Summary | Selected Apps | References; Misc. Apps

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Summary

• "Today I learned that 'Across Lite' is actually... the name of crossword puzzle software
  and not, as I had previously assumed, a simplified version of a crossword puzzle
  where the down answers are already filled in and you just solve the across clues."
• Desktop and mobile applications (some free):
• optimize crossword size/layout (usually) for different size displays:
  phone, tablet, desktop
• provide a consistent, often customizable, user interface
  -- along with other features.
• open crossword files -- usually .puz
• download .puz files within app or via browser; play offline
• see Sources:Web Sites on how to download (and/or Airdrop) and open .puz files
• If you don't want to install an app, there are several browser-based solvers
  where you can upload a .puz / .jpz file, e.g., Crosshare, Crossword Nexus,
  Cruciverbalizer, Exolve -- from Constructing Crosswords: Solving Applets
• Selected applications for solving crosswords are listed below
  (apps for Authoring will be covered later).
• This list is incomplete and likely out-of-date -- additions, corrections welcome.
• A few apps access only a single puzzle source, e.g., Guardian, NYT, Penny Dell,
  Telegraph, USA Today
• To avoid malware, install software only from your device's "app store" or reputable developers
  [on right (above,below): Crosswords from Stand Alone Software in iOS App Store]
• The focus here is primarily on three, well-maintained, cross-platform applications:
• Across Lite from: Literate Software (aka LitSoft); free
• Crosswords from: Stand Alone; $
• Crossword from: NYT app: free; puzzles: $
• Gallery: Across Lite; Black Ink; Crosswords; CrozzWord; Puzzazz; XWord:
  with OLLI example, from Constructing Crosswords: Solving: Applications

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Across Lite | Black Ink | Crosswords | CrozzWord | NYT Crossword |
Puzzazz | USA Today | XWord | xWord Buddy

• app name: alphabetically by app name, with store/vendor link
• check vendors and app stores for latest versions, features and requirements
• platforms:
• desktop/laptop: Mac (Macintosh); Win (Windows); Lnx (Linux)
• phone/tablet: Android; iOS: iPad, iPhone
• ebook-Reader: Kindle
• cost: eval or free 'light' version available? NA: not available
• formats: most used: .puz
• newer: .jpz, .ipuz, .xpf, etc.; internal: unknown/proprietary
• Refs: Formats
• features: common: Check/Reveal, printing, etc.
• image, gallery (slideshow)
• read vendor FAQs; review articles

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Across Lite (Literate Software)

• platforms/cost:
  Win 7-10: free
  Mac 10.6+: free
  Mac 9.x-10.5: free
  iPad: Across Lite: free
  iPad: Across Trainer: $7
• formats: .puz,.txt
• +check/reveal; +print; +customize ui; -manual download; -support
• Gallery: Across Lite: Mac & iPad; iPad tour; Gallery: OLLI Example
• Solve Crosswords With Across Lite

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Black Ink (Red Sweater)

• platforms/cost: Mac, iOS: $30?
• formats: .puz
• Gallery: OLLI Example
• Black Ink 2.1.7: Preserving New York Times Support 8/10/2021
• Black Ink crossword puzzle game for iOS enters public beta 6/16/2021
• Black Ink Lets You Do Crossword Puzzles on Your Mac TB; 3/3/2020
• Black Ink crossword puzzle app for Mac gets new modern design,
  Dark Mode and VoiceOver support 9to5; 12/3/2019

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Crosswords (Stand Alone Software)

• platforms/cost: (store search: 'Crosswords')
  Android store: $10;
  iOS8+ 'Reg':store: free/Pro:$10
  iOS8+ Classic:store: free/Pro:$10
  Mac 10.6+:store: $20
• formats: .puz, .jpz
• +download: US sites: 20; 'UK': 5; $: 4;
  +browser .puz; +sync w/ desktop; +check/reveal; +customize ui; +support; +print
• issue: import via Airdrop occasionally hangs; solution: force-quit; reimport missing puzzles
• issue: empty 'duplicate' entries sometimes appear: solution: delete ghost versions
• issue: formatting, e.g., italics, doesn't appear; solution: use .jpz, e.g., for NYT
• issue: rebus entries disappear; solution: re-enter or solve at a single sitting
• FAQ: regular, Classic
• Galleries: regular, Classic; Gallery: OLLI Example
• You Should Play: Crosswords 8/10/2012
• Crossword Puzzle Fans, Toss Away That Eraser NYT; 7/11/2012

