Question 1

How to Get Started with Puzzle Maker Pro - Geometric Mazes

Accepted Answer

This tutorial will show you how to get started with Puzzle Maker Pro - Geometric Mazes.

When you select the Geometric Mazes module in Puzzle Maker Pro (1), you'll see a window similar to this screenshot:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/WHaX9pO8oC/01%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Initial%20View.png (01 Mazes 2D - Initial View (2).png)

In this window you can:

Set the type of maze you want, and set the size for your maze (2),
Configure how your maze will be generated (4),
Set additional Maze properties such as style and Colors (3)
Use future add-ons for Geometric Mazes (3)
And finally - Create or Preview your maze (5).

Different shape types

Puzzle Maker Pro - Geometric Mazes offers 4 different shape types, which are enabled depending on your license. (Read more about Geometric Mazes licenses here).

Squares

Mazes with squares are the most easy to understand: You can set the number of rows and the number of columns for the total maze grid, and the software will generate a nice meandering path using some of these squares. An example is the screenshot at the top of this page.

Triangles

Triangles mazes are made up from triangles, alternatingly pointing up and down. A triangle based maze can never be fully square in size (unless you do some advanced math).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/qW45nPAk0J/03%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Triangles.png (03 Mazes 2D - Triangles.png)

You can see in this image that a triangles maze with 20x20 triangles is not exactly rectangular.

Circle

A circle maze consist of several concentric circles. The number of maze 'cells' in each larger circle will be larger than the smaller circles, to make sure all the cells are more or less the same size.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/aJ5l2Ta3DI/02%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Circle.png (02 Mazes 2D - Circle.png)

The number of rows and columns for circle mazes have a special logic:

Rows: The number of rings you encounter when you count from top to bottom or left to right. This setting is actually double the number of circles that are drawn.
Columns: This is the number of parts of the center circle, which can have a value ranging from 3 to 10. (This is a UNIQUE feature that you won't find in any other maze software). 4 or 6 are great values to work with, but you can experiment with the other numbers.

Hexagons

Hexagons are shapes with 6 sides. An example can be seen in this screenshot:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/iClafwvPIm/04%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Hexagons.png (04 Mazes 2D - Hexagons.png)

The number of columns that are drawn for hexagons will always be odd, to add corner shapes for bether esthetics.

Links to tutorials to configure all the different settings for Geometric Mazes can be found at the bottom of this page.

Save and Preview

For new Puzzle Maker Pro users:

At the bottom of the window, you can see three buttons and an option (checkbox)

"Create" will create new mazes. This will use the quantity setting (Basic Options, at the top of the Puzzle Settings tab), to create 1, 2, 5 up to 1000's of maze puzzles. Each puzzle consists of a puzzle image and a solution image. WARNING: for large puzzle sizes (70-100) this may take a while for each puzzle.
"Next Preview" will generate a new maze that is shown in the preview panel (the big maze image at the right side of the Puzzle Maker Pro window). This is not saved to disk, but is an easy and interactive way to play with the settings and see what happens.
"Save Preview" will save the current preview.
"Preview Solution" can be used to toggle the preview panel from solution to puzzle. For mazes it's usually convenient to preview the solution (otherwise you won't see the solution path).

Hexagon Shapes

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/DQXLrglWHz/Jigsaw%20026%20-%20Blank%20Hexagons%20Puzzle.png (Jigsaw 026 - Blank Hexagons Puzzle.png)

Unlike Squares, Hexagon shapes will never perfectly fill a square or rectangular image. You can see this in the picture above. The corners and side pieces will always look this way, unless you select the "only Full Shapes" button. More about that below.

The puzzle page that's generated for JigSaw Hexagons has the same layout as the puzzle pages for JigSaw Squares, as you can see in the screenshot below.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/lEpZgN60or/Jigsaw%20030%20-%20Hexagon%20Puzzle%20Page.png (Jigsaw 030 - Hexagon Puzzle Page.png)

Perfect Hexagons vs Irregular Hexagons

You can choose between Perfect Hexagons and Irregular Hexagons.

With the Perfect Hexagons setting, used in most of the examples in this tutorial, you can choose the number of rows (the number of hexagons vertically). The software will calculate the number of columns (the number of hexagons horizontally).

You can also choose for irregular hexagons (by switching off "Perfect Hexagons"). What this does is 'squish' the hexagons to fit the amount of columns and rows you have selectecd. In most cases this is graphically less appealing, but the option is there if you want it. If you switch off Perfect Hexagons, it will use the number of columns you set to create the image.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/usDHA33S3O/Jigsaw%20029%20-%20Irregular%20Hexagons.png (Jigsaw 029 - Irregular Hexagons.png)

Hexagon Coordinates

Hexagon Coordinates are a bit complex, because of the nature of hexagons. Puzzle Maker Pro - Hexagons has uses the following method for numbering rows and columns:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/fhNsTxaOew/Jigsaw%20027%20-%20Hexagon%20Coordinates.png (Jigsaw 027 - Hexagon Coordinates.png)

The first full row is "B". The row with half hexagons at the top border is "A". Each row will zigzag a little bit. The second hexagon is a bit lower, the third is a bit up, and so on.

