Crossword puzzles are now being created that not only older people can understand

The trend with so-called analogue bagsA trend in which users give each other tips on how to reduce their screen time is spreading across social media. The bag is packed with pastimes like sketchpads, books and crossword puzzles so you don’t get stuck scrolling on your phone forever.

In Sweden, interest in crossword puzzles has increased since the pandemic and new formats are emerging for younger people.

Greta Åberg has Crossword puzzles since she was little. Last summer there were more than usual. As a freelance stylist in the film, television and advertising industry, she temporarily had fewer orders and felt worse mentally.

– Then I applied for analogue jobs because I wanted to get away from social media. Crossword puzzles became a good way to go.

Why do you think young people started doing crossword puzzles?

– Many people grew up with social media and get “brain rot,” the feeling of being stuck in their head from all the scrolling. I think more and more people feel like they want to give their brain a break after sitting in front of screens at school or at work.

She believes that crossword puzzles serve a special function among analogue leisure activities.

– Reading requires a lot of concentration and is not always suitable. Drawing isn’t for everyone either. A crossword puzzle is more low intensity, you can do a crossword puzzle and then do something else.

But she noticed soon that she didn’t always understand the clues, or “keys” as they are called in the crossword world.

A classic clue in traditional crossword puzzles is “Skanåker,” which refers to the sports shooter Ragnar Skanåker. It’s a name that comes immediately to mind for many older people, but isn’t as obvious to younger people. The pole vaulter Armand Duplantis would be a more well-known sporting reference.

– Then I saw a gap and started investigating if there were crossword puzzles with clues suitable for my generation.

She didn’t find any.

Instead, she started sketching her own crosswords and contacted crossword publisher Keesing, who recently began a collaboration with Finnish graphic designer Ano Miettinen.

– It fit perfectly. They already had a finished concept when I submitted my pitch, so I jumped in and started working with Popkryss, which is licensed by Pop Rice Cooker.

The Pop Crossword is a Finnish pop culture crossword that combines crosswords with modern art and is aimed at a younger audience. The format launched in Finland in 2024 and quickly spread on social media before being sold in stores across the country.

The first edition by Popkryss will be released by Keesing on February 18th. The magazine is produced by an independent publisher and is published every two months. It is aimed at young adults between the ages of 20 and 35. The form is taken from the Finnish edition, but the content and instructions are adapted for a Swedish audience.

– It is a bolder language inspired by social media and popular culture.

In Finland, symbols are used in both children’s and adult crossword puzzles, while in Sweden they appear mainly in children’s crossword puzzles. They wanted to change that.

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For example, one of the double pages shows a Game Boy icon and a stylized representation of a female gender.

Have classic crossword puzzles usually a uniform typography, while Popkryss works with different fonts, sizes and black and white text.

Each issue contains illustrations from a selected designer with the aim of collaborating with local graphic artists.

“It’s a lot of fun to work with a style that is really different from the look of traditional crossword magazines and will hopefully appeal to the younger generation of crossword solvers,” says Mattias Loftén, who is responsible for the layout.

Greta Åberg emphasizes that the work is a craft and that she formulates the instructions together with the team horse Jonas Isaksson. On the computer, she shows how the grid in the tool grows and describes the process as intuitive. It’s a constant puzzle putting the words together.

– We have a word list that we use as a starting point, but there aren’t enough of them, so sometimes you have to think of new words and then we export that template, which then goes into the layout.

Also the crossword puzzle magazine Krux Published in Stockholm bookstores in December last year, the book was inspired by the Finnish format. In their own interpretation, they combine crossword puzzles with illustrations and contemporary references.

– If you follow TV series, watch films and keep up with the cultural debate, you can solve a crux whether you are fifteen or eighty-three, says editor Karin Wahlén, 46.

Marie Birde and Lina Kåberg Stene, who solve the crossword puzzles, lacked a more contemporary alternative.

According to Wahlén, the target audience is broad and she believes that crossword puzzles are no longer tied to a specific age. The benefits span across generations; sometimes she is dependent on the help of her 18-year-old daughter.

The first issue sold out, the next issue is scheduled for May, with the aim of publishing at least two issues per year.

Wahlén does not see the new crossword puzzle formats as competition.

– We were the first, but there is still room for more. I think the crossword puzzle revolution is here. Imagine if we could get a whole new generation to sit together and find solutions. It could be a way forward.

In the long term, she believes it could contribute to language enjoyment.

– Solving crossword puzzles provides a satisfaction that is hard to replace.