Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Making a simple crossword puzzle
• Part 2 of 3: Creating descriptions
• Part 3 of 3: Making an official puzzle

Crossword puzzles and other mind games are good for hours of thinking fun and contribute to a sharper mind. They are also good learning tools, with which you can challenge students and have them link concepts to words. For some people, making a crossword puzzle is just as rewarding as solving it. The whole process can be very simple or very detailed, depending on how much interest you are in it.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Making a simple crossword puzzle

1. Determine the size of the diagram. If you want to make an official crossword puzzle, there are specific sizes to choose from. But if you're just making one for fun, you can choose any size you want.
   • When using an online puzzle maker, you may only be able to choose from a limited number of sizes. If you make your puzzle from scratch, it is your choice.
2. Make a list of words for your crossword puzzle. Usually a crossword puzzle consists of words that fall under a certain theme. That theme, or a reference to it, can also immediately become the title of your puzzle. Popular themes include foreign places or languages, words from a specific period, celebrities and sports.
3. Put the words in a grid. Sometimes this process is just as challenging as the solution itself. When you have put all the words down, black out the empty squares.
   • In an American style crossword puzzle, there are no dangling words that are not connected to other words. In addition, each letter must be associated with both a horizontal and a vertical word. In the British style, loose words are allowed.
   • If the answer to a description is a phrase or phrase instead of a word, there should be no spaces between the words.
   • You don't have to think about capital letters for proper nouns, because crossword puzzles are usually filled in completely in capital letters. Punctuation should also be left out.
   • There are plenty of online puzzle makers who can automatically put the words in a diagram for you. You then only enter the size of the puzzle, and the words and descriptions.
4. Number the first box of each word. Start at the top left corner of the puzzle, and distinguish between the horizontal and vertical words. So you get "1 vertical", "1 horizontal", etc. This can also be quite a brain-teasing process. Many people prefer to use a computer program for this.
   • If you use a puzzle generator, it will automatically take care of the numbering as well.
5. Make a copy of the crossword puzzle. The numbering must be preserved in the copy, but the boxes must otherwise be empty. If you make your puzzle manually, this is a bit of work, but with a puzzle generator this should be done automatically for you. Save the completed puzzle as an answer sheet. You can copy the empty version as many times as you want.

Part 2 of 3: Creating descriptions

1. Start with a few simple descriptions. These are also called "quick" descriptions, and they are usually the easiest to come up with and solve. A simple example is "Noble farm animal" = HORSE.
   • If you are making a crossword puzzle as a learning tool, or if you just like to keep it simple, you can stick to the quick descriptions. But if you want to make a challenging puzzle, you better avoid them or use them only occasionally.
2. Make your puzzle more challenging with indirect descriptions. These descriptions usually lean on a metaphor, or require some lateral thinking. An example of this is "Half a dance" = CHA or CAN (from Chacha or Cancan).
   • Crosswords often signal these types of descriptions by starting with "maybe" or ending with a question mark.
3. Use cryptic descriptions. This type of crossword puzzle - also called cryptogram - is especially popular in the United Kingdom, but it is also common in the Netherlands. In addition to the specific cryptograms, you also sometimes encounter cryptic descriptions in "normal" puzzles. In that case they are often indicated with a question mark at the end of the description. These descriptions are based on wordplay, and often have several layers that need to be unraveled. There are many subcategories of cryptic descriptions.
   • Purely cryptic descriptions are in fact word jokes. For example: "Mother has permission for this rock" = MAGMA (from the phrase "mag ma?").
   • Reversals are cryptic descriptions whose solution must be reversed. For example: "Returns without anything with a color" = EMPTY. You get this solution by inverting a color (yellow) to "empty" ("without anything"). The word "back" is a hint to the reversal.
   • Palindromes are sometimes indicated with a description such as "from all sides". With these descriptions you need to find a palindrome that is the solution to the cryptic question. For example: "Receives signals from all sides" = RADAR.
4. List the descriptions. Number your descriptions according to their place in the puzzle. Put all horizontal descriptions together in order, and do the same for the vertical descriptions.

Part 3 of 3: Making an official puzzle

1. Use one of the standard sizes. Simon & Schuster are the original publishers of crossword puzzles, and their standards are still used by professional puzzle makers. One of their standards is that a puzzle should only have the following sizes: 15 × 15, 17 × 17, 19 × 19, 21 × 21 or 23 × 23. The bigger the puzzle, the more difficult it is.
2. Make sure your diagram has 180 degrees of rotational symmetry. The "diagram" in this case means the arrangement of black boxes in the grid. These should be spaced so that they are the same when you rotate your puzzle 180 degrees.
3. Avoid short words. Two-letter words are not allowed, and three-letter words should be used sparingly.If you can't think of long words, don't forget that you can also use sentences or phrases.
4. Use words with a reference. With some exceptions, the words in your puzzle should be found in a dictionary, atlas, literary work, textbook, almanac, etc. You can deviate from this rule a bit on certain themes, but don't go too far.
5. Use each word only once. If one of the answers in your puzzle is "in the net", you should not have "just married" as the other answer. Here too you have a little more freedom with certain themes, but don't be too generous.
6. Put extra emphasis on the long words. A characteristic of a good puzzle is that the longest words are also closest to the theme. Not all crossword puzzles have a theme, but many good ones are.