Crossword Labs was built in 2011 by Matt Johnson while he was an undergrad at Washington State University, Vancouver. Now, it's one of the largest repositories of crossword puzzles on the internet – with over 1 million puzzles made.
Please Help Spread The Word!
There are a lot of mediocre crossword puzzle makers out there. Many of them look free, and then do a bait-n-switch when you want to print. You can make and print a complete crossword puzzle on Crossword Labs for free (a paid account is optional).
Crossword Labs has no ads, no watermarks, and no registration required.
To help others find Crossword Labs, please blog about it, tweet about it, or share a link to it:
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Building
Can my answers have spaces?
No. It's a crossword puzzle!
My puzzle is missing some of the clues that I entered!
No, it's not. You are making the assumption that 10 (for example) clues should result in a puzzle with numbers going from 1 to 10. This is not true if any of the words share a starting square (because that cell's number will be doing double duty for across and down).
Printing/Exporting/Embeding
How do I print my puzzle?
Go to your puzzle page, and click the aptly named "Print" button. For more print options click the "Share" button, and see the "Copy/Print/Export" section.
How do I print the answer key?
Go to your puzzle page, check the answers checkbox, and click the aptly named "Print" button. For more print options click the "Share" button, and see the "Copy/Print/Export" section.
If you don't see the answers checkbox, then click the Answers button and sign in.
How do I export the puzzle to SVG, PNG, or Microsoft Word?
Go to your puzzle page, click the "Share" button and see the "Copy/Print/Export" section.
How do I embed the puzzle on my own website?
Go to your puzzle page, click the "Share" button and see the "Embed Code" section.
The embed code is not working the way I want it to.
Tough cookies. What you see is what you get.
Online Solving
How do I solve the puzzle online?
Just bring up your crossword, click on a cell, and start typing.
What is "Focus Mode"?
It displays the crossword without any of the Crossword Labs branding, or buttons to distract you. There is a little menu button in the bottom right corner. If you have students solving your puzzle online, you probably want to send them to the focus mode page.
Does Crossword Labs work on the iPad?
Yes. It works on just about any device.
My students fill out the puzzle online. How can they send it to me for grading?
Crossword Labs isn't really setup for that kind of thing. I'm trying to think of a good way to handle it. For the time being you can have your students:
- Take a screenshot and email it to you
- Print it to a PDF (assuming you have a PDF printer installed), and email the PDF.
- Print it, and scan/photograph. Email the picture.
Account
I can't login!!!
Did you actually pay $9.95 for a membership? Most people don't buy one, because you can do basically everything without a membership (you're welcome).
If you're absolutely sure you paid for a membership, try resetting your password (you can also do that to retrieve your username).
There are no bugs with the login or password reset system. So if you're having a problem you either 1) can't remember your own email address, 2) used the wrong email address, 3) typo'd it, 4) have an overzealous spam filter, 5) or lost access to your email account. To get back in, you must send me sufficient information to track down your account, and prove account ownership. The receipt, various email addresses you may have used, card type, expiration, and last 4 all help to track it down.
Web Browsers 101
I filled in the crossword and now everyone can see what I typed in!!!
Only someone using your computer and web browser can see what you typed in. No one else can. CrosswordLabs saves your responses in your web browser's storage system. This ensures if you refresh the page or close the browser accidentally, you don't lose all your responses. People on other computers or different browser contexts won't see your answers.
I don't want students to see the answers! How can I hide them?
The only reason you can see the answers is because you're logged in (or you created the puzzle). Your students won't be able to see the answers when they view your puzzle. Don't believe me? Open a private window in your browser, and try to get the answer key.
I don't want students to be able to edit my crossword puzzle!
They can't. Same reason as above.
Other
Can I sell my crossword, or use it for commercial purposes?
Yes. No attribution to CrosswordLabs.com is required. But it's definitely appreciated.
How can I contact you?
Please read everything on this page before you email me asking for help.
Login issues: Follow the "Not working" wizard on the trouble logging in page.
For everything else:
support@crosswordlabs.com
Is CrosswordLabs accessible?
CrosswordsLabs should work well with screen readers. If you encounter any issues or want to suggest improvements, please email
How do I get a refund?
Email your invoice number to
to initiate the refund process, in accordance with the refund policy.
