African American Puzzles | Black Crosswords

Clue: HBCU WWII ACES

Many of them grew up around great-grandparents,
even grandparents, born into slavery.

They steered Mustangs before "Mustang Sally"!

They shot down more than a hundred enemy aircraft in mid-air "dogfights";
destroyed hundreds more on the ground.

Answer: The Tuskegee Airmen

African American Crossword Puzzles and Other Word Games

African American Puzzles: Perspective

African American Puzzles takes you on a journey through the achievements, history, leadership, culture, and contributions of African Americans from 1619 to the present. Each of the free puzzles on this site, from Black crossword puzzles to word searches to criss cross puzzles, is focused on a theme, a central event, individual or institution that can help provide greater perspective on the Black experience.

The puzzles available here (with a few noted exceptions) are unique from those published in African American Crossword Puzzles and Other Word Games. (This is where we must add that the book is available through Amazon, Barnes [&] Noble, etc.) While many other sites will offer free puzzles, they don't provide the context, insight and discovery in each puzzle from African American Puzzles.

CROSSWORDS

Crosswords on AfricanAmericanPuzzles.com are standard size and format. (We also offer mini-puzzles for those who prefer.) For each puzzle, we start with a theme. The largest answers in the puzzle relate to that theme, whether it's a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance or African American astronauts reaching new heights. Filling out the puzzle will mean some general solving as well as non-theme, Black-specific answers.

FREEFORM

As with our standard crosswords, criss-cross puzzles all delve into a single theme. These differ from regular crosswords in that they are only concerned with the topic at hand. They don't have the regular symmetry of crosswords, but they pose a challenge all their own. You might encounter unknown details about the first African American woman to receive a U.S. patent. You could be called on to recognize a stop or two on the Underground Railroad.

WORD SEARCH

Our word search puzzles can be both easy and difficult at the same time. The answers are already provided; extracting those onyx gems can require a bit of patience and keen eyesight. Here, too, you can count on bearing witness to a theme that drives your knowledge and interests. Perhaps about significant milestones in the Civil Rights Movement, or maybe the courage of 18th and 19th Century Blacks, 'making a way out of no way'.

MINI-CROSSWORDS

Smaller crosswords (or mini-crosswords) stick to the same thematic focus as their larger siblings. They offer quick hits at brain-teasing and solving. While they may often have less than half the number of clues and answers as full-sized puzzles, they still can produce an engagement and satisfaction that can be repeated more quickly as the solver moves on from one to another...and another. Online challenges with friends hype the experience.

ELEVATE YOUR GAME!

For those who prefer their puzzles with pencil (or pen!) and paper, or if you're looking to give a great gift: