Question 1

Getting Started with Puzzle Maker Pro - Cross Sum

Accepted Answer

Getting Started with Puzzle Maker Pro - Cross Sum

For Cross Sum it's not just important to understand the software, but you also need to understand the puzzles themselves:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/HiKrCpIHM7/0-20210330105932-1-01-J-P.png (0-20210330105932-1-01-J-P.png)

The rules:

Place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares, to solve these simple equations
Calculate the steps from left to right, the first line would be (x + y) divided by z = 4, and top to bottom.
The outcome has to be zero or greater
Intermediate results have to be zero or greater
The outcome has to be an whole number, not a fraction.

The solution for this puzzle would be:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/F235Y4qjLd/0-20210330105932-1-01-J-S.png (0-20210330105932-1-01-J-S.png)

Creating Cross Sum puzzles with Puzzle Maker Pro

If this is the first time you're using Puzzle Maker Pro, there's an introduction of the main options here:

Getting Started with Puzzle Maker Pro

Information about the generic tabs in puzzle Maker Pro (Output Settings, Instant Puzzle Books and Tools) can be found here:

Puzzle Maker Pro - Tutorial Overview

When you start the Cross Sum module in Puzzle Maker Pro, you'll see a view like this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/l31ILCpmjh/001%20Cross%20Sum%20Overview.jpg (001 Cross Sum Overview.jpg)

Cross Sum Standard

For standard Cross Sum puzzles, the rules are fixed. You can customize your puzzles by changing fonts, colors, adjusting the line width, etc.

Just click "Preview" when you make changes, to see a new puzzle in your customized style.

Cross Sum Variations

If you purchased the Cross Sum Variations module, you can change the rules for Cross Sum puzzles. Please be aware that you need to state clearly what the rules for a puzzle are, otherwise you'll confuse your customers.

Select the "Variations" tab, and select "Custom" to enable the different options.

Some of these options will allow you to create easier puzzles that can be used for teaching math.

You can combine the different options, but we'll show them one by one.

Select Operations

First of all, you can select with operations / operators are allowed. There are different options, such as only plus and minus.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/rUhHfJTKkg/010%20Cross%20Sum%20variations%20-%20Only%20Plus%20Minus.jpg (010 Cross Sum variations - Only Plus Minus.jpg)

Even though fewer operations are allowed, it doesn't necessarily mean that the puzzles are easier.

Negative Outcomes

Negative Outcomes, including intermediate steps, can be enabled. You'll get results like this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/NxMeQ8TisP/011%20Cross%20Sum%20variations%20-%20Negative%20Allowed.jpg (011 Cross Sum variations - Negative Allowed.jpg)

Fraction Outcomes

Fraction Outcomes will be displayed as 3/4, instead of 0.75. These will be simplified as well, e.g. 12/16 will become 3/4.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/T8D8y1I338/012%20Cross%20Sum%20variations%20-%20Fractions%20Allowed.jpg (012 Cross Sum variations - Fractions Allowed.jpg)

Regular Math

As stated in the first section, Cross Sum puzzles are calculated from left to right. This may feel unnatural, and you can change the math rules, by selecting "Regular Math". This will enable the order of operations you've learned in school with PEMDAS (or similar acronyms).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/DArxscd5Sj/013%20Cross%20Sum%20variations%20-%20Regular%20Math.jpg (013 Cross Sum variations - Regular Math.jpg)

Normally, the first line would be solved as (4 + 2) x 8, or 6 x 8 = 48. However, with the regular math option, it will be processed as 4 + (2 x 8) = 4 + (16) = 20.

Custom Numbers

Last but not least, you can enter custom numbers. There are two options to add a consecutive range, either select 11-19, or select "Base + 1 to 9" and enter a number. For example entering 25 would give you the numbers 26 to 34.

In the example we've used custom numbers:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/6cpRGNWeLY/014%20Cross%20Sum%20variations%20-%20Numbers%2020.jpg (014 Cross Sum variations - Numbers 20.jpg)

Another option is to type the numbers, separated by spaces or commas. You can be creative here, but be careful to explain your custom rules to your customers!

