Why we built it
Teachers reviewing a unit, parents planning a rainy afternoon and friends preparing a wedding or a birthday all have the same thing in common: they already know which words they want. What they need is a clean layout that prints well, in their own language, without an account, a trial or a pile of settings.
Some crossword makers only handle the English alphabet, hide printing behind a sign-up, or try to write the clues for you. We wanted one that takes your words exactly as you write them, in any script, and turns them into a sheet you can hand out a few minutes later.
How the crossword generator works
Everything happens in your browser. A background worker places the longest word first, then tries every position where another word can cross a letter already in the grid, following the rules of a crossword: crossing letters must match and words must not touch side by side. It keeps the most compact arrangement with the most crossings it finds.
Each word is split into the characters a reader sees, so an accented letter, a Korean syllable block or a Japanese kana takes exactly one square. When you edit a word, the generator first tries to fit the change into the grid you already have, so the puzzle does not jump around while you type; another layout is one click away when you want it.
The printed pages, the PDF and the PNG images are drawn in your browser too: the puzzle first, then the answer key on a page of its own, with squares that never get too small to write in.
What you can rely on
The crossword maker is free, with no account and no limit on the number of puzzles. The words and clues you type are not uploaded: they stay in your browser, where your current puzzle is kept as a draft so you can come back to it. The privacy policy lists exactly what is stored and where.
We will not claim to do what the tool does not do. It does not write clues or pick words for you, and it makes free-form crosswords, where the words cross and the space around them stays blank, not the dense black-and-white grids of a newspaper.
Get in touch
Found a list that will not lay out, a printout that looks wrong, or an idea for the next kind of puzzle? Use the contact page to let us know. Suggestions from people who use the site help decide what comes next.