Question 1

How to create letter or word nonograms with Puzzle Maker Nonogram

Accepted Answer

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 Mazes with random shapes using Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Random Shapes?

This tutorial applies to Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Random Shapes.

The tutorial "How to use Mazes 2D Squares" describes how to use the generic options for Mazes 2D.

The module Mazes 2D Random Shapes is available in Puzzle Maker Pro v2022.11 (or newer)

Mazes 2D Random Shape lets you create mazes with random shapes (polygons and triangles), resulting in a completely different maze each time you create or preview a maze.

The module includes

Voronoi Cells (an organic looking pattern)
Triangulation (irregular triangles)

In addition to the Random Shapes options, this module includes the 'standard' maze generation and style options in the Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D collection.

Note: The Masks Add-On is not available for this module.

Creating Random Shapes Mazes

Select Mazes 2D in the main Puzzle Type dropdown menu, then select either "Voronoi Cells" or "Triangulation" in the (maze) Type dropdown menu. Click "Next Preview" to quickly get a first impression. (Changing settings does not automatically create a new preview, because you may want to change multiple settings, and the mazes, especially at larger sizes, may take some time to generate).

Creating Voronoi Mazes

You may not know it by this name, but this type of pattern is quite common in nature, and also in logistics. Mr Voronoi created an algorithm to divide an area (in our case the canvas) in smaller areas (cells), where each point in the cell is closer to its center than to other centers. This is used for example to determine which area is served by a subway or bus station, or by a distribution center. In nature you can see patterns like this for example on a giraffe.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/nnlJcWzUpc/Voronoi%20Cells%20Example.png (Voronoi Cells Example)

In this example image, the dots are placed randomly. The black lines (cell borders) are equally distant from the two points they separate. Voronoi on Wikipedia.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/QGe4Be3GsF/Voronoi%20Maze%20-%20Even%20Spread%20Screenshot.png (Voronoi Maze - Even Spread Screenshot)

The number of rows and columns for the maze are used to determine the format of the puzzle (square, rectangle), and to calculate the total number of points or cells. Due the to the random way these mazes are generated, there are not actually 20 cells horizontally and 20 cells vertically in this example.

Changing the layout of the maze

All the common customization and randomization options for Mazes 2D will work for the Voronoi Cells as well, except that masking is not available. (This could cause parts of cells to be masked, which is too complex to calculate at reasonable speed).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/hz0oqLdFtc/Voronoi%20Maze%20-%20Centered%20Spread%20Screenshot.png (Voronoi Maze - Centered Spread Screenshot)

The "Spread" slider will force the points to be more close to the center (while still random). This results in a maze with a very different look and feel, more like an old city.

Creating Triangulation Mazes

Triangulation is a way to connect all the dots (or centers) with non-overlapping triangles. Resulting in a pattern that is related to, but very different from the Voronoi pattern.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/OQ37BNZiND/Triangulation%20Example.png (Triangulation Example)

In this example image, the dots are placed randomly. The black lines connect the dots that are closest to each other, resulting in triangles.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/LRAtNzr3PJ/Triangulation%20Maze%20-%20Even%20Spread%20Screenshot.png (Triangulation Maze - Even Spread Screenshot)

When we use triangulation to create a maze, the lines are connected more sharply, maybe less esthetically pleasing than Voronoi. This type of maze is also quite unique.

Changing the layout of the maze

All the common customization and randomization options for Mazes 2D will work for the Triangulation as well, except that masking is not available. (This could cause parts of cells to be masked, which is too complex to calculate at reasonable speed).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/dz1nOOI91v/Triangulation%20Maze%20-%20Centered%20Spread%20Screenshot.png (Triangulation Maze - Centered Spread Screenshot)

The "Spread" slider will force the points to be more close to the center (while still random). This results in a maze with a very different look and feel.

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.

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 to create Reverse Word Search puzzles?

Accepted Answer

This tutorial shows how to create Reverse Word Search puzzles with Puzzle Maker Pro - Reverse Word Search.

This tutorial is for:

Puzzle Maker Pro - Reverse Word Search

What is Reverse Word Search

Reverse Word Search is a puzzle where a list of words must be placed in an almost empty grid, instead of Standard Word Search where you have to find words that are already placed in the grid.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/AvNQwkSm0O/0-20240925072051786-1-W-P.png (0-20240925072051786-1-W-P)

In this example you can see that some words are already placed in the grid. For each unplaced word, one or more letters will be shown. With each puzzle you also get the complete list of words for that puzzle, in this case:

Astonishing, Blessing, Compelling, Delight, Discovery, Dream, Energetic, Enrich, Exclusive, Ferocious, Hero, Life-Changing, Now, Overwhelm, Passion, Pleasure, Power, Quality, Renewal, Results, Sensational, Service, Sexy, Soul, Thriving, Transforming, Unlimited, Whole.