Question 2

Can you create puzzles with numbers using Puzzle Maker Pro - Word Search

Accepted Answer

This tutorial shows you how you can easily create word search puzzles with numbers, using Puzzle Maker Pro - Word Search.

The steps in this tutorial apply to all versions of Word Search.

Step 1 - Select a file with numbers or paste the list of numbers

First of all, you need a list of numbers instead of words. The process is the same as for word search puzzles:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/uI92RPKg8h/Word%20Search%20with%20Numbers.jpg (Word Search with Numbers)

As you can see, the numbers are in the puzzle, but the "filler", or empty squares are still using letters. You can easily fix that.

Step 2 - Enter the numbers for the empty squares

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/eNftVPmd6S/Word%20Search%20with%20Numbers%202.jpg (Word Search with Numbers 2)

Find the 'Hidden Word' section on the Solution tab, make sure 'Random Characters' is selected, and enter all the numbers you want as filler in the text field. Click 'New Preview' again to verify that the result is what you want it to be.

Right now the puzzle is correct, but there's one more step to make sure the PDF or PPT output looks good too:

Step 3 - Set the sort order

By default, words will be sorted in alphabetical (dictionary) order. You can do that for numbers too, but especially if you use numbers of different lengths, like 11 and 90210, you may want to use the numerical sort order. You can find this on the 'Style' tab, below the color settings.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/89vI8kQz01/Word%20Search%20-%20Number%20puzzles%203.png (Word Search - Number puzzles 3.png)

Creating Puzzles

You always start off with a blank screen. If you've activated your software (Instructions for this appear are sent in an email automatically upon purchase), you can start making your own puzzles.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/DiiQYZeann/Nonogram%20starting%20screen.jpg (Nonogram starting screen)

The starting screen

You can select a file with the "Select File" button, and a preview of the puzzle/solution will be shown in the panel at the right. The original image is shown at the left. (The actual puzzle isn't shown, since this resembles the solution, but without the black squares.)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/dsUqnwedEQ/Nonogram%20Puzzle%20selected.jpg (Nonogram Puzzle selected)

We have selected a picture of a puppy

There are several ways to further customise and finetune the puzzle:

Select the Puzzle Format. There are further options for Small or Large, that will impact the final size of the puzzle.
You can choose where the hints are shown. Top/Left is automatically selected, if you deselect this the hints will go bottom/right.
You can add a separator. This will appear between the numbers on the left, to make the guide easier to read.
You can choose to show zeroes. If you uncheck this box, the rows without any solution will not have any numbers.
Remove Padding. This will remove all empty rows, and redraw the puzzle. If you have a puzzle with a large amount of white space on the edges, this could make more detail show up in the puzzle. However, this option can also change the amount of rows and columns that appear in the puzzle. For further information on how to avoid this, you can look up our Advanced Nonogram Editing tutorial.

We have used several of these options, which leaves us with this puzzle for now.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/uLKz4TkItx/Nonogram%20Basic%20result.jpg (Nonogram Basic result)

For further tutorials, you can check out:

Question 4

How to create a sudoku with custom images

Accepted Answer

This quick tutorial shows you how you can use custom images for your Sudoku puzzles. You will need Sudoku 9x9 creative, or the equivalent for the size of puzzle you are working with.

Adding your custom images

It's actually very easy to add your own images. You do need to make sure you have the appropriate amount of images ready, but adding them is not too difficult.

First, go to the Symbol Options tab in the sudoku.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/1Owe7lqUOe/Sudoku%20custom%20images.jpg (Sudoku custom images)

Next, you'll see the Symbol Settings option. You can change between 1-9, A-I, Roman Numerals I-IX, Symbols, or Hexadecimal.

For what we're going to do today, select the Symbols option. Immediately you'll see 9 standard images appear, looking like the side of dice. These are the standard images that come with the software.

If you want your own images here, click on the magnifying glass just below the pictures, and a popup screen will appear.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/hbmpCvVQr7/Sudoku%20Select%20Images.jpg (Sudoku Select Images)

If you click on one of the white squares, windows explorer will open a new window, and you can search for the folder where you keep the images you want to use. Remember that because it's a sudoku, simplistic images work better. You also don't want images that look too similar, as that will cause confusion. You can either manually select each picture by clicking on the next square and selecting a singular image, or you can select multiple images at once.

