I watched the first half of Wordplay yesterday, a documentary about the New York Times crossword puzzle, it's creators, and admirers. I had no idea that the daily puzzle is actually made not by one person, but lots of different people, nearly a hundred every year. They even showed one of the puzzle makers assembling a crossword, and it looked so easy.

The puzzle maker used a grid on paper to plan his crossword. I, however, would probably erase through the paper from changing my mind so many times. Instead, I decided to make my own electronic, customizable grid that would suit my purpose better.



I tried to make my grid as simple as possible. Just click on a square to enter a letter. Press the 'ENTER' key to turn a square black, Its mirror image will also be turned black in the grid style of the New York Times. Click again to make the black square go away.

I think my next version will have automatic numbering and a customizable grid size.

I've played with this thing for a few hours, and one thing is certain: making crossword puzzles is not easy at all.

Labels: coding, projects

posted by Alison 6/12/2009 11:34:00 AM : (0) comments : splink