Contact

Decryptic is a one-person project, written and edited by Inthrall. There is no support desk and no contact form: mail goes straight to me, and I read all of it.

A clue that doesn't work

This is the one I most want to hear about. If a clue's wordplay doesn't build its answer, if the definition isn't really a definition, if the enumeration is wrong, or if some other word fits the clue just as well, send it to badclues@decryptic.app.

The puzzle number and the clue number are plenty. A sentence on what you think is wrong helps, but don't feel you have to make the case: if you stared at a clue and it didn't come apart cleanly, that is worth reporting whether or not you can say why.

Confirmed problems are fixed at the source, and the solution page for that puzzle is regenerated with the corrected clue rather than left as it was. The corrections policy sets out what that covers.

Everything else

Bugs, suggestions, a grid that rendered oddly on your phone, a word list you think should or shouldn't be in the pool, or a question about how any of it works: hello@decryptic.app.

For a bug it saves a round trip if you can say which browser and device you were on, and what you were doing when it happened. Whether the puzzle had loaded, and whether reloading fixed it, are usually the two facts that matter most.

Problems with the Android app, purchases or the archive unlock go to the same address. Include the order number from your Google Play receipt if it's about a purchase, and please don't send your payment details, which I have no way to see and no use for.

How long it takes

This is a hobby, not a business, so there is no service promise attached. In practice a bad clue gets looked at within a day or two, because the fix is usually small and the puzzle queue gives me room to make it. Anything larger takes as long as it takes, and I would rather tell you that than quote you a turnaround I can't keep.

If you don't hear back, it's worth sending again. Mail does occasionally get lost, and a nudge is welcome rather than a nuisance.

What happens to your email

Your message and address are used to answer you and, where you've reported a clue, to fix it. They aren't added to a mailing list, because there isn't one, and they aren't passed to anyone else. The privacy policy covers what the site itself collects, which is less than you might expect.

Before you write

Two things answer most questions faster than I can. If a clue beat you and you want to know how it worked, the solutions archive explains every past puzzle clue by clue, naming the actual letters each answer is built from. If it's the device you're stuck on rather than the clue, types of cryptic clue works through all of them with examples.

And if you just want to solve something: today's crossword is free.