# Make a custom crossword or word search puzzle

A personalized word list, clues, and answer key on your topic, ready to drop into a free puzzle maker or print.

- Topic: Fun & Games
- Framework: RTF
- Level: Advanced
- Tags: Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/make-a-custom-crossword-or-word-search-puzzle

## Prompt

```text
Make a custom word puzzle for me.

**Puzzle type:** [crossword / word search / both]
**Topic or person:** [e.g. "my parents' 40 years of marriage", "our class trip", "space"]
**Words or facts to include:** [LIST - names, places, inside jokes, key terms]
**Who will solve it:** [age and reading level]
**Size:** [small (10-12 words) / medium (15-20) / large (25+)]
**Use:** [printed gift, party activity, classroom, card insert]

For a crossword:
- First give me a table of answers and clues: answer (single words or phrases with spaces removed, 3-12 letters), the clue, and its length in brackets.
- Write clues that fit the solver's level: plain definitions for kids, a few playful clues for adults. For personal clues, use only the facts I gave; if I need more, list them as [ADD FACT ABOUT ___].
- Choose words with plenty of common letters (E, A, R, S, T) so they interlock easily, and drop any answer that would be hard to cross.
- Then attempt a small connected grid as a text layout with numbered squares and # for black squares, with numbered Across and Down lists. If you can't make every crossing match, say so and skip the grid rather than show a broken one.

For a word search:
- Hide words horizontally, vertically, and diagonally (backwards only if the solver is 10 or older).
- Show the letter grid, the word list, and an answer key with each word's start position and direction.

Before returning, check every word letter by letter against the grid and every crossing. Finally, tell me how to paