Question 1

How to use Puzzle Maker Pro - Picture Cryptograms

Accepted Answer

This tutorial explains how to use Puzzle Maker Pro - Just Five Words

Puzzle Maker Pro - Picture Cryptograms

This tutorial applies to the Puzzle Maker Pro module Picture Cryptograms

The add-on "Time Saver for Word Puzzles" adds additional options for puzzle generation and Instant Puzzle Book layouts.

Picture Cryptograms Explained

The module Picture Cryptograms creates puzzles where words or phrases are displayed as a set of pictures or symbols. You can use your own images (jpg or png) for these symbols.

There are several ways to encode the words with pictures:

Randomized by word, word set, or fixed for all words
Alphabetic (fixed) based on the name of the images you use
You can display all the letters and symbols in the key table, to create puzzles for children
You can add clues to make it easier to solve the puzzles

Additionally, you can display a full key table for the alphabet, or only show the letters that are used in the words or phrases. The order of the letters in the key table will be randomised, unless you use the Alphabetic option. We'll discuss all these options below.

Picture Cryptograms Overview

To use Picture Cryptograms, select the puzzle type in the drop down menu, or in the regular menu.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/h1MY02x2g0/Picture%20Cryptograms%20-%2001%20Overview.png (Picture Cryptograms - 01 Overview (1).png)

When you select this puzzle type for the first time, a default list of words is shown, and the preview shows an puzzle with the first word or words, this is also the puzzle image that will be saved and/or used in an instant puzzle book. (What you see is what you get). You can (and should) replace the word list with your own words, and you can (and should) replace the default images with your own pictures or symbols.

There are several options to customize the puzzle and the styling of Picture Cryptograms:

Word List: you can add additional text to the word list. In the example you can see "word:description", additional options can be found here: Word List Format for Word Puzzles;
Use your own images,
Choose to use Alphabet images, and set the code variation (Algorithm)
Settings: Configure the puzzle options, including word list settings
Styling: Styling options are covered below;
Image: In addition to the 'standard' puzzle output, you can also create images/memes for social media or activity books. This is described in a separate tutorial: How to create Images/Memes for Word Puzzles;

Generating Picture Cryptograms Puzzles

You can set the total number of puzzles you need, or generate puzzles for the entire word list. The quantity is the number of puzzle files that are generated. For example when you use 5 words per puzzle (as in the previous screenshot), a quantity of 7 will result in 7 jpg or png files, with a total of 35 words or phrases (if the word list is long enough).

The puzzles will always be generated as a JPG/PNG image. To add a title and/or watermark (url) to the image, see How to create Images

Images

On the "Images" tab you can add your own images (aka pictures / symbols / pictograms).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Lr3XCe2LlQ/Picture%20Cryptograms%20-%2002%20Images.png (Picture Cryptograms - 02 Images)

You can either click one of the image panels (which are now filled with these colored square images), or drag and drop 1 or more files on these image panels. By dragging a list of files from File Explorer to the top left image, these files will be set for all the other image panels as well.

You can click "Reset" to revert to the default images.

It's possible to add more than 26 images. This enables you to create puzzles for other languages, or just to add a larger set of images, from which random images are selected for each puzzle.

Algorithm (Algo)

On the Algorithm tab you can choose how the words will be encoded.

With the "Use Alphabet Images" setting, you can use 'fixed' pictures for each letter of the alphabet. For example apple.jpg for the letter "A". These puzzles can be used as a spelling / writing exercise.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Dy6PDkJkRm/Picture%20Cryptograms%20-%2003%20Alphabet.png (Picture Cryptograms - 03 Alphabet)

(The images in the screenshot are just an example, and not included with the software).

Additionally, you can control how words are encoded: a single encoding for all words, or per set of words, or even per word. In the latter case only one word or phrase is printed on each image.

Options

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/sFbdHetUGx/Picture%20Cryptograms%20-%2004%20Options.png (Picture Cryptograms - 04 Options)

The options on the "Options" tab are those that are not directly related to styling or key table.

You can set how many words will be printed on each image. In the screenshot you see 5 words plus a key table
You can choose to print the description on top of each word, e.g. the text "Brain Teasers" in the screenshot. These descriptions can be supplied in the word list file, like this: "word:description", or "puzzles:Brain Teasers".
You can also set the line distance, to create more space in the image, and optionally set the code on top of the puzzle, or at the bottom
You can add Clues to the puzzle, random or fixed. In the screenshot, the letters D, I and M are added as clues
You can randomise the order in which the word list is processed, to create a different set of puzzle images each time you use the same word list.