The columns are easier to understand: Each column number points to the full hexagons or hexagon parts exactly below it.

Hexagons - Only Full Shapes

By filling the edges with hexagon parts adds a lot of additional puzzle pieces. There's an option to remove these, by selecting "Only Full Shapes". The result is shown in this screenshot:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/leMA199oCz/Jigsaw%20031%20-%20Hexagon%20Only%20Full%20Shapes.png (Jigsaw 031 - Hexagon Only Full Shapes.png)

An unfortunate side-effect of this options is that you lose the borders of the original image, but all shapes are the same, so if there's nothing important near the borders, this may actually be the preferable option.

Puzzle Maker Pro - Easy Cryptograms

This tutorial applies to Easy Cryptograms

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

Easy Cryptograms Explained

Our module Easy Cryptograms creates puzzles where the letters of a word, a set of words, or a phrase, are replaced by a different letter. For example each A is replaced by a D, each B by an E, and so on.

Easy Cryptograms is an implementation of a letter encoding (letter replacement) puzzle, is a word puzzle where the letters of a word, a set of words, or a phrase, are replaced by a different letter. For example each A is replaced by a D, each B by an E, and so on.

In Puzzle Maker Pro - Easy Cryptograms, there are some basic rules that are applied for encoding words and phrases:

Letters in a word are replaced by other letters. For example: Sudoku may result in tveplv,
Each word in a phrase is changed consistently, with the same key,
Spaces, punctuation marks and other special characters are not scrambled,
Optionally you can use a different key for each set of words, or for each word in a word list,
The key can be customized or randomized

Encoding where each letter shifts 3 letters in the alphabet is also known as Caesar code.

Easy Cryptograms Overview

To use Easy 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/Pmwwb3HXih/Easy%20Cryptograms%20Overview.png (Easy Cryptograms Overview)

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.

In addition to the 'basic' easy cryptograms functionality this module has quite a few options:

Generating Easy Cryptograms

The total number of puzzles can be set ("Quantity"), or you can use the entire word list ("Entire List").

When generating puzzles, and when generating a new preview (click Next Preview), a meme style image is shown as a preview. You can configure and style these images using the Images/Meme tab.

Hoewever, for Instant Puzzle Books, the images are not used, but instead the text output is used. That means you do not need to create the image output for your Instant Puzzle Books.

The text output consists of a TXT file and a CSV file, see also "Text Output for Word Puzzles". The CSV file can (for example) be used in Canva Pro to quickly generate images (in addition to the built-in Images/Memes option).

A default layout for Instant Puzzle Books will be used (just click "Create" to see this). With the Time Saver add-on, you can adjust the layout, using columns and customize other layout options.

Algorithm

You can control how the letters will be replaced / substituted:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/v12xLREBHO/Easy%20Cryptograms%20Algorithm.png (Easy Cryptograms Algorithm)

Use a Caesar Code - Letters are shifted a certain amount of positions in the alphabet. Or choose Random, in which case there won't be a clear order of replacement - this makes the puzzles harder to solve;
Set the shift amount for Caesar Code cryptograms, or optionally make it random - this will generate a random shift amount from 1 to 26)
Configure when a new randomization will be generated. (This will not work for Fixed Shift)

Fixed - the same encoding will be used for all words,
Vary Per Set - a new randomization will be generated for each set of words (see also Word List Format for Word Puzzles for more information about sets,
Vary Per Word/Phrase - for each word in the words list, a new random offset or randomization will be generated. For a phrase (multiple words on a single line in the text file), each word will always be encrypted with the same key (offset).

Styling

Styling the puzzles and puzzle books for Easy Cryptograms can be configured in several places:

Font Styling - The selected font will be used for the Images/Memes and for Instant Puzzle Books (see below),
Output Style - How to display the puzzle (see below),
Image/Meme Styling - This can be set on the Images/Memes tab (see also: How to create Images/Memes for Word Puzzles)
Instant Puzzle Books - 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.

Font Styling

You can customize the font by clicking the white panel (or the looking glass icon) in the Font Settings area. You can set both the font and the font color.

For the Instant Puzzle Books you can set the exact font size.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/umTwRURKAG/Fixed%20Font%20Size.png (Fixed Font Size)

For Images/Memes the font size is determined automatically, since this will vary depending on the image size (the number of pixels).

Output Style

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/spbhuqbVb8/Easy%20Cryptograms%20Output%20Styling.png (Easy Cryptograms Output Styling)

You can choose if you want the output in letters (A-Z), numbers, or double digit numbers.

When you choose numbers, the space between characters will be at least 1, otherwise it's impossible to distinguish between single digit and double digit numbers.

For Double Digit Numbers, the space between characters is optional. No spaces between the different numbers will make a puzzle quite a bit harder to solve. Compare 041717131823041411211007202217171421 to 04 17 17 13 18 23 04 14 11 21 10 07 20 22 17 17 14 21.

