Why diagonal swipes changed Daily Squares
August 18, 2026
For a long time Daily Squares only let you trace words horizontally and vertically. It kept the code simple, but it also made every grid feel the same: scan the rows, scan the columns, done.
Opening all eight directions changed the texture of the puzzle. Diagonals cross other words, so letters get reused between answers and the board becomes denser without becoming unreadable.
It also matches what your hand wants to do. On a phone, a swipe is rarely a perfect straight line — the moment diagonals are legal, tracing a word feels like drawing rather than aiming.
If you have not played since the change, start with the diagonals. You will usually find two or three words before you have looked at a single row.