Crossword Puzzle Maker

Your own words and clues, interlocked into a real crossword you can play, print and export.

1. Words and clues

34 usable answers · 182 letters

Editor

Bulk paste — one entry per line

“WORD: clue” or just “WORD”. Spaces, hyphens and apostrophes are ignored; answers must be A–Z, at least 3 letters and unique.

2. Grid and build options

Estimate the grid size for me

Grid size (9–25)

Estimated from your letter count: 20 × 20.

Seed

The same seed and list always rebuild the same puzzle.

Effort

Dense packing. Lets parallel answers sit side by side so a cramped grid still fits more of your list. It gives a less conventional grid and can leave short letter runs with no clue.

180° symmetry. After each placement the rotated copy of that word is attempted too; it is kept only when those cells are free and join the grid, and the report counts every fallback.

3. Placement report

31 of 34 words placed in a 20 × 20 grid — 32 crossings, 35% of cells filled, after 12 restarts. Symmetry: 1 mirrored copy placed, 30 fallbacks where the mirrored cells were blocked or would have floated.

Could not place 3 words — shorten them or enlarge the grid:

DUNE (4) — Hill of sand shaped by wind
BUOY (4) — Floating marker anchored in the water
NET (3) — Mesh used to catch fish

4. Solve it

Click a cell and type. Arrow keys move, Space switches between across and down, Backspace clears and steps back. Click a clue to jump to its first cell.

31 of 34 words placed in a 20×20 grid.

Clues

Across (15)

Down (16)

5. Print and export

The printout holds the grid and both clue lists; the worklist lists every answer with its clue, direction and position so you can rework the list by hand.

About this tool

This maker interlocks your own words into a crossword: it sorts them longest first, then tries every letter of every remaining answer against every matching letter already on the grid, in both directions, and keeps the placement with the most crossings that also stays near the centre and compact — never letting a word float unconnected or run into its neighbour. It numbers the grid the standard way, builds the Across and Down clue lists, and lets you play, print or export the result as PNG and Markdown. Everything — placement, numbering, checking and export — runs entirely in your browser, and the search is capped so a big list cannot freeze the tab.

100% free — no account needed
Runs in your browser
Nothing is uploaded

Frequently asked questions

Is Crossword Puzzle Maker really free?

Yes. Crossword Puzzle Maker is completely free on PureBrowser — every feature, with no account, no trial, and no credit card.

Does Crossword Puzzle Maker upload my data?

No. Crossword Puzzle Maker runs entirely inside your browser, so anything you type, paste, or open stays on your own device.

Do I need to sign up or install anything?

Neither. There is no account and nothing to download — open the page and Crossword Puzzle Maker is ready to use on desktop or mobile.

Does Crossword Puzzle Maker work offline?

Once the page has loaded, yes. All of the processing happens locally in your browser, so it keeps working without a connection.

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