Now if you click next preview, the sudoku will generate with the images you have selected. Beware that if you have "Show Solution" on, there is no difference between the hints and the solution to show which squares are part of the solution and which ones aren't.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/3ymHfDPyI2/Sudoku%20with%20custom%20images.jpg (Sudoku with custom images)

This same technique will work for several other modules as well.

Solving image sudokus

To solve a sduoku, you need to write the correct symbols in the empty squares. For regular (number) or letter sudokus that's not too hard. For harder sudokus, level 5 and up, it's also common to pencil in the optional values for each square. E.g. if you know that a square can contain only the 3, 5 and 6, you can write these in the square, but very small, as a reminder when solving other squares. (This is the only way to find hidden doubles or triples).

There are two ways to create image sudokus that are still fun to solve:

Choose symbols that are easy to draw / copy, just like the symbols in the example in the previous paragraph. Simple line art or icon style graphics, or images with a single dominant color (e.g. the person with the green hat). Even then, image sudokus with difficulty levels 6 and 7 will be really hard to solve;
Use the image sudokus as attractive magnets on social media. It's best to use the easier variations, circle one of the squares, and add a text like "which color hat has the person in this square?".

Creating a custom background

Another way to add images to your sudoku puzzle is to add a singular image to the background. This could be done as a watermark, or if you have a themed puzzle book, it could be nice to have the theme shine through in the puzzle.

For this option, we go to Output Settings all the way at the top.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/8W4RZxWpFi/Background%20image%20sudoku.jpg (Background image sudoku)

Next, select "Background Images".

Turn on the "Use Background Image(s)" checkbox, and select one or more files. Then, generate the next preview, and you'll see the image you used.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ZtF66zH7rO/background%20image%20sudoku%20done.jpg (background image sudoku done)

We've also set the transparency on the background image to around 60-70%, because otherwise the black lines will make the numbers of the puzzle invisible.

How to Enable or Disable Diagonals in your word search puzzle

By default there will be no diagonals used in your word search puzzle. Words will only be placed horizontally or vertically. To enable Diagonals, make sure the “Diagonal” checkbox on the “Puzzle” tab is checked:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/K59WHvcjy9/Adding%20diagonals%20in%20word%20search.jpg (Adding diagonals in word search)

Limiting the number of Diagonals in your Word Search Puzzle

If you look at the advanced tab, you see options to finetune the amount of diagonals that appears in a puzzle. Since the direction of each word is determined randomly, this maximum number may not be reached for each puzzle.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/8g0vdGLT24/Set%20amount%20of%20diagonals%20word%20search.jpg (Set amount of diagonals word search)

How to Use only Kid's Diagonals in your Word Search Puzzle

To create word search puzzles that are easier to solve, for example for Kids’ activity books, you can select “Kid’s Diagonal”. This will only enable diagonals that go from top left to bottom right, the normal reading direction.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/3CSg1QUiIR/Kids%20diagonals%20wordsearch.jpg (Kids diagonals wordsearch)

In this example, the “Kid’s Diagonal” limits the direction, and “Limit Diagonals” limits the number of diagonals in your puzzle.

Creating a text nonogram

Welcome to the tutorial on how to create Nonograms with letters or words. This is possible with Puzzle Maker Nonogram Text.

You can use these techniques with Nonogram Complete, or Nonogram Text.

Creating a nonogram with text in it is rather easy, if you have this software. First, select the "text" button at the bottom of the program.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/4YY9vIUlAc/puzzle%20maker%20nonogram%20text%20option.jpg (puzzle maker nonogram text option)

The red square shows the Text button

If you click on this button, a screen will pop up. This screen has multiple options.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/vw1ZJpF2pY/Puzzle%20maker%20nonogram%20text%20options.jpg (Puzzle maker nonogram text options (1).jpg)

This is the standard screen you see if you're using Nonogram complete. Text will have a slightly different interface, but the same options should still be there.

the preview window. Here you can see what the font will look like with your current text.
the "your text" field. This is where you type the text you want in your puzzle. When you boot the software up, the standard word it says is LOVE.
all the fonts you can select. Most of these come pre-installed with Windows. The standard option is Arial. We have a separate tutorial on fonts, and if you're allowed to use a font in your puzzle book.
the font browser. If you have a custom font and you don't see it in the list, click here to tell the program where the information for this font is, so you can use it.