Styling

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ZcX28Ti1qS/Picture%20Cryptograms%20-%2005%20Styling.png (Picture Cryptograms - 05 Styling)

You can set your own style for Picture Cryptograms puzzles:

Font Styling - Select the font, positioning and relative size of the font
The placeholders for the letters - use an underscore, period or a custom letter, or even a square box for each letter in a custom color
Puzzle Alignment - place the words left or right, and aligned to top or bottom
Padding - add a bit of padding between the letters and images. This is in addition to the line distance setting
Image Styling - This can be set on the Image tab (see also: How to create Images Word Puzzles) - This is to create ready-to-use images with a title and watermark on each image.
Instant Puzzle Books - additional Styling and layout options for Instant Puzzle Books can be customized using the Time Saver options. If you don't have the Time Saver, default options will be used.

Key (Key Table)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/K1wBxdPRK2/Picture%20Cryptograms%20-%2006%20Key.png (Picture Cryptograms - 06 Key)

The key table for cryptogram puzzles shows all the letters and images matched together.

When you use Alphabet images, you can choose not to print the key table, since the images are already the key. For example a Bear for B
When you print the key table, you can set the number of lines and the position. In the example we've set it to use 3 lines and print at the top.
Key Table Alphabet - add all the letters that can be used for the key table. By default this is the English Alphabet
Print All Hints - this will print all the images and letters for the puzzle. This way there is no real guesswork involved, but it can still be challenging to find the right letters for the words (for children)
Only Print Used Letters - this is shown in the screenshot above. Instead of printing all the available symbols, only the symbols used in the different words are printed.

Here's an example that shows all the hints in the puzzle:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/YRJYLfW4SS/Picture%20Cryptograms%20-%2007%20Key%20All%20Letters.png (Picture Cryptograms - 07 Key All Letters)

Image

Using the "Use Image Settings" on the "Output Settings" tab, you can automatically add a title, description and watermark to each puzzle.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/lSHqK97Nt3/Picture%20Cryptograms%20-%2008%20Image%20Settings.png (Picture Cryptograms - 08 Image Settings)

In the example we've added a description "Find the encoded words" as an instruction for the puzzle. You can change the layout, colors, fonts, and the watermark (the url at the bottom).

Puzzle Maker Pro - Just Five Words

This tutorial applies to the Puzzle Maker Pro module Just Five Words

The add-on "Time Saver for Word Puzzles" adds additional options for puzzle generation and Instant Puzzle Book layouts.

Just Five Words Explained

Just Five Words is our name for this puzzle, you may find it with another name in newspapers and elsewhere.

The puzzle consists of five words.
For each word, a crossword-style description is provided.
Additionally, all the letters for the five words are placed together in a list, in alphabetical order.
The goal is to find the five words, using the descriptions and the letters.
Each letter in the list can be used only once, and each letter must be used exactly once. There will be no letters left when the puzzle is solved.

Of course, with our software, you can choose to create puzzles with 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 words, but 5 seems to be the magical number here.

Just Five Words Overview

To use Just Five Words, select the puzzle type in the drop down menu, or in the regular menu.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/cgZPzz4TY0/Just%20Five%20Words%20-%20Overview%20Tut.png (Just Five Words - Overview Tut)

When you select this puzzle type for the first time, a default list of words is shown, and the preview shows an image using the first word. What you see here is a good first draft of your puzzle. You can replace the list of words with your own, or select a word list (txt) file with the words.

You can customize the Just Five Words puzzles in several ways:

Word List: you can add additional text to the word list. In the example you can see "word:description", additional options can be found here: Word List Format for Word Puzzles;
Settings: Configure the puzzle options, including word list settings
Styling: Styling options are covered below;
Image: In addition to the 'standard' puzzle output, you can also create images/memes for social media or activity books. This is described in a separate tutorial: How to create Images/Memes for Word Puzzles;

Generating Just Five Words Puzzles

The total number of Just Five Words puzzles can be set ("Quantity"), but most of the time you'll want to generate puzzles for the entire word list ("Entire List"). Make sure that the total number of words in the word list is a multiple of the number of words per image. For example, with the default 5 words per image, you'll want 45 or 50 words in the word list. With only 47 words in the word list, the final puzzle would have only 2 words.

