Questions people ask
The short answers. Last changed 22 October 2026.
Is it free?
Yes. Making, solving, sharing and keeping word lists cost nothing.
Do I need an account?
No. Everything works without one. An account keeps your puzzles and word lists the same on every device you sign in on, and lets you share a puzzle by link. Sign in with Google or with an email address. Accounts are for ages 13 and up.
Where are my puzzles kept?
In the browser you made them in. Signed in, they're also kept in your account. Signed out, the browser holds the only copy, and clearing its data (or, in Safari, weeks without a visit) can lose them. Sign in, or use Download all on My puzzles to keep a copy.
What files can it open?
.puz (Across Lite), .ipuz and .jpz (Crossword Compiler). Load one on My puzzles to edit it, or on Solve to solve it. The Export page saves to the same three, and prints.
Who can see a puzzle I share?
Only people you give the link to. Shared puzzles aren't listed or searchable anywhere on the site. Stop sharing on the Export page turns the link off.
How do word scores work?
Scores run 1 to 10: 5 is fine fill, 6 good, 7 and up lively, 4 dull but legitimate, 3 and under weak. Autofill uses only words at or above the minimum score you set on the Grid page. Change any word's score, or remove it, in a list of your own on the Edit page.
Autofill can't find a fill. What now?
Lower the minimum word score, move a block, or clear a letter that boxes a corner in. Word options show which words still work in a slot: a tick means a full fill exists with it, a struck-through word means none does.
A word in the list shouldn't be there.
On the Grid page, select it and press Remove from list, then Report it, and our team takes it out for everyone. For anything else, use Contact.
What are the keys?
On the Grid page: letters type, a period makes a block, space blanks a square, the arrow keys move, Enter switches direction, and Tab goes to the next open entry (Shift+Tab back). Press and release Shift to put several letters in one square, then Enter.
On the Solve page: letters type, Backspace clears and steps back, space clears and moves on, Tab or Enter goes to the next answer with empty squares (with Shift, the one before), and an arrow across the answer turns the corner first. Shift, or the Rebus button, puts several letters in one square.
On a phone the phone's own keyboard does the same: a period makes a block, and a capital letter starts a rebus.
Something broken, a question not here, or an idea? Tell our team on the Contact page. We read every message.