You can look through the fonts you have installed, and select one that you like. Here's the settings we've used.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/n2EKn5S0eo/Puzzle%20maker%20nonogram%20text%20selected.jpg (Puzzle maker nonogram text selected)

Bold fonts work better than thinner and more graceful fonts, because of how Puzzle Maker Nonogram generates puzzles.

The program automatically removes all padding as well, so the letters show up more clearly.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/eSMtsIwV8X/Puzzle%20maker%20nonogram%20text%20hello%20there.jpg (Puzzle maker nonogram text hello there)

You can turn this off, but there is a chance it'll become text in a large blank square. You can also fine-tune the puzzle a bit more manually. For information on how to do that, check out our tutorial on how to use the advanced and edit tabs for Puzzle Maker Nonogram

Frequent errors

There are a few things that can go wrong with creating nonograms from fonts.

No text appears, or very incomplete text appears

There are two possible causes for it. First, the Nonogram size you chose is just too small. Try out a different puzzle format. Below you see what happens if we make the puzzle in 20x20 instead of 40x40. There simply isn't enough space for all the letters to show up properly.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/7g9uDIC2kg/Hello%20there%2020x20%20nonogram%20puzzle%20maker.jpg (Hello there 20x20 nonogram puzzle maker)

The other option is that the font you chose is simply too thin. The same solution can be used here. Try a different size, and that should fix it most of the times. Sometimes it's also possible that the font is simply too thin to be picked up properly by the nonogram algorithm, in which case choosing a different font is the best solution. You can see that below.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/1N9C3SIKzP/hello%20there%2090x90%20font%20doesnt%20work%20nonogram.jpg (hello there 90x90 font doesnt work nonogram)

The font selected here simply doesn't work well because the lines are too thin. Even at 90x90 it barely works.

I can't find the font I want to use

For this we recommend you try manually adding the font through the font browser, as described above. Again, not all fonts will work equally well with the program, for reasons described above.

I want a nonogram with a non-western script

This is possible! You have to make sure the language is installed on your computer for non-western scripts. You can do this by going to the Language options in your computer, and adding a preferred language.

One problem you may run into is that not all fonts support your language. In the example below we have used Japanese, which doesn't have many different fonts.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ZeQ6abwVec/Japanese%20font%20Puzzle%20maker%20nonogram.jpg (Japanese font Puzzle maker nonogram)

How to create Puzzles

The primary function of Puzzle Maker Pro is to create puzzles for you.

You can set the the resulting image size and file format on the Output Settings / Puzzle Files tab, and set all specific puzzle settings on the Puzzle Settings tab.

Which files will be created by Puzzle Maker Pro?

For most puzzle types this will result in

A file containing the puzzle image in JPG or PNG format (in the project/puzzles folder)
A file containing the solution image in JPG or PNG format (in the project/solutions folder)

In some cases additional files will be created:

For Mazes, the SVG add-on will let you create the maze drawing in SVG format. This is an efficient vector format that can be used to display the puzzle on a web page, for further editing or styling in Adobe Illustrator, or to control cutter machines such as Silhouette
An XML file containing specific information about the puzzle, to use when you create puzzle books
A TXT file with the words used in a Word Search puzzle, and an additional file with the remaining words from your word list

You can use these files in any way you like. There is no obligation to create your puzzle books with Puzzle Maker Pro.

How to create Puzzle Books

After creating your puzzles, Puzzle Maker Pro will automatically create a puzzle book for you. Consider this a friendly gesture of Puzzle Maker Pro - it does not aspire to compete with professional book layout software such as Adobe Indesign, Affinity Publisher or Microsoft Publisher.

This is called "Additional Output". It will use the settings on the Output Settings / Additional Output tab, and the Output Settings / Page Format tab to create a PDF or Powerpoint file according to your specifications.