The puzzles will always be generated as a JPG/PNG image. To add a title and/or watermark (url) to the image, see How to create Images

Settings

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/NxytuaOn3z/Just%20Five%20Words%20-%20Settings.png (Just Five Words - Settings (1).png)

Puzzle Settings: The number of words for each puzzle. This has a limited range because this puzzle type doesn't work well with too many words
Word List Randomisation: Randomise the order in which the words are placed in the puzzles, or the way in which different sets of words are processed. This way you can get many different puzzles from a single word list

Styling

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/gv3nMKIk7q/Just%20Five%20Words%20-%20Styling.png (Just Five Words - Styling (1).png)

You can set your own style for Just Five Words puzzles:

Font Styling - Select the font, positioning and relative size of the font
The placeholders for the letters - use an underscore, period or a custom letter, or even a square box for each letter in a custom color
Puzzle Alignment - place the words left or right, and aligned to top or bottom
Image Styling - This can be set on the Images tab (see also: How to create Images Word Puzzles)
Instant Puzzle Books - additional Styling and layout options for Instant Puzzle Books can be customized using the Time Saver options. If you don't have the Time Saver, default options will be used.

Letters

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/G2UnEe12XP/Just%20Five%20Words%20-%20Letters.png (Just Five Words - Letters)

You can select how many lines of letters you want - this way you can customise the styling if you have very short words or very long words. For most 5-word puzzles, 4 will be a good layout option.

You can also choose to have the letters aligned to the top of the image, and set the percentage of space for the letters. By default this is set to 25% of the total area for the puzzle.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/sNGsieO0Nj/Just%20Five%20Words%20-%20Letters%202.png (Just Five Words - Letters 2)

Image

Using the "Use Image Settings" on the "Output Settings" tab, you can automatically add a title, description and watermark to each puzzle.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/NnkjFncDvT/Just%20Five%20Words%20-%20Image.png (Just Five Words - Image)

In the example we've added a description "You must use all the letters" as an instruction for the puzzle. You can change the layout, colors, fonts, and the watermark (the url at the bottom).

Introduction

Ultimate Puzzle Books Menu Option

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/aPpH0I5ezP/01%20Ultimate%20Puzzle%20Books%20Menu%20Option.png (01 Ultimate Puzzle Books Menu Option)

Ultimate Puzzle Books is a separate module, integrated in Puzzle Maker Pro, to create puzzle books or activity books with different types of puzzles. These puzzles can be generated by Puzzle Maker Pro when you create the puzzle book, or imported from other puzzle makers.

When you use puzzles that are generated by Puzzle Maker Pro, the puzzles will be generated when the puzzle book is created. Each time you create a new puzzle book, new puzzles will be generated. This makes it an extremely powerful tool to create a series of mixed puzzle books that have the same mix of puzzles and difficulty levels.

Because the sizes of puzzles can differ, you can specify the layout for each set of puzzles.

Workflow Overview

Ultimate Puzzle Books uses the presets you save for the different puzzle modules, Time Saver add-ons or Imported puzzle sets.

By adding presets to the 'job' table, you'll add all the different puzzles and puzzle types that you want to include in the puzzle book.

Ultimate Puzzle Books Overview

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/VXdbGVBk8t/02%20Ultimate%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20Overview.png (02 Ultimate Puzzle Books - Overview)

The first step for you is to create the presets that you want to use for each puzzle type. Although it is an additional step for Ultimate Puzzle Books, it also makes it a very powerful tool. You can use and combine all the features of the different puzzle modules in these mixed puzzle books.

The next step is to select the Puzzle Type you want to add, select the preset(s) you want to use for that puzzle type, and then click "Add" to build the 'job' table.

The third step is to customize some of the settings, such as the "Type in Title" and "Override Layout" settings.

Type in Title - If you use a title setting like "Puzzle # %TITLE%", this will replace the "%TITLE%" part with the puzzle type. For example, this can result in "Puzzle 13 Latin Squares". This is especially useful if you mix several types of sudoku or logic puzzles, or different types of word puzzles. On the other hand, for word puzzles, it's also possible to use the Word List name in the title.
Override Layout - To use a custom layout for a specific row in the Job table, click the "Special Layout" cell for that row, and then edit the settings.

Final step: Click "Create" to create all the puzzles and create the puzzle book.

