Crack The Atlantic Games Today: Every Answer for December 26, 2025
Friday’s final stretch calls for a quick brain boost—power through with The Atlantic Games, a sharp mix of fast, varied puzzles to reset your mind and carry you into the weekend. Ready to play? Dive in, and grab a hint or solution if you get stuck.
Friday brain break, anyone? If you are coasting into the weekend and want a quick reset, here are today’s solutions for The Atlantic Games. It’s December 26, 2025, and yes, the puzzles brought some curveballs (one answer in the crossword will haunt me: HOTFROSTY). Let’s go.
Fluxis
Base word: ASSOCIATE.
The chain goes like this, connecting each entry to the next and looping back to the base:
- First up, a word with exactly two vowels: ATE (lifted clean out of ASSOCIATE).
- Next, a word with an odd number of letters: ATE still fits, so it holds.
- Then, a word with exactly one 'M': TERATOMA. That builds by borrowing TE from ATE and looping back to the A in ASSOCIATE to close the circuit.
Yes, it’s a little nerdy in how it threads letters between steps, but if you follow the bridge from TE to A, it clicks.
The Atlantic Crossword (9x9)
Today’s grid isn’t massive, but it’s feisty. Full solution below.
Across
1. Tampon substitute = PAD
4. Place that might push snail-mucin facials = SPA
7. Put to use = USE
8. Blank in 'Win a Date With __ Hamilton' = TAD
9. "Checks out" = THATSCANS
13. Log, as in a personal one = DIARY
14. 2024 rom-com where a snowman turns into a sexy guy = HOTFROSTY
18. Dismissive "Whatever!" = ASIFICARE
19. What shows up under some feathers = TAR
20. "_ is me!" = WOE
21. Verb that sounds like an interjection = EKE
22. Like the name Sue, if you’re an attorney = APT
23. 'Awesome' in the 1980s = RAD
24. The word that upgrades a girlfriend to a fiancee = YES
Down
1. Reductress headline: "Woman Blocks Off Afternoon to _ Duvet Cover Back On" = PUT
2. What eruptions leave behind, sometimes = ASH
3. Completely spent = DEADTIRED
4. Maintains distance, maybe = STAYSAWAY
5. Lives on the range = PAN
6. Spots on TV? = ADS
10. Little spat = TIFF
11. That’s a wrap! = SARI
12. Shoe likely to sport Jibbitz charms = CROC
14. Opposite of a stan = HATER
15. First Asian world No. 1 in singles = OSAKA
16. Will-they-won’t-they, for one = TROPE
17. 'Chucks' = YEETS
Bracket City
This one is a tidy chain where each answer nudges you to the next. Here’s how it threads:
Walmart competitor = TARGET, which leads to a con’s target = MARK, then to a Kryptonite-obsessed Luthor = LEX. From there it jumps to 'Alexander the ...' and completes the phrase '... minds think alike' to land on GREAT. Great White creature = SHARK, which gets you to billionaire Mark who is a Shark = CUBAN. Acid initials = LSD, a journey on LSD = TRIP, a Cuban dance syllable tripled = CHA. City served by Charles de Gaulle = PARIS. The Great __ Reef = BARRIER. Ernst who gave us the sound barrier’s namesake = MACH. Word after head/stomach/heart = ACHE. The clue in German ('die Sprache, in der dieser Hinweis verfasst ist') points to GERMAN. Partner to 'googoo' for a baby = GAGA. And finally: Stefani Germanotta, Lady Gaga = AKA.
Stacks
End result, bottom to top: BREADBOX, CRONIES, OCTAVE, OUSTS, ACHE.
How to build it:
- Drop RADIO down the center so the R lands directly on top of an E.
- Drop CONVEX as far right as the grid will allow.
- Drop ROTATES also as far right as possible.
- Drop CAUSES all the way left.
- Finally, dump BOTCH into the remaining gaps to lock everything into place.
That’s the lot for today. If any of these made you mutter 'as if I care' under your breath (same), at least the weekend is here. New puzzles tomorrow.