering. We are currently rolling out important updates to improve our application, which has unfortunately caused some temporary technical disruptions.
We completely understand how frustrating this can be, and we truly appreciate your patience while we work through these upgrades.
We hope you continue to enjoy the puzzles!
Warm regards,
Nosipho
A disturbing decision by the Indy.
I don’t normally do the Indy puzzle, but I’m aware of many of the setters – those who also set for the Graun, where I get my daily fix.
I wonder if a demonstration of the crossword community’s commitment to the puzzle might be worth trying, akin to a 60’s love-in. Call it a solve-in? I would be prepared to do the puzzle on a specific day(s) to support this. Not sure if the Indy powers-that-be would be swayed at all by such a gesture, but that’s my two-cents worth.
Hope the decision is overturned. Myopic, to say the least.
Sorry, lazy of me not to look myself, but has this been shared on some of the other blogs? Guardian / FT etc here on 225?
Just wondering whether it may be the sort of thing that regular visitors need to be fed up of hearing about it for it to gain traction elsewhere?