One day at work, a little while back, I was a tad embarrassed to find my boss standing behind me with a disapproving look on his face. Eventually I realized the issue. You see, the Windows Start Menu of my work PC was open, and here's what it looked like...
While my work colleagues had filled their shortcut menus with work-related spreadsheets and testing tools, my computer had become a word gamer's arsenal, overflowing with crossword solvers, word finders, anagram generators, Scrabble helpers... you name it! Everything, that is, except the things that were supposed to be there.
You can think of this page as your own boss-proof start menu.
It's a one-stop-shop for all the best word game helpers I've found over the years. I use many of them on a day-to-day basis to maintain this website.
With each resource, I've added a little bit of chit chat to explain why it grabbed me. In some cases, I've put together a more extensive review or demonstration. When that happens, I'll be sure to give you the relevant link.
NOTE - I realize there are probably tonnes of great word game tools out there that people like you are secretly using behind closed doors ;-) So to help this collection live up to its title, I've set up a place for you to...
Some of these resources are completely free, but even the ones that aren't free are usually not very expensive. After all, we're addicted to words not Corvettes, right? And fortunately for us, words are cheap ;-)
Ok, let's get on with it. Here are all my favorite word game helpers, organized alphabetically by product name...
Across Lite
Across Lite is an application that allows you to view and solve crossword puzzles on your computer. It is the most popular choice for online crossword-solvers. Not only because it is so user-friendly, but also because it is absolutely FREE.
When you open a crossword puzzle in Across Lite you'll see a screen like this...
You fill in entries by simply highlighting the relevant slot in the crossword grid, and typing letters on the keyboard.
To speed up the process, when you select a clue in either the Across or Down panels, the relevant entry is automatically highlighted in the grid, and vice versa.
Across Lite can be used to solve crossword puzzles distributed in a special format recognized by a .puz extension. It is so widely used in the crossword industry that you'll find most websites offering online puzzles distribute at least some of their puzzles in the .puz format.
If you want to create crossword puzzles that others can solve using Across Lite, the online help has detailed instructions showing you how to format your puzzle as a text file, which can then be processed in Across Lite and output as a .puz file.
NOTE Formatting a .puz file manually like this is a very tedious affair - the advantage being, of course, that it's free. If you are using the industry-standard Crossword Compiler to construct your puzzles, you can output to the .puz format automatically.
Anagram Genius
Anagram Genius is an incredibly powerful anagram generator. In fact, having been designed by a renowned Artificial Intelligence guru over about a decade, it is probably the most powerful program of its kind in the world.
The user interface is a little unintuitive, but easy enough to learn...
You type in a set of letters - most people like to take a well known name or phrase - and at the click of a button generate thousands of possible anagram phrases. You can take advantage of a whole bunch of tools to filter out the garbage and home in on that killer phrase that fits the occasion perfectly.
You might not get something of the calibre...
William Shakespeare = I'll make a wise phrase
but you'll get some beauties.
BobChess Online Chess Clock
What is a Chess Clock doing here on a page about word game helpers? Well, it doesn't really matter what it's called. In any timed game between two players (e.g. Scrabble) a special kind of clock is required that allows each player to start with a specified amount of time, and display the time they have remaining as the game progresses. This requires a mechanism for each player to stop their clock at the end of their turn, and automatically start the opponent's clock simultaneously.
An easy solution is to buy a chess clock, of course. But if you don't have one handy, BobChess Online Chess Clock provides a way to time your games on your computer screen. Here's the simple interface...
You end your turn by clicking the panel displaying your remaining time, and this automatically triggers your opponent's timer to continue counting down.
All the things you'd expect to be able to control (e.g. the timer-mode and the amount of time allocated to each player) can be specified in the settings screen...
Because the program runs entirely within your browser (i.e. it doesn't use the internet), you can use the clock offline even when you don't have, or want, network access. To do this, you simply right-click on the main page and save the page to your computer. When you subsequently open that page from its saved location, the browser will open and run the program, but it will not attempt to access the internet.
When I started this website, I knew crosswords were going to play a pretty big part. One of the things I wanted to do was create a feature crossword for Scrabble players - one that only used words that are allowed in Scrabble. I also wanted to create a regular American-style puzzle for my Word-Buff Stuff! newsletter. The trouble is, I'm not a professional crossword constructor, but I wanted to make sure that my crossword puzzles were professional, even though I wasn't ;-)
Where to start?
Unfortunately, as I started looking around, my requirements list started to grow. Initially, I was going to just allow visitors to download my puzzles as pdfs and solve them on paper. But I soon realized I had to get with the times. Nowadays, people expect to be able to pop on over to your website and solve your puzzles online, or download your puzzle to their laptop and solve it on the train on the way to work.
Did I mention that I'm not a Web guru either?
Oh, there was one more requirement. With my rapidly growing website, I also needed something that could help me create my regular feature puzzles quickly.