Pro Tip: Save the puzzle book setup as a Preset, for later reuse, or in case of issues. Although we do everything we can to eliminate errors and other issues in the software, with the Ultimate Puzzle Books module you can use almost each and every feature that's available in Puzzle Maker Pro. Therefor it can be impacted by any issue anywhere in the software.

Using Puzzle Presets

The first step is to select a puzzle type, for example Sudoku Variations or Standard Word Search.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ZqCSefHOTE/04%20Select%20Puzzle%20Type.png (04 Select Puzzle Type)

After selecting the puzzle type, the dropdown menus for TS Preset and Puzzle Preset will now show all the presets you have for that puzzle type. (TS Preset stands for Time Saver Preset, it will be set to N/A by default).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/DvhAbkWxNr/03%20Select%20Puzzle%20Preset.png (03 Select Puzzle Preset)

Select one of the presets, optionally change the quantity, and click "Add". The new 'job' will be added to the table.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/EdwkggbKx4/05%20Add%20Preset%20to%20Job%20Table.png (05 Add Preset to Job Table)

Adding Word Lists

For all word puzzles, you can select "Add With Word List" instead of "Add". This will allow you to select one or more word lists on your computer (using Windows File Explorer). If you select more than one word list, several rows will be added to the job table, one for each word list. (You can change the word lists later).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/H44aOtlfHG/06%20Add%20Word%20Lists.png (06 Add Word Lists)

The word list(s) you select here will be used to replace the words or word list that may have been saved as part of the preset.

Using Time Saver Presets

Time Saver presets contains a part of the setup to create puzzles. Depending on the puzzle type, the Time Saver presets may contain word lists, grid sizes and other settings. However, the Time Saver presets never contain the basic styling settings of the puzzle type. That means that in addition to the Time Saver preset that you select, you will also have to select a puzzle preset that contains the specific layout settings.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/tJh1jGL7Za/07%20Add%20TS%20Preset.png (07 Add TS Preset)

For Time Saver rows in the job table, the Quantity will be set to 1 (one), because the Time Saver presets also contain quantity settings. For Time Saver presets you can also not add Word Lists, since the Time Savers for word puzzles also include specific word lists.

Using Imported Sets

We completely understand that you also want to include puzzles that have been created with other software than Puzzle Maker Pro. To enable this, we have included an option to import puzzle sets. An "Imported Set" includes of puzzle and solution images in JPG or PNG format. Even though the concept is simple, it's a very powerful feature that enables you to create an endless variety of puzzle books.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/s9s93nF5RJ/02%20Ultimate%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20Imported%20Sets%20button.png (02 Ultimate Puzzle Books - Imported Sets button)

Manage Import Sets

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/kPSfItwnbR/08%20Manage%20Imported%20Sets.png (08 Manage Imported Sets)

When you open this window using the "Manage Import Sets" button, you'll see an empty list (3). You can then open an existing preset for editing (1), or add a new one.

To add a new one, type the name (or 'puzzle type') (2), then select Puzzles and Solutions.

If the puzzles and solutions are in different folders, first click "Add Puzzles", then click "Add Solutions" (4) and select the puzzles and solutions you want to use. They will be added to the table from top to bottom. Make sure you select the right puzzles and solutions that will be matched.

If the puzzles and solutions are in a single folder and grouped together (e.g. puzzle 1, solution 1, puzzle 2, solution 2, etc), use the "Add P+S Files" button (5). This will expect the selected file list to be alternating puzzle and solution files, and fill the table accordingly.

Save the list as a preset (1) with a name that clearly indicates which type of puzzle, difficulty level, style, etc, it is.

Close the window by clicking OK.

In the main Ultimate Puzzle Books window, use the Puzzle Type "Import Puzzle Sets", select the preset you just created and click "Add". When creating the puzzle book, this set will be used along with all the puzzles that are generated with Puzzle Maker Pro.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/nVSmnY6W2a/09%20Add%20Imported%20Puzzle%20Set.png (09 Add Imported Puzzle Set)

Editing the Job table

At the moment of release, there are several items that you can edit after a 'job' has been added to the table:

Type in Title - this can create a result like "Puzzle 1 - Latin Squares", "Puzzle 2 - Word Search"
Preset - Click the preset you want to replace
Time Saver Preset - Click the Time Saver preset you want to replace
Word List (if applicable)
Quantity (only for Puzzle Presets, for TIme Saver presets this is set to 1)
Override Layout
Special Layout

Page Layout

In the Layout Settings area of Ultimate Puzzle Books, you'll see a short, coded, summary of the current Page Layout, for example:

P:2x2, S:2x2, W:5 - this means that solutions will be collated, both puzzles and solutions will use a page layout with 2x2 puzzles / solutions per page, and the Word Search / Crosswords layout is set to style 5
P/S:3x2, W:1 - No collation, 3x2 puzzles/solutions per page, Word Search / Crosswords layout style 1.

