One crossword-solver’s enthusiasm inspired an entire TikTok subculture

Crossword puzzles are so much fun … until they’re not. Crossword puzzles are fun for casual fans. However, most people will get stuck when trying to solve a crossword. But that’s not because the puzzler lacks the necessary knowledge or vocabulary to solve it; it’s simply because they don’t know all the rules. And one TikTok creator has made it her mission to make crosswords more accessible — and more fun.

Since February, Katie Grogg has been demystifying New York Times crosswords by sharing tips and tricks for solving them on her TikTok account, @crosswordsandcoffee. They cover everything from the basics (the tense and the answer must match), to common clue terms, and phrases (a word with a question mark in the end of a clue indicates wordplay). You will also find more difficult crossword strategies, such as detailed walks through how to solve themed puzzles. Each one has its own rules and guidelines that are different from those in the New York Times.

Grogg has always been a fan of crossword puzzles, but she didn’t start consistently doing them until six or so years ago. Now, “they’re just a part of my daily routine,” the 26-year-old told Polygon over Zoom. Grogg is a singer, and she often takes cruises as a job. During the pandemic Grogg had more time to spend her free time, which was good for her passion for crosswords. She got her first month of complete puzzles in December 2020. That’s why when Grogg discovered a lack of instructional crossword content on TikTok, she decided, “Well, I’ll be the one to do it, then.”

When she began making TikToks, Grogg didn’t expect to get more than 5,000 followers. In the six months that @coffeeandcrosswords was launched, Grogg has seen her account grow to more than 161,000 followers and continue to attract thousands of new followers every week. The CrosswordTok hashtag, which has more than 17 million views, has become nearly synonymous with Grogg’s account, though more and more creators are steadily adding their own crossword content to the mix. Grogg, CrosswordTok and her name have become so prominent in the crossword community offline that they were featured as clues in this year’s USA Today puzzle. Grogg has the original puzzle in her living room.

The cornerstone of CrosswordTok’s appeal, at least in Grogg’s corner of the internet, is that it’s designed for everyone regardless of their knowledge or experience level. It’s difficult to find one of Grogg’s TikToks that doesn’t feature at least one user in the comments sharing how she’s inspired them to take up solving crosswords or helped them appreciate crosswords in a new way — and Grogg is often there, sharing words of encouragement right back. “I just wanted to thank Katie of @crosswordsandcoffee because look at this,” user @tamaroulette said in a TikTok, showing off a full month of completed New York Times crosswords on the screen behind her. “YOU ARE A STAR!!!” Grogg replied in duet, absolutely beaming with pride.

“Being able to break down clues and debunk the elusiveness or whatever of crosswords has been really exciting,” Grogg said, over Zoom. “So often when […] I’m doing them around other people, they’ll be like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t do crosswords. I’m not smart enough.’ […] And I’m just like, that is so not true. I couldn’t do them either when I started, and then you just learn the rules.”

Grogg is also proud of the difficulties involved in problem solving and the skills required to create crosswords. This gives Grogg a sense of pride, which she hopes will inspire others. “It’s honestly been a minute since a puzzle has made me smile this hard,” Grogg said in a TikTok about a compass-themed puzzle from April 2016, posted in response to a commenter’s question. As Grogg begins walking through the trick to solving the crossword in the video — the direction that each answer is written in is determined by its placement in relationship to the central compass square — it’s hard not to get caught up in her glee. “My heart just skipped a beat!” she exclaims at one point.

Grogg has had the opportunity to connect with her viewers through Twitch and Live TikTok streaming, which she started in the summer. These streams allow Grogg to interact directly with viewers. she does a New York Times crossword start to finish, and viewers in the chat suggest answers, theorize about the puzzle’s theme, explain the definitions of obscure answers, and just hype each other up. There are in-jokes, playful ribbing, and even a drinking game, where participants take a drink whenever there’s a French clue or a common answer, like “Oreo,” “era,” or “Alan Alda.” It’s impossible to ignore the camaraderie and warmth between Katie and the participants, many of whom she’s on a first-name basis with. And the more Grogg builds intimate connections within the CrosswordTok community, the more it grows: A record 6,000 people tuned into Grogg’s TikTok livestream on Oct. 28.

“It is the most wholesome, encouraging, positive corner of our little internet that I feel so lucky to be a part of,” Grogg said. “And [the Twitch viewers]These people are also my closest friends. I really feel so close to those people, because we hang out three times a week.” Plus, Grogg added, “I love solving with other people because I don’t know a lot of answers.”

That said, any online content will draw negative feedback eventually. Grogg has had very few instances of this happening. “I had one video where I messed up — like, I said something was plural instead of the right tense. And someone was like, ‘Girl, you’re crazy,’ or whatever. For a second, I was like, ‘Oh my God, they’ll never trust me again.’ And then it was fine. Like, it literally didn’t matter.”

The only time the smile ever slips from Grogg’s face during our Zoom call is when she’s discussing her upcoming hiatus from Twitch. In a few weeks, Grogg is setting out for the Caribbean on a Disney cruise where she’ll perform Frozen’s “Let It Go.” Though she plans to continue making TikToks, the poor Wi-Fi on the cruise means she’ll have to step away from Twitch until she’s back on land.

Grogg was eager to return to cruise work almost two years after the pandemic. But now that the CrosswordTok community has become such a large part of her life, returning to work has become a bittersweet experience, and she’s attempting to parse it out in real time. Reconciling her pre-pandemic life with this new life — and hopefully this new parallel career she’s carved out for herself within CrosswordTok — is something Grogg is only starting to figure out. There’s also the concern of burnout, something that’s become increasingly common with TikTok creators.

“I went in with some ground rules for myself,” Grogg said. “And one of those was, if this starts to make me not want to do my crosswords in the morning, I’m done. This is too much a part of my joy of life that it’s not worth it. This hasn’t been the case. It’s made me more excited.”

Regardless of how long Grogg continues to make crossword content, she’s comforted by the belief that CrosswordTok will live on. During a recent peek into the CrosswordTok Discord that her Twitch viewers created, Grogg learned they were putting together their own solving group during Grogg’s livestreaming hiatus.

“It’s so sweet. […] And that’s what I want,” Grogg said. “That makes me feel like there really is a community.”