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CrozzWord (CommuniCrossings)

• platforms/cost: requires Java; NA ($15)
  Mac (8.x-10.14); Win; Zaurus (Lnx)
  S-E P800; iPaq PPC; others
• formats: .puz, others
• +download (sites out of date)
  +check/reveal; +customize ui
  +cross refs; +puzzle info; -print
• Galleries: Gallery: Zaurus, Mac, etc.; OLLI Example
• CrozzWord was awarded 1st place in the JPDA 2002 Application Developers Contest in the Entertainment /
  Educational / Multimedia category -- sponsored by Insignia Solutions, HP, Intel, Metrowerks,
  Sharp, Softbank Publishing and Sun Microsystems. winner list; contest description;
  Insignia Begins Search for Best Java Developer Brains on the Planet with JPDA 2002 Application Developers Contest
• Although limited in many ways (original installer apps may not work, remote puzzle sites won't work
  and it's unsupported & may expire), CrozzWord can still (~2018) run and access .puz from a local file system
• System requirement: Java JDK (development kit) to run full apps
  (Java JRE provides run-time environment for only browser applets).
  Check if JDK already installed via a command-line app/shell, e.g., macOS Terminal: java -version
• Download and place in same directory/folder, e.g., 'cz': crozzword.jar, help.zip, samples.zip;
  expand .zip, result: cz/crozzword.jar, cz/help/..., cz/samples/crozzword1.puz,...
• Terminal: cd cz; java -cp crozzword.jar CrozzWord
  CrozzWord: Local Directory > Other > Samples : 1
  browser: download .puz file, e.g., newton1.puz
  CrozzWord: Local Directory > Other > Other: newton1.puz

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New York Times Crossword app

• platforms/cost: iOS, Android, Kindle: free
• formats: 'internal'
• - NYT only;
  samples, mini-crosswords: free;
  current, archive: $
• iOS 17: How to Play Daily Crossword Puzzles in Apple's News App requires Apple News Plus subscription; CNet; 2/10/2024
• The Benefits Of Doing The NY Times Daily Crossword 7/17/2020
• From Duolingo to The New York Times Crossword: 5 Apps That Can Spark Creative Thinking 4/23/2020
• Across, Down, Diagonal -- How We Test Crossword Puzzles on Android NYT; 8/9/2019
• NYT Launches Crossword App for Kindle Fire NYT; 4/6/2017
• Improvements Made to NYT Crossword iOS App NYT; 1/14/2015
• New York Times Crossword app gets its appeal across (and down) MW; 5/31/2014

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Puzzazz

• platforms/cost: iOS: free
• formats: internal: 'ebook'
• 100 types of word & non-word puzzles
  puzzles: $ (Google acct required)
  NYT puzzles (print version): NYT acct required;
  Gallery: OLLI Example

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USA Today

• platforms/cost: iOS, Android: free
• formats: 'internal'
• puzzles: $6/mo.
• USA Today Relaunches Subscription Crossword App 8/16/2021

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XWord

• platforms/cost: Win, Lnx, Mac: free
• stable, but 'alpha'-level software; docs older?; Gallery: OLLI Example
• formats: .jpz, .puz, .ipuz
• download: NYT?, Newsday, LAT, USA Today, Jonesin' (Th), WSJ (Mo-Sa),
  Universal (Mo-Su & Su), BEQ (Mo, Th), WaPo (Su), New Yorker (Mo-Fr),
  Atlantic (Mo-Fr, Su), NY Magazine (Su) -- also customizable feeds [image below]
• Crossword Race video; using XWord;
  orig. Crossword Solver -- intended to replace AL?