If you already know Puzzle Maker Pro - Standard Word Search, or Zig Zag Word Search, the options and features of this module will be familiar to you.

Set up the Word List

Every word puzzle starts with your word list. You can either type / copy the words, or select a txt file with the words. Each word should be on a separate line.

The screenshot shows that a word list file was selected, and also shows a preview of a puzzle and solution that were generated from the word list:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/yzP6rYhoLb/Reverse%20Word%20Search%20-%20Overview%201.png (Reverse Word Search - Overview 1)

Reverse Word Search Complexity

The complexity / difficulty of Reverse Word Search depends on several settings, such as:

The words in your word list
The size of the grid
The number of clues in the grid
The number of words that are already shown

The number of clues and the number of words can be set on the Advanced tab:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ntp6Scjq9B/Reverse%20Word%20Search%20-%20Overview%202%20Clues.png (Reverse Word Search - Overview 2 Clues)

There are five settings for the number of Clues:

Very Easy (1 clue for each 3 letters) - a 9 letter word will show 3 letters
Easy (1 clue for each 5 letters) - a 9 letter word will show 2 letters
Normal (1 clue for each 6 letters) - a 12 letter word will show 2 letters
Hard (1 clue for each word)
Very Hard (1 clue for each two words)

The letters will be selected randomly. Because of overlapping words, it's possible that more than the number of clues are shown for a specific word.

It's best to play with these options after setting the grid size and the word list, to determine which number of clues works best.

Puzzles for Kids

There are several features that allow you to create puzzles specifically for kids. Of course it starts with selecting a suitable word list and grid size. Additionally there are options for:

Limiting the number of diagonals
Switch off Reversed words
Kids Diagonal: An option to enforce that diagonal words are always printed from top left to bottom right.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/hmq0ZGymUO/Reverse%20Word%20Search%20-%2002%20Kids%20Diagonals.png (Reverse Word Search - 02 Kids Diagonals)

(The word list in this example is obviously not a great fit for younger kids, it's just used to demonstrate the Kid's Diagonal feature).

Solution Options

In contrast to Standard Word Search there are no options to set the 'noise' letters to fill the grid, since empty square will be shown as black squares. (Otherwise the puzzle would be unsolvable).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Jzq4h7531k/Reverse%20Word%20Search%20-%2005%20Solution%20Style.png (Reverse Word Search - 05 Solution Style)

You can set the style of the lines that indicate the words in the solution, along with the line color and thickness.

Puzzle Styling Options

You can customize the styling of the puzzle by selecting your own font (and font color) and setting the colors for the lines and squares. For Reverse Word Search Puzzles it's necessary to print the lines in the grid, otherwise it will become really hard to solve.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/6EG56rtVfv/Reverse%20Word%20Search%20-%2006%20Style.png (Reverse Word Search - 06 Style)

You can change the font by clicking on the white panel that shows the font name (it also shows the text "Click to Edit Font Settings").

Word List Styling Options

Additionally there are some options to control the way the word list is displayed in Instant Puzzle Books.

If your word list has hints / descriptions in addition to the words, you can choose to display those. That adds a significant bit of complexity. This feature can also be used to create language translation puzzles. (instead of just typing a word on each line, type the word and description, separated by a colon, like this "word:description")
Words can be aligned left, center or right.
Words can be sorted in several ways

Here's an example of a Reverse Word Search page in an Instant Puzzle Book (this example uses the Time Saver features):

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/1ddRcvonnD/Reverse%20Word%20Search%20-%2007%20Output%202%20Per%20Page.png (Reverse Word Search - 07 Output 2 Per Page)

Introduction

Secret Word Column is an acrostic Crossword puzzle where a list of words is printed, and one column contains a secret word.

There are many different types of Secret Word and Letter Hint Crossword puzzles. Secret Word Column is the name we give to the type of Secret Word Crossword where a list of words is shown, and a single 'secret' word can be found in one of the columns.

Secret Word and Letter Hints Settings

For Secret Word Column puzzles, the "Secret Word" option is always enabled, since this is the main characteristic of the puzzle.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/9BhHyojE8q/Secret-Word-Column-Default%20.png (Secret Word Column Puzzle Screenshot)

Additionally, you can add "Alphabet Hints", which will make the puzzle easier to solve:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ACCXtPsVgu/Secret-Word-Column-Letter-Hints.png (Secret Word Column with Letter Hints)

In this screenshot you see a different puzzle, and all the small numbers in the puzzle. Each number corresponds with a single letter. The numbers are randomly assigned to the letters, so each puzzle will have a different key.

Image Options

When you use the additional image options (for social media images, etc), you can specify which information is used for the image title and description:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/sgIsI2L3iE/Secret-Word-Column-Image-Settings.png (Secret-Word-Column-Image-Settings)

For both the Title Description you can use the Word Set Title, Word Set Description, Secret Word Description (Clue) or a Custom word or phrase.

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.

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