How to use the Time Saver for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D

The Time Saver for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D works for:

The Time saver consists of two distinct parts:

Batch creation of mazes
Advanced layouts options with grids up to 10x10 puzzles or solutions

Batch Creation of Mazes

There are several ways you can control the mazes that are generated by the Time Saver

Using Presets
Enter rows in the control grid
Add images for masks using the Quick Mask options

We'll discuss these different options in the paragraphs below.

Batch Creation using Presets

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Bgl3MfS42X/Mazes%202D%20Time%20Saver%20Presets.png (Mazes 2D Time Saver Presets)

To use this option, don't forget to click (check) the options "Use Time Saver" and "Use Time Saver - Preset Puzzles".

Click the tab "Preset Puzzles" on the Time Saver tab. At the left you can see all the presets for Mazes 2D. If they're not visible yet, click "Refresh List".

The presets shown here are presets that you have saved yourself. There are no built-in presets, since it's so very easy to create your own.

You can select one or more presets (using Shift / Ctrl to select multiple presets) and click "Add Selected". The default quantity for each preset is 1, you can change this by clicking on the number you want to change.

Preset puzzles can be combined with the "Fast" mode for the Time Saver.

Batch Creation using the Control Grid

When you use the Control Grid (the "Fast" option), The Time Saver will use most of the settings from the regular "Puzzle Settings". These will be overruled by the specific settings that can be entered in the grid.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/mOYcLeAuzp/Mazes%202D%20Time%20Saver%20Fast.png (Mazes 2D Time Saver Fast)

Select the maze type that you need, the quantity and the grid size (Rows / Columns)
Click "Add Row" to add a row to the Control Grid
Change options as needed in the Control Grid by clicking the number or item you want to change
Click "Create (TS)" to create the puzzles and optionally the Instant Puzzle Book

Batch Creation using Quick Masks in the Control Grid

If you have the Masks Add-On, you can use the Quick Masks option:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/v4rKADjwcp/Mazes%202D%20Time%20Saver%20Quick%20Mask.png (Mazes 2D Time Saver Quick Mask)

Set the maze type and grid size that you need. You should set the Quantity to 1, unless you want several puzzles with identical masks
Click "Add Quick Mask". This will open the file explorer on your computer, allowing you to select one or several images. For each image, a row in the Control Grid will be added
Change options as needed
Click "Create (TS)" to create the puzzles using the Time Saver.

Creating Images/Memes

In addition to the text output that's used for Instant Puzzle Books, there's also an option to directly create Images for your puzzle words. To do this, select the "Images/Memes" tab.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/S1GQqhqTLa/Images-Memes.png (Images-Memes)

This is an easy way to create simple puzzle images that can be used on social media or elsewhere. (For more advanced images, use the CSV output and your favorite editing software).

The options you have here:

Click "Create Images" to automatically generated these images when you create puzzles.
The Description or Title can be printed at the top. You can switch this off. If there's a description for the word, that will be used. Otherwise, the title for the set of words will be used. If neither is available, the Description will be left blank.
You can select the background color or keep it transparent. If the background color is transparent, you can layer it with other images in your favorite editing software, or use the background images feature in Puzzle Maker Pro: Output Settings -> Background Images tab).
You can set the border width and color.
For social media posts, you can add your own watermark text. if you don't need this, switch it off. (Unless you want to print "www.BookPublisherTools.com" on all your images.

The settings from this tab will also be used for the puzzle preview image when you click "Next Preview".

Introduction

Criss Cross is a type of crossword puzzle where words are loosely connected to each other, like the example below.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/naZADEeuKz/Criss-Cross-Overview.png (Criss-Cross-Overview)

In this tutorial we'll show you how to create this type of puzzle using your own word list.

Puzzle Maker Pro - Criss Cross

All the options and functionalities for Criss Cross are covered in the main tutorial for Crossword Variations.

There are a few details to pay attention to:

Style 2 tab

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/jKDtIbzLUu/Criss-Cross-Style-2-tab.png (Criss-Cross-Style-2-tab)

As you can see in this screenshot, using full size word numbers influences the puzzle generation, because each word number needs a separate square. In essence this means that there are fewer squares for the words. In general this is not a problem, but it's good to be aware of the changes in the puzzle.

Grid tab

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/eX8BR18RHe/Criss-Cross-Grid-tab.png (Criss-Cross-Grid-tab)

You can adjust the grid size to create puzzles that fit in the available space. For example with these image settings, there's a rectangular area available for the puzzle, and it makes sense to set a grid size of e.g. 10x25 for a natural look.

Image tab

For Criss Cross puzzles you can use the Set Title, Set Description or a Custom text for the image title and description.

How to Get Started with Puzzle Maker Pro - Geometric Mazes

Create Shaped Mazes for Mazes 2D Tiles (Video)

How can I create Hexagon JigSaw puzzles?

Can I get an overview of what Puzzle Maker Pro can do for me?

How to Create Cryptograms with Puzzle Maker Pro

How to use the Time Saver for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D

Creating Images for Word Puzzles

On how many computers can I install Puzzle Maker Pro?

How to create Criss Cross puzzles with Puzzle Maker Pro - Criss Cross

Getting Started with Nonconsecutive Sudoku