Directory:Punzhu Puzzles/Crosswords

Crosswords

An Englishman named Arthur Wynne invented crossword puzzles in 1913. The first crossword puzzles didn't have any black squares and the very first printed and published crossword was diamond shaped.

Crosswords are perfect puzzles for improving your vocabulary and knowledge of words. They are created using a grid, usually square or rectangular, containing black squares to indicate the end or beginning of a word or word sequence, and white squares for letters.

Words in a crossword grid may be written horizontally (Across) or vertically (Down). Numbers are assigned to the horizontal and vertical squares and correspond to the clue definitions provided for that puzzle grid.

To solve a crossword you first read a clue for a word going Across or going Down and then, using that clue, determine the correct word to place in the spaces provided in the grid for that clue.

Example:

Crossword clues may be a synonym, an antonym, a type of thing the solution is, a hint like in 4 Across in example, a partial definition, a cryptic clue, or an anagram to name just a few clue examples.

Crossword variations

Variations on the standard crossword include:

1) a diagramless puzzle in which some or all of the black squares are removed;

2) a diagramless puzzle with anagram clues;

3) a jigsaw style of crossword in which a puzzle is broken into pieces like a jigsaw and you place the pieces back in the correct order to match the solution;

4) a zigzag crossword where a word in the grid bends 90 degrees once or twice and continues onward to the next black square;

5) a pick-one crossword game where the puzzle has two letters in a square and you must pick one to form the correct word in the solution;

6) a code word crossword in which each blank square contains a number corresponding to a letter in the alphabet.

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Free Puzzle Magazines

Punzhu publishes crossword magazines in Adobe PDF that you may download for free by clicking on the "Free Magazines" link on our main menu, or by clicking on the image of the magazine you wish to download.

Registration, which is also free, is required to access our free puzzle magazines.

Crosswords, word search, word find, Hitori, sudoku, symbol sudoku, alphasudoku, coded, cryptic, fill-in, scrambled, jigsaw, are just some of the games available in our free puzzle magazines.

Directory:Punzhu Puzzles