Anyway, I played around with a few disappointing freebies on the Web, as well as a couple that weren't free, but it was only when I surveyed professional constructors themselves and asked them what they were using that I discovered what was to become one of my favorite toys. Here I am using it to create the crossword for my very first newsletter...
Crossword Compiler is used by most crossword constructors and editors for the biggest American newspapers, and it does everything I asked for at the start of this little spiel.
Because lots of professionals use it, it has way more features than somebody like me would need - and that can make it a bit intimidating and unintuitive at first. In fact, that's probably my biggest negative about this one. It's probably a little bit more expensive than some of the run-of-the-mill crossword makers out there, but for something good enough for the editor of the New York Times crossword, it's incredibly affordable if you ask me.
Now, if you're just making a one-off crossword for a low-key special occasion, I'm sure you'll find a freebie out there that'll do just fine. But if you want to make impressive crossword puzzles regularly (and speedily!) - for a class, a newsletter, or a website, for example - and especially if you want people to be able to solve your puzzles on their computer, Crossword Compiler is pretty much a no-brainer.
Crossword Maestro
Crossword Maestro is a very high-powered cryptic crossword solver. It was built by William Tunstall-Pedoe, who is the Artificial Intelligence guru behind the widely acclaimed Anagram Genius, which I told you about earlier.
NOTECrossword Maestro is also capable of solving standard, American-style, crosswords, however these are not considered to pose anywhere near the challenge for Artificial Intelligence as the cryptics.
Here's a sample screen for the cryptic clue...
Laugh at round ends? It's tough (4)
As you can see from the analysis window, the reasoning by which Crossword Maestro arrives at the correct answer, HARD, is un-nervingly human. Just in case you can't read the text in the screenshot clearly, here's the sequence of steps it uses to arrive at that conclusion...
HARD Confidence: 97%
'It's tough' is the definition.
'laugh at round ends' is the subsidiary indication.
'laugh' becomes 'ha'.
'at' means one lot of letters goes next to another.
'ends' means to remove the middle letters.
'round' with its centre removed is 'rd'.
'ha' + 'rd' is 'hard'.
I find this is a great tool for learning how to solve cryptic crossword puzzles, because every step in the solving process is outlined for me (btw. it gets the right answer 75-100% of the time).
If you're a setter of cryptic crosswords, you can use Crossword Maestro to test the clues you've come up with to see if it can arrive at the right answers, before you inflict them on an unsuspecting human!
For about 12 months I searched the Web in vain for a top quality study resource for serious Spelling Bee contenders. Six months ago I was on the verge of creating something myself, when I stumbled upon eSpindle - a kind of online spelling tutor that blew me away.
The program uses a database of well over 100,000 words (which is apparently still growing rapidly!). As soon as you specify your initial spelling-level, eSpindle creates a personalized database for you, to keep track of your spelling progress through regular quizzes. During the quizzes, each word comes with audio buttons so you can hear the pronunciation and sample sentences.
The system automatically removes words from your test-list when you get them right consistently (although you can choose to keep them in if you like). That way, your quizzes automatically focus on the words you find tricky.
They also offer a free trial which goes for 10 days, and during that time you get access to the full system. If you're happy with the result of your trial, you subscribe for however long you like (monthly or yearly). Just click the image below to get to the free trial subscription form.
NOTE - Enter wordbuff in the place I've circled in red below. That way, if you decide to subscribe after the free trial, you'll qualify for a handy price reduction I've negotiated for my visitors!
If your main goal is to prepare for a spelling bee, select the option labeled Tutor Me On Spelling Bee Words on the sign-up form.
OneAcross
OneAcross is a very clever, and highly popular, online crossword puzzle solver.
Quackle
Quackle is an artificial intelligence and analysis tool that can be configured to play and critique Scrabble games. Quite simply, it is the best there is. And what's more, it is totally FREE.
Here's what it looks like when it's been set up to play a game of Scrabble (this screenshot comes from a game I played against Quackle recently)...
In the left hand panel you'll find most of the analysis tools. Here you can list all the possible plays available for a given move, and even get an estimate of the likelihood that each of those moves will win the game from the current position.
Below is a very handy widget for resolving lounge-room Scrabble disputes over whether a word is valid. Just type your word in the space provided and click CHECK. After a short wait of a couple of seconds or so, a message will pop up saying either ALLOWED or NOT ALLOWED - dispute resolved!
NOTE - This widget uses Collins Official Scrabble Dictionary, which is the word-authority everywhere in the world except North America. So if you want to play to the North American dictionary (which is a slightly smaller subset of the one above), you'll need to wait until I've tracked down a reliable widget for you. But it might well be quicker to just get yourself a physical copy of the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary.
Word Search Printer
Word Search Printer is the tool I use to generate all the free word searches I offer here at Word-Buff. It's an inexpensive, and very easy-to-use gadget for whipping up good-quality, printable word search puzzles quickly.
