Five-Minute Word and Number Puzzles

Not every break is long enough for a quiz. Short puzzles fill the gap, alone or with a colleague.

Word puzzles

• A crossword gives clues whose answers fill a grid of intersecting words. Mini crosswords are made for short breaks.
• An anagram rearranges the letters of a word or phrase into another. Try making as many words as possible from one long word in two minutes.

Number and logic puzzles

Sudoku is a logic puzzle where the player fills a grid with digits so each row, column and box contains each digit once. It needs no arithmetic, only reasoning, which makes it a calm break activity.

Paper or phone

A printed puzzle at lunch is a genuine screen break. A phone puzzle is convenient on the move. Either works; what matters is stopping when the break ends.

Make it social

• Leave a shared crossword in the kitchen for anyone to add to.
• Race a colleague on the same puzzle.
• Swap home-made anagrams of each other's team names.

Last checked 2026-10-22