If you have set the options to create additional output, it will do so immediately after creating the puzzles (when you click the Create button).

How does the Time Saver fit in?

The Time Saver extension allow you to create puzzles a lot faster, by creating puzzles with different settings in one go. It speeds up Step 1 (see above). It will create puzzles for each setting you specified, and will create a puzzle book after all the puzzles have been generated.

Question 8

How can I create Nonogram puzzles?

Accepted Answer

This video tutorial demonstrates the use of Puzzle Maker - Nonogram

Question 9

Getting Started with Puzzle Maker Pro

Accepted Answer

Introduction to Puzzle Maker Pro

Welcome to Puzzle Maker Pro - the world's best puzzle maker. We've tried our best to make the software as easy and intuitive to use as possible. However, because we want you to be able to create something unique to you, we still offer a lot of options.

In this tutorial we'll show you the basics. Your first puzzle (or even puzzle book) is just one click away.

Puzzle Maker Pro - Main window.

When you start Puzzle Maker Pro, you'll see a window looking a lot like this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/V3P2w4AK32/Puzzle%20Maker%20Pro%20Main%20Window.jpg (Puzzle Maker Pro Main Window)

It currently shows Sudoku, but if you purchased a different puzzle, it'll show that instead.

Puzzle Maker Pro is a framework for puzzle modules - some parts will be different for each puzzle, other parts are standard options available to all puzzles.

Let's start the tour:

Preview

Now go on and press preview, maybe change some of the settings, colors or numbers, and see what happens when you click preview again.

To find out where your puzzle files are saved, continue to Output Settings. For all other topics, go back to Tutorial Overview

Question 10

Getting Started with Checkerboard Sudoku

Accepted Answer

This tutorial applies to Puzzle Maker Pro - Checkerboard Sudoku.

Checkerboard Sudoku

Checkerboard is a sudoku variation with a specific grid setup: Like a checkerboard.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/FNWEI47XeO/Checkerboard%206x6.png (Checkerboard 6x6)

To solve a Checkerboard Sudoku, you apply the same rules as for regular sudoku, and additionally you have the Checkerboard rule: The white squares contain only odd numbers, the gray squares contain only even numbers.

This is a fun innovative sudoku variation. Because it's easier to solve - it has less options for each square - it's a great variation to include in activity books for children and adults.

Because Checkerboard Sudoku requires an even number of rows and columns in the grid, this variation is not available with a 9x9 grid.

Checkerboard Sudoku math

To compare the number of options of Checkerboard Sudoku with regular sudoku, here's the math for the first 3 squares in a 8x8 sudoku grid:

In a regular sudoku, you have 8 options for the first cell, 7 for the next, 6 for the next, and 5 different options for the fourth cell, which would be 8 * 7 * 6 * 5 = 1680 different options for the first 4 cells. (for a full grid, the math becomes increasingly more complex, and the number of options are bilions.

For Checkerboard sudoku, you have 4 options for the first cell: just 1, 3, 5, 7. Then 4 options for the next (2, 4, 6, 8). For the third and fourth cells there are only 3 options. For just the first 4 cells you have 4 * 4 * 3 * 3 = 144 options, which is less than 10% of the regular sudoku options. The difference gets increasingly larger when we add more cells.

Find Checkerboard Sudoku in Puzzle Maker Pro

To create Checkerboard Sudoku puzzles in Puzzle Maker Pro:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/uoaWRSeyqD/CheckerBoard%20Sudoku%20Overview.png (CheckerBoard Sudoku Overview)

Go to Sudoku Variations
Select one of the Sudoku Grid Sizes that are available for Checkerboard Sudoku (6x6, 8x8, 10x10, 12x12, 14x14, 16x16)
Select "Checkerboard" in the Variation menu.

There are quite a few tutorials about all the regular features of Sudoku in Puzzle Maker Pro, ranging from grid setup to symbol options, please check the tutorials below.

Note: Even though it's possible to use images for Checkerboard Sudokus, it doesn't make much sense, and the sudokus may be impossible to solve, since there are no odd and even images.

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