CRSWRD is designed first and foremost as a desktop crossword experience. Larger screens provide the visual stability and interaction clarity that crosswords require.
- Fully supported
- Intended and tested experience
- Keyboard, focus, and layout behavior are stable
- Supported on modern browsers
- Best experience on larger tablets
- On-screen keyboard access is intentionally explicit
- Some platform-specific behavior (especially on Android Chromium) is unavoidable but playable
- Not an officially supported target
- Basic gameplay may work
- Typing focus and interaction may feel constrained or inconsistent
- No guarantees are made for small-screen usability
Crossword solving relies on:
- Persistent visual context
- Precise focus ownership
- Predictable typing feedback
On phones, these requirements conflict with:
- Limited screen real estate
- Touch scrolling vs tap ambiguity
- Platform keyboard rules, especially on Android Chromium browsers
In particular:
- Mobile browsers often require a visible, focused input to summon the on-screen keyboard
- Hidden or proxy inputs are unreliable by design
- Scrolling and tapping can unintentionally steal focus from the grid
These are platform constraints, not implementation bugs.
CRSWRD intentionally prioritizes:
- Desktop stability
- Tablet playability
- Readable, maintainable code
Rather than adding fragile workarounds or degrading the tablet and desktop experience, phone support is treated as best-effort.
This decision is intentional and documented.
Phone-first support would require:
- A different interaction model
- Significant layout changes
- Separate UX rules from desktop and tablet
This is outside the scope of the current project version.