You can click the "Edit Default Layout" button to set the default layout, or click the "Special Layout" cell for a row in the job table that you want to change. This will display the new Layout Edit Window with all the different layout options.

Randomize / Mix the puzzles

With Ultimate Puzzle Books you can mix the puzzles. This will be based on the layout settings. For example, puzzles with a 2x2 puzzles per page layout can be mixed, but will be generated separately from pages with 3x3 puzzles or puzzles with a word list.

Although the system will try to balance the puzzles and pages, randomized mixing of the puzzles works best when there are more or less equal quantities of each puzzle type. (The algorithms will continue to evolve and create better results for unbalanced sets of puzzles).

It's best to just try this option and take a look at the results and see how this works best for your puzzles.

Advanced/Pro Strategies

Layout Considerations

The current version(s) of Puzzle Maker Pro will adjust the puzzle size to the available space for the puzzle. It will never enlarge the puzzle, only make it smaller. However, if you create mixed puzzle books, and especially if you make randomised mixed puzzle books or activity books, it's best to use puzzles with similar grid sizes on each page. For example, if a 4x4 sudoku and a 9x9 sudoku will be printed next to each other, the squares in the 4x4 sudoku will be twice as large as the squares in the 9x9 sudoku. It makes sense to use a different layout setup for the two puzzle variations.

Preset Naming Strategies

The Ultimate Puzzle Books module is completely based on the presets you save for the different puzzles types and Time Saver add-on's. To reduce guesswork when you create these mixed puzzle books, it's best to add information to the presets that will allow you to quickly select the right presets here. For example "9x9 Sudoku Level 4 Arial Font", or "15x15 Word Search Animals Theme - Young Kids".

Themed Puzzle Book Variations

Once you have a setup for your mixed puzzle book or activity books with the right quantities and layouts for all the puzzles, it's relatively easy to change the theme. For example you set up the mixed puzzle book for "Animals" and now you want to create a mixed puzzle book for "Occupations".

For all the word puzzle presets, such as Word Search, Word Scramble, etc, you can just change the word list that needs to be used.

Introduction

Both Word Spiral and Secret Word Spiral offer you a couple of different shape variations of the spiral (also called word snake in some magazines). Because the number of letters is important for the spiral, for these puzzles you set the approximate number of letters, instead of the number of words. (The minimum number of words setting will not be used).

On the Variation tab you can find all the different settings and options.

Variation tab

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/dLniLTrXWW/Word%20Spiral%20Overview.png (Word Spiral Overview)

Letter count

The number of letters determines the length (and part of the shape) of the spiral. Common lengths for the word spiral are 70 to 100 letters in a puzzle. You can also indicate that the length can be a bit longer or shorter. This improves the results when you use a word list that is not specifically prepared for a word spiral with an exact length.

Additionally there's an option to sort the words from long to short - this way the longer words will be on the outer part of the spiral, and shorter words will be on the smaller inner side.

Spiral Style

The screenshot above shows we call a 'real' spiral. All the letter boxes are placed along a natural looking spiral. Additional you can use a "Square" spiral, as shown here:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/oYu3pTxgt9/Word%20Spiral%20Square%20Spiral.png (Word Spiral Square Spiral)

Cell Shape

Additionally, you can choose to use square or circle shapes for the lines around the letters. For the 'real' spiral, the use of circles will actually result in a slightly different shape as well.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/fD5MW4kQNA/Word%20Spiral%20Real%20with%20Circles.png (Word Spiral Real with Circles)

Smoothness

When using the "Real Spiral" with Square cells, you can adjust the shape 'smoothness'. That will align horizontal and vertical square a bit more, giving semi-straight lines, instead of jagged lines. (This way you can control the drawing style).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/XIB2BT45Mo/Word%20Spiral%20Smoothness%200.png (Word Spiral Smoothness 0)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/rR5jE37h5E/Word%20Spiral%20Smoothness%20100.png (Word Spiral Smoothness 100)

Layout Options

Finally there's an option to make the overall shape more rectangular / elliptic instead of square. This is especially useful if the image you're creating is rectangular, for example when you use the built in Social Media image output in Puzzle Maker Pro:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/VDc00439rt/Word%20Spiral%20Layout.png (Word Spiral Layout)

Introduction

There are many different types of Secret Word and Letter Hints Crossword puzzles. Secret Word Criss Cross is a mix of anacrostic (letter hints) and Criss Cross with two variations:

Use hints to find a secret word, or
Add additional hints to the puzzle to make it easier to find all the words.

