Using Our Online Puzzle Solving Tools
The players are designed to be intuitive, but here are some useful tips that you might have missed:
With the grid based puzzles, such as crosswords, you can click directly on a grid square to highlight the answer cells for a particular run. If a cell is in both an across and a down answer, then click the cell again to toggle between the vertical and horizontal clues.
With grid puzzles that have clues (such as pangrams, crosswords, every letter counts) - you can also click directly on a clue for the answer squares to be highlighted in the grid. For instance, click on the clue for 5 Across, and the cursor will move to the first answer square in the grid for that clue. When you enter a letter, the cursor will move automatically to the next letter in that answer.
When you are inside the solving grid, you can click tab to move to the next clue. You can press shift+tab to move backwards to the previous clue. Repeated pressing will cycle you through every across and every down clue, and then back again.
With any grid puzzle, you can also use the arrow keys to move up, down, left and right around the grid. These various methods for navigating the grid should ensure that there is always a quick and easy way for you to move from clue to clue without manually having to click in the grid for every letter you wish to place.
We also have various solving tools - for instance the ability to see if you have entered a letter incorrectly by using the 'show wrong moves' facility.
If you make a mistake and want to start again, you can click 'reset'. This returns you to the start of an unplayed puzzle or your last saved position. If you are halfway through a puzzle, and need to go, click 'save' so your work isn't lost.
The important thing to note is that if you click 'show solution' at any point, then you will not receive any points for completing the puzzle. But use of other solving aids such as showing wrong moves is allowed and will still lead to points being awarded for your solve of the puzzle.
Are there any questions you have about the players and how to use them? Feel free to post questions / comments below!
Date written: 26 Apr 2015
Comment on this post
You must be logged in to comment - please Register or Login
Writing A Themed Kriss Kross Puzzle
Writing a themed puzzle is generally more difficult than writing a non-themed puzzle.
This is usually because there are relatively few words on a theme, and therefore this will restrict the options for the particular puzzle type you are creating. This...
Added: 28 Jun 2015
General Knowledge Solving Tips
Solving general knowledge puzzles, surprisingly enough, requires a considerable amount of general knowledge. So far, so obvious. But how do you go about getting the knowledge that you require to solve a general knowledge crossword?
Well there are...
Added: 20 Mar 2015
Solving US Crosswords As A Brit
British solvers who venture across a US crossword, perhaps when on holiday, will notice that it is a very different beast.
The main difference you'll notice is that there are so many more clues and answers in a grid of a given size, and that answers...
Added: 14 Jun 2015
The Differences Between US And UK Crossword Grids
British and US crossword grids are very different. This is not something you might expect to be the case, but any puzzle lover who visits the other country soon realises that they are very different beasts.
It starts very much with the grid. With US...
Added: 27 Apr 2015
Solving & Lit Clues In Cryptic Crosswords
When you are solving cryptic crosswords, most of the clue types that you come across are fairly intuitive: for instance a double definition clue fairly obviously involves two definitions that lead to the same answer. And an anagram clue, sure enough,...
Added: 11 Apr 2015
Back to Puzzle Blog
Puzzle Types:
