How We Make Our Puzzles

We believe you deserve to know how the puzzles you solve are made — especially in an age where "auto-generated" often means "nobody checked this." Here's our process, honestly described.

1. The word list comes first

Everything starts with our word list: thousands of everyday words, each one chosen on purpose. We deliberately exclude the classic crossword filler — the ERNEs and OLIOs that make traditional puzzles feel like a vocabulary exam. If a word wouldn't come up in normal conversation, it doesn't make the list.

2. Every clue is written, not scraped

Each word carries clues written specifically for this site — with help from modern AI writing tools, and reviewed for quality, accuracy, and family-friendliness. We don't copy clues from other publishers. Our house style: easy, warm, and occasionally worth a small groan.

3. A computer weaves the grid

Interlocking words into a valid crossword grid is a jigsaw with thousands of pieces — exactly the kind of work computers love. Our puzzle engine tries thousands of combinations from our word list until it finds a grid where every crossing works. The same engine powers Endless Mode, building puzzles right in your browser.

4. Quality gates, then people

Every generated puzzle passes automatic checks: every answer must be a real entry from our curated list, every crossing must be valid, no puzzle may repeat itself, and no clue may accidentally contain its own answer. Published puzzle sets get a human once-over on top.

Why we work this way

Hand-crafting every single puzzle would mean a handful of puzzles a month. Our approach — human-curated ingredients, computer-assembled grids, checked output — means unlimited puzzles that still feel like they were made with care. Because the ingredients were.

Spot a bad clue or a word that shouldn't be there? Tell us — we'll fix the list, and every future puzzle benefits.