The example below includes a secret word:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/30SeUZ1hwg/Secret-Word-Criss-Cross.png (Secret-Word-Criss-Cross)

Letter Hints Options for Secret Word Criss Cross Puzzles

As mentioned in the introduction, you can use either Secret Word or Alphabet Hints (Letter Hints) for these Grid puzzles. You cannot have both at the same time.

When you use a secret word, you can set how many 'matching' letters must be available in each word, to be included in the puzzle.

Additionally, the Word Count settings (on the Settings tab) will be overruled if there are not enough words available to 'cover' the secret word. For example, if the secret word would be "kayak", the puzzle will only have words that contain the letters "K", "A" and "Y". If you also set the "Minimum Matching Letters" to 2, this would limit the choice of words even further.

Introduction

There are many different types of Secret Word and Letter Hints Crossword puzzles. Secret Word Grid is the name we use for words that are placed in a grid, and that include additional hints to find a secret word, or to suggest additional letters in the grid that make it easier to find all the words in the puzzle.

The example below includes a secret word:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/flJjtwTjTG/Secret-Word-Grid-Overview.png (Secret Word Grid Overview)

Hints Options for Secret Word Grid Puzzles

As mentioned in the introduction, you can use either Secret Word or Alphabet Hints (Letter Hints) for Acrostic Grid puzzles. You cannot have both at the same time.

When you use a secret word, you can set how many 'matching' letters must be available in each word, to be included in the puzzle.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/MZOE4WCK6D/Secret-Word-Grid-Min-Match.png (Secret Word Grid Minimum Matching Letters)

In the screenshot, Matching Letters is set to 2. For the words Sudoku and Sensei we have indicated some of the matching letters for the word Word Search.

Grid Style

The Secret Word Grid puzzles will always (!) have the word number in a separate square, because the letter hints are shown as small numbers in some of the squares. (You can't have both at the same time)

There are quite a few additional style options, shown on the "Variation" tab:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/tb891Sn0PJ/Secret-Word-Grid-Variation-tab.png (Secret-Word-Grid-Variation-tab)

Max Words per Row - You can set the maximum number of words that can be printed on each row of the puzzle. This allows for interesting layout effects, as you can see in the screenshot
Sort Rows - You can sort the rows by length, or use a 'Diamond' sort option, which sorts the grid rows from short to long to short. (see screenshot)
Align Rows - You can align the rows to the left, right or center.

Note: The software will try to optimize the grid to make each row of equal length, if possible. However, this depends quite a bit on the words in your word list. For best results to get a really square or rectangular grid, use words with complementary lengths, e.g. 8 and 4 letters (to get 12 letter rows).

Introduction

Crossword Variations is our collection of all puzzles based on the crosswords format. There are many types of crossword variations:

Words placed in a grid or free format, that have to be guessed from given clues
Secret Word puzzles, which have additional hints and/or secret words
Cryptic puzzles where the clues are cryptic instead of straightforward

This tutorial provides an overview of all the options and features in the Crossword Variations module, that you can use to create unique puzzles that attract attention and stand out. (Or even boring, run-of-the-mill puzzles, if you desire).

There are additional tutorials for the specific puzzle types as well, that build on this main overview.

Crossword Variations Overview

When you select CrossWord Variations in the main menu, you'll see a window like this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Vi6dajW6uc/Crossword-Variations-Overview.png (Crossword-Variations-Overview)

Select Puzzle Type "Crossword Variations", or select any of the crossword variations in the "Word Puzzles" menu
There are many different options for Crossword Variations puzzles. You can click on each button to show additional settings
The word list that is currently used
A preview of the most recently generated puzzle
Buttons to create (and save) a new puzzle, or generate a new preview with the current puzzle settings
Switch between puzzle and solution preview. By default it's set to Preview Solution

Note: for all puzzle types, the shape and layout of the puzzle will be heavily influenced by your word list. A mix of very long and very short words will usually result in oddly shaped and irregular puzzles.