Below is a screenshot I took while I was using this application to create a Spelling Bee puzzle for my very first Word-Buff Stuff! newsletter. Just click on the image to see the printable version of the puzzle...
When you create a new puzzle, you're presented with a handy collection of over 50 popular theme-based word lists you can use to speed things up. Of course, if you prefer, you can easily copy and paste your own words. In fact, you can feel free to use any of the theme-based word lists I provide on my word lists page if you like!
Unlike many of the other tools on this page, I don't have any reason to think that Word Search Printer is head and shoulders above the rest, or anything like that. I mean, making word search puzzles isn't rocket science compared with the much more challenging tasks of solving crosswords and generating anagrams. But I just thought I'd let you know about the one I use here, since it's cheap, reliable and my visitors seem very happy downloading the puzzles I've created with it.
P.S. The only small whinge I have with this one is that I'd prefer the option of printing out the word list on the same page as the puzzle grid, since I find this more aesthetically pleasing. I contacted the creator about this, and he told me it might be possible in a future version - I'm not holding my breath though ;-)
WordWeb Pro
I've thought long and hard to find a single term or phrase to describe this one. The reason is that WordWeb Pro is a kind of 'umbrella package' containing dictionaries, word lists, thesauruses, and word finders - there just isn't a standard term for that kind of thing. Then it occurred to me that this must be precisely how the tool got its name. WordWeb Pro is like a Web within the Web. A mini-Web devoted to words. Up until now, I thought the name was a bit silly - but actually, it's pretty clever.
Anyway, if you're like me and spend a lot of time studying or playing with words, you've probably got a bunch of handy tools on your PC, and a long list of wordsmith favorites bookmarked in your Web browser. The problem is, it can be very tiring going from one to the other to the other trying to find...
the meaning of an obscure word you've stumbled across
a synonym for a word you've used too many times already
the pronunciation of a word that looks impossible to say
an anagram of a friend's name, for a playful text message
a word pattern solution for an almost-finished crossword puzzle
Now I don't care what anybody says, there simply isn't a single tool or website that solves all of these problems consistently, for the huge variety of words and phrases encountered by the more... shall we say... zealous... word-buff. BUT...
What we have in WordWeb is a way of bundling up all these tasks into one really easy-to-use integrated environment containing virtually all the resources you'll need. WordWeb ships with a huge internal database, but you're not lumbered with one person's opinion about the best dictionary or the best word finder. Instead, you get to add to the existing library your own favorite dictionaries, lists, and even websites, so that you hardly ever have to skip from one application or website to another.
Although I've got tonnes of handy wordsmith tools on my laptop, I don't have many configured to start up when my PC starts. That would mean waiting half an hour each time I turn my computer on! But WordWeb Pro has made it on to that privileged shortlist ;-)
P.S. If you decide to take a closer look at WordWeb Pro, you'll see they follow the tradition of offering a free 'Lite' version, which is just called WordWeb (without the 'Pro'). Now there are some tools around, where the free version is all you're ever going to need - I've got several on my desktop right now. But this isn't one of them...
You see, the trial version has a tiny fraction of the word-base, audio pronunciations, and word-finder functionality. So I found that about 60% of the time I went to use WordWeb, I ended up disappointed and had to go elsewhere - which is very frustrating, and defeats the whole purpose of an 'all-in-one' package. It was only when I got around to getting the Pro version that it became my constant companion ;-)
P.P.S. Oops! I forgot to mention - when I say that all the functionality is 'integrated', I don't just mean 'bundled together'. I mean, if you're typing away in Microsoft Word or editing a clue in Crossword Compiler, say, you can highlight a word (or phrase) and just click a short-cut key to open up WordWeb Pro with your word's definition, synonyms, and so on, automatically displayed. I like that a lot.
Zyzzyva
Zyzzyva is primarily a word-study tool for Scrabble players, although it can easily be adapted to other word games too (just by using a different dictionary).
This very flexible Scrabble helper enables you to create just about any kind of word list you want, and it lets you quiz yourself and keep track of your performance on the particular set of words you've specified. It is also frequently used as the official word judge in Scrabble tournaments.
Zyzzyva is currently the most popular product reviewed by Word-Buff. One of the reasons, no doubt, is that it is absolutely free!
Well, that's about it from me. But here's where you get to have your say...
What Word Game Helpers Do YOU Use?
Is there a word game helper application you swear by? Maybe a really cool word finder, anagram solver, crossword maker, spelling tutor, or some other great resource for word lovers?
Share it!
Just tell us the name of the tool you use and say a few words about what it does and why you like it so much. I'll publish your contribution on your own Web page, right here at Word-Buff!
, which is the word-authority everywhere in the world except North America. So if you want to play to the North American dictionary (which is a slightly smaller subset of the one above), you'll need to wait until I've tracked down a reliable widget for you. But it might well be quicker to just get yourself a physical copy of the 
.
