The crossword hydra is a new way to do crosswords.
There's no grid. No "down" or "across".
Here's how it works.
A game against the hydra is divided into rounds.
In each round, you attempt to answer clues from our database.
For each clue, you can see how many letters the answer has, just like in a crossword grid.
In the beginning, no letters are shown for any answer.
As you correctly answer clues, you are rewarded with random letters in other answers.
For example, if you enter a correct 5-letter answer with no letters shown, you are rewarded with 5 letters elsewhere. If you enter a correct 5-letter answer with 2 letters already showing, you are rewarded with 3 letters elsewhere.
This 1-for-1 exchange occurs in normal crosswords, too. Think about it.
But, against the crossword hydra, this exchange is random. There is no set grid restricting how the game plays out.
At the end of a round, a number of new clues are added depending on how many unanswered clues are left from the round that just ended.
For example, if a round ends with 5 clues unanswered, and the growth factor is 2, 5 new clues are added, and the next round will have 10 clues: the 5 clues remaining from the last round plus the 5 new ones.
The hydra is defeated when you finish a round with no clues remaining.
At this point, the only thing to do is start a new challenge!
Maybe you will increase the growth factor to make it more challenging this time!
The growth factor is just one of the settings that can be changed by the user.
In particular, users can turn off trivia clues. These are the clues that test your knowledge of various subjects, some quite obscure, instead of just your verbal skills.
This customizability is one of the most important differences between the crossword hydra and conventional crosswords.
Customization is part of the fun!
...grow additional heads for every head cut off, not for every head remaining?"
Yes, the analogy here to the Lernaean Hydra is not perfect.
I hope this does not prevent you from enjoying the Crossword Hydra.