Words

With Crossword Variations you can and have to use your own word lists. When you start this module the first time, a short word list is shown, to make it easier for you to play with the settings and get some fast results.

You can choose to provide a complete word list with clues (word descriptions) and other information, or to provide only a list of words without any other information, and use the integrated dictionary and editing system to add missing information.

Word Lists

A word list can be anything from just a list of words, to a list of words with word descriptions (used as clues) and other information. A full description and specification of the word list options can be found here: Word Lists for Crossword Variations

Word List Summary

Word : Clue - On each line, type a word and add the clue (description) separated by a colon ":". You can type multiple clues for each word, the generator will select a random clues for each puzzle
#title:title - you can add a title for the puzzle. This can appear in the puzzle book (depending on your settings) or in the puzzle image
#description:description
#secret:word:clue - use the tag "#secret" to specify the secret word for your puzzle

Word Settings

You can control how your word list is used to create puzzles on the "Settings" tab:

Word List Control: Use the word list only once, reset the word list for each new puzzle, or reset the word list only after all words have been used. Each puzzle will use randomly chosen words from the word list, even with a word list of only 20 or 30 words, you can create almost unlimited puzzles.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/zB0dWZ76G9/Crossword-Variations-Word-Settings.png (Crossword-Variations-Word-Settings)

Automatically remove characters / letters from your words. For example, you may want to remove all the spaces or hyphens from the words. For example, if the word list contains the word "word search", the puzzle would use "wordsearch". This setting is now available on the main Dictionary tab (to ensure consistency for all puzzles).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Z0hP14XzUQ/Puzzle%20Maker%20Pro%20-%20Letter%20Settings.png (Puzzle Maker Pro - Letter Settings)

You can also set the minimum and maximum number of words for a puzzle. When there are less than the minimum number of words in your word list, no puzzle will be created. For some crossword variations this option may have a slightly different function (which is detailed in the corresponding tutorials). For some puzzles you can "Minimize Word Count" or "Maximize Word Count", this will use as few or many words possible to cover the secret word and use the available grid space.

Dictionary

You can use the integrated dictionary to speed up your puzzle creation, and inspire your creativity as well. This dictionary is mostly AI generated, for the English language. That means it can really speed up your workflow, but it's also best to always verify the results that are provided. You can enable this dictionary on the main "Dictionary" tab.

Additionally you can use your own word list / dictionary file and even add a custom word list to save all the changes you make.

Letter Hints Options

There are two tabs in the puzzle settings that are used for some puzzles only:

Hints - These settings are used for secret word and letter hints puzzles only (e.g. not for the regular Criss Cross or Word Spiral puzzles)
Variation - This tab can contain custom settings for specific puzzles (e.g. Secret Word Grid). Otherwise a message "No Additional Settings for this puzzle type" is shown.

Hints tab

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/JyFzJe2f9s/Crossword-Variations-Hints-tab.png (Crossword-Variations-Hints-tab)

Choose between Secret Word or Alphabet hints. You cannot use both at the same time.
The secret word or phrase will be shown at the bottom of the puzzle (2)
You can specify which secret word to use by using the "#secret" tag in the word list, e.g. "#secret: orange : color". The other option is to randomly select a word from your word list to use as the secret word.
Minimum Matching Letters: You can choose to add only words that have 2 or more letters in common with the secret word or phrase. By setting this to '1', only one matching letter is needed. This value influences the number of hints that can be shown in the puzzle. This option is only applied when you use a secret word.
You can customise how many hints are shown for each letter. For example, if you set this to 3, the first letter of a secret word will only have 3 hints, the second letter will also have 3 hints (if possible). When you use Letter Hints, each letter (e.g. "A", "B" or "C") will only get 3 hints. This settings influences the difficulty of the puzzle.

Grid Settings

In Puzzle Maker Pro, puzzle images are generated with a consistent size, to make sure the puzzles can easily be used together in a puzzle book. In some cases this may seem counterintuitive.

Especially for crossword variations generated from your own word lists, which differently sized words, randomly generated puzzles, and optionally secret words or phrases that can have different lengths, it takes some steps to guarantee that the puzzles in your puzzle books will have consistent font sizes. Therefore we've added the "Fixed / Maximum Grid Settings". You can (and should) customise these settings to get the exact output you need. (And, honestly, it's best to just play with these settings and preview the puzzles to see what works best for your current project).