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xWord Buddy

• platforms/cost: Newton: NA ($30)
• formats: .puz
• handwriting recognition;
  download .puz via Newt's Cape;
  Steve's Newton puzzle

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Misc. Apps, Devices, References

• Acrostics: Terminology&Types: sources, apps, tools
• alphacross Crossword Android; download: American Values Crosswords (AVCX), LAT, NYT?, Universal
• American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) [old list]
• Best Crossword Games for Android and iPhone 8/29/2020
• Boatload of Crosswords; Android, iOS: free; format: internal;
  app: 1 puz/day? play online (unlimited)
• Cross Your Heart Android
• CrossMe collaborative crossword-puzzle solver; web; Meteor source code
• Crossword City Chronicles Review warns people how terrible it is; 1/25/2021
• Crossword Genius iOS; an app (from unlikely.ai) containing an AI, Ross, who can solve and explain
  even the most difficult cryptic crossword clues. The app also uses state-of-the-art machine vision
  to read in crosswords found in newspapers via the smartphone camera and allow solving on your device;
  earlier: Crossword Maestro for Windows
• Crossword Scraper; free browser extension: Firefox, Chrome [image: above]
  converts browser crossword applets [PuzzleMe, Crossword Compiler]
  on some sites to .puz, .jpz or .pdf, e.g., Atlantic, New Yorker, NYT, The Week;
  other puzzle sites tagged/compatible with "CS" (Crossword Scraper)
• Crossword Solver Win, Mac; free; requires Java;
  if requires older OS, use Across Lite, XWord or other solving app
• Crossword Story
  Crossword Story is the fiction and crossword section of your favourite magazine combined.
  It’s a beautiful experience for people who like to read and people who like to play word games.
  The basic premise for all the word games is simple -- read the text, build context, find the
  missing word/term.; Android-only; 11/15/2021
• cursewords: a crossword solving interface for the terminal Mac; Linux; app; 3/3/2019
• Daily POP Crosswords Android; PuzzleNation
• Excalibur Touch-Screen Crossword Puzzle 1000 NYT puzzles; Model 455 manual; ~2003;
  Amazon, eBay, garage sales -- I got mine for $2 at AAUW's yard sale! [imgs: above & right]
• Crosswords Gnome Linux
• Gnome Crosswords Linux; .puz, .ipuz
• Guardian (iPhone, iPodT)
• Guardian Puzzles app Guard; 2/10/2020
• Kindle Scribe: I Love And Hate My Stupidly Expensive Crossword Puzzle Device .pdf puzzles; 3/6/2023

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  Omni Crosswords iOS 14+; free; [image: right]
  download: NYT?, LAT, USA Today, Atlantic, Newsday, New Yorker, WSJ;
  no puzzle import; source code

• Penny Dell Crosswords & Jumbo Crosswords Android, iOS;
  each app features Free Daily Puzzles and hundreds ($) of unique puzzles; Easy to Hard
• Redstone Crossword iOS, Android, Mac; also Palavras Cruzadas;
  free (with ads); $15 (no ads); many puzzle bundles included; no puzzle import
• Scrabble; iPad
• Shortyz Crosswords; Android
• WORDS with friends; iOS, Android
• xword-dl
  command-line (Python) tool to download .puz files for online crossword puzzles
  from supported outlets or arbitrary URLs with embedded crossword solvers; 12/2022
• 10 Best Crossword Puzzles for Android and iOS Smartphones 12/1/2021
• The Big Crossword app -- world's biggest crossword puzzle;
  'the biggest' [103 x 103 (10,069 squares); 1,284 clues]
  published in an app (iOS, Android, Kindle Fire) -- not paper? 2/7/2020
• 15 crossword solvers for Android, iOS, and the web that actually work! 10/19/2019
• 10 best crossword games for Android 10/17/2019
• 10 Free Apps for Solving Crosswords on the Go And; 12/17/2016
• 5 Top Apps For Crosswords In One Go! 10/5/2018
• Learning to Read, With the Help of a Tablet Montessori Crosswords; NYT; 8/21/2013
• 5 Daily iPad Crossword Apps To Do While You Wait Daily Quick Crossword Puzzles;
  NYTimes Crosswords; Crosswords (Standalone); CRUX Crosswords; Montessori Crosswords; 5/13/2013
• Crossword Puzzle Fans, Toss Away That Eraser
  Crosswords (Standalone); Crux Crosswords; ShortyzCrosswords; NYT; 7/11/2012
• Word Games Anytime, No Travel Tiles Required Scrabble; Words with Friends; NYT; 2/22/2011
• Crosswords Online: Cruciverbalizing on the Web web sites; Mac apps; TB; 6/2/2003

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