You come to The Atlantic for the articles; you stay for the addiction that is the “Atlantic Games.” It’s the daily ritual for thousands of problem-solvers looking to flex their logic muscles over coffee. But let’s face it: nothing ruins the vibe like a crossword clue that simply won’t click. Don’t let a single obscure trivia question break your streak. We’ve cracked the codes, solved the ciphers, and filled the brackets, so you don’t have to stress. Here is your daily answer key for the Bracket City, Crossword, Fluxis, and Stacks.

- Today’s The Atlantic Daily Crossword Answer for January 1, 2026
- Today’s The Atlantic Bracket City Answer for January 1, 2026
- Today’s The Atlantic Stacks Answer For January 1, 2026
- Today’s The Atlantic Fluxis Solution for January 1, 2026
Today’s The Atlantic Daily Crossword Answer for January 1, 2026
The Atlantic Crossword is a shapeshifting challenge. It starts the week as a bite-sized 5×5 “mini” on Mondays and grows progressively larger and more diabolical each day, culminating in a large themeless grid on Sundays. That being said, here are the answers for today’s Crossword:
1 Across: Brand whose logo evokes the Bavarian flag – BMW
4 Across: Saturday Night Live network – NBC
7 Across: Word after picnic or rest – AREA
8 Across: Sheepish interjection? – BAA
9 Across: Substance that might be spread before a snowstorm – ROADSALT
11 Across: Shameless character played by Cameron Monaghan – IAN
12 Across: City where lemon-pepper wings were invented: abbr. – ATL
13 Across: Summer job? – ADD
14 Across: One might be buried by a journalist – LEDE
16 Across: They’re rung in on January 1 – NEWYEARS
18 Across: Namesake of the world’s largest tennis venue – ASHE
19 Across: Swiffer product – MOP
20 Across: Ice, maybe – TOP
21 Across: Pick up some tea? – SPY
1 Down: Furthest from a hairline? – BROADEST
2 Down: Reply under some pictures of cuddling otters or of Morticia and Gomez Addams – MEANDWHO
3 Down: Bread roll? – WAD
4 Down: Hawks and Pelicans, e.g. – NBATEAMS
5 Down: Last-minute event? – BALLDROP
6 Down: Pet that might ignore a fancy toy in favor of the box it came in – CAT
7 Down: Wicked: For Good star Grande – ARIANA
10 Down: Result of a great pitch? – SALT
15 Down: Award for Best Upset or Best Play, e.g. – ESPY
17 Down: “Affirmative!” – YEP

Today’s The Atlantic Bracket City Answer for January 1, 2026
Bracket City is a unique trivia-logic hybrid. You are presented with a tournament bracket of 16 items based on a specific category (e.g., “Capital Cities” or “90s Cartoons”). Your goal is to pick the winner of each matchup based on specific criteria given for that day, eventually narrowing it down to one final champion. One wrong pick in the early rounds can ruin your whole bracket. But don’t worry, we have all the answers for you.
- [something before BC or AD] = year
- [🍾 pop-up ➡️ __ ⬅️ nauseam 🤢] = AD
- [so goes the weasel] = pop
- [supporter of the arts?] = easel
- [sweet, fortified wine from 🇵🇹] = port
- [“___, lose, or draw”] = win
- [uncooked 🍣] = raw
- [fashion line? 🪡] = seam
- [a punch one might be a knee-slapper 🤣] = line
- [like a leaf you might turn over today 🍁] = new
- [one of four on a lucky clover] = leaf
- [seat for two 💞] = love
- [word after hot 😬 or window ✈️ or toilet 🚽] = seat
- [popular Bracket City solving spot] = toilet
- [letter count for many bad words 🤬] = four
- [letters after brun 💇🏽♀️ or cass 📼] = ette

Today’s The Atlantic Stacks Answer For January 1, 2026
Think of Stacks as Tetris meets Boggle . Letters fall from the top of the screen, and your job is to select adjacent letters to form words and clear the lines before they reach the top. The longer the word, the higher the score, and the more “junk” blocks you destroy. Below are the highest-scoring words found in today’s seed to help you clear the board efficiently. Here are the answers for today’s Stacks, arranged from top to bottom.
- Word 1: ROCK
- Word 2: LEVEL
- Word 3: FRACAS
- Word 4: SCRABBLE
- Word 5: PONYTAIL

Follow these steps to get these words:
- Start by dropping the word SONATA on the left-most side
- Then drop the word RABBI in the centre
- After that, drop the word RECALL on the right-most side
- After that, drop the word CLOVES in the centre
- Finally, drop the word FRECKLE on the right-most side.
Check out more puzzles :
- NYT Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- Washington Post/LA Times Crossword Hints and Answers
- LA Times Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- Washington Post Mini Meta Crossword
- Boston Globe Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- USA Today Crossword Answers
- LinkedIn Answers
Today’s The Atlantic Fluxis Solution for January 1, 2026
Fluxis is a game of vocabulary flow. The objective is to build a chain of words where each subsequent word must start with a specific letter from the previous word, usually the last letter or a highlighted “flux” letter. Points are awarded based on the rarity of the letters used. It requires a deep vocabulary and the ability to think several steps ahead to avoid getting stuck with a letter like ‘X’ or ‘Q’.
Today’s base word is: PRIMARY
- Category 1 : No repeated letters : ARYL
- Category 2: Alternating vowel-consonant : LA
- Category 3: All consonants different : ABAMP

That’s it, folks, for today’s Atlantic Games answers. Do come back tomorrow for a fresh set of solutions and another challenge for your brain.