Crossword Variations - Criss Cross Grid 1

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ZcSxJMBEvl/Crossword%20Variations%20-%20Criss%20Cross%20Grid%201.png (Crossword Variations - Criss Cross Grid 20x20)

Set the maximum grid size you need. If this is fixed, it will also determine the font size. Padding may occur, since crossword puzzles are created randomly and the exact size and shape depends on your word list
Dynamic size - The grid size will be used as a maximum size, and empty rows and columns will be removed before printing the puzzle.
Align the puzzle in the fixed grid. Especially with a fixed grid size, if the actual puzzle is smaller than the grid size, it can be aligned or centered horizontally or vertically.

The screenshot below shows a completely different grid size, used with the 'social media' image settings to add a title, description and watermark to the generated puzzle image:

Crossword Variations - Criss Cross Grid 10x25.png

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/MTM5yNKBuA/Crossword%20Variations%20-%20Criss%20Cross%20Grid%202.png (Crossword Variations - Criss Cross Grid 10x25)

Styling

The style options can be found on the Style 1 and Style 2 tabs. (The small size of the tabs is to accomodate users who work on a laptop).

Style 1 tab

The first Style tab includes the options for the main puzzle styling settings. In the screenshot you can see a custom font and blue'ish colors:

Crossword Variations - Style 1

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/qOrJ9P3wDZ/Crossword%20Variations%20-%20Style%201.png (Crossword Variations - Style 1 tab)

You can set the font, font color and other font settings, the cell colors, additional colors for accented cells (for example in Acrostic Column), and the lines between cells and the outer border lines.

Style 2 tab

The second style tab has the style settings for the puzzle numbers:

Crossword Variations - Style 2

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/WgAfN0cAWf/Crossword%20Variations%20-%20Style%202.png (Crossword Variations - Style 2)

Here you can choose between small word numbers in each cell, or separate word numbers as an additional square in the puzzle (as in the screenshot). You can also choose to use letters instead of numbers, and of course you can set the font and font color for the word numbers.

Clues Settings

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/5fv86ppDeT/AC%20-%20Clues%20tab.png (AC - Clues tab)

You can choose to use the classic clue output, which will be printed only in the Instant Puzzle Books (PDF or Powerpoint) or the new 'In Image' output, which is shown in the screenshot.
When you print the clues in the image, you can set the position and number of columns. Additionally you can set how much space the puzzle should take. The best value for this space allocation depends on the words you are using, it's best to play with this value, and the number of Clue Columns, and generate previews to see what looks best.
Two additional Clue Style options are available: "Word Fill" - A list of words is added, instead of the hints. The goal is to find the right positions for the words. "Word Scramble" - Instead of the clues, a random scramble of the words will be shown
For Acrostic puzzles, the Clue Headings are only used for "Word Fill", in which case the "Word Fill Title" can be set

Image and Output Options

In addition to 'clean' images that only contain the puzzles or solutions, you can also create images that have a title, description and watermark. These images can easily be used on social media, for advertising or as printables.

A full tutorial can be found here: (Social Media) Image Settings

Introduction

There are quite a few options to add information to your word lists and word list files. If you want more and specific control over the puzzles that are created, you can use all of the options. Alternatively, Puzzle Maker Pro - Crossword Variations can also generate puzzles when you only provide the words.

For example, a word list consisting of just a list of animals:

You can save it just like this in a text file, e.g. animals.txt, and use this to create puzzles. Puzzle Maker Pro can use the built-in dictionary to retrieve clues (descriptions). You can use the word fill or word scramble options, which only need these words.

Word Descriptions

For more control, you can also add the clues for each word, like this:

As you can see, the words and clues are separated by a colon (":"). Optionally you can add multiple clues for each word, Puzzle Maker Pro will randomly pick one of the clues when needed.

Adding Secret Words or Phrases

For certain puzzle types, such as the acrostic puzzles, you can add a secret word or phrase. Use the tag "#secret", as in this example:

For acrostic puzzles, you can also choose to randomly use a word from the word list as the secret word.

Word Sets in a single file

It's possible to add multple word lists in a single file, however, it is usually more flexible to save each word list in its own file.

For each word set, wether it's in a separate file or combined in a single file, you can set a title and description, which can be used with certain puzzle types.

Multiple word lists in a single file can be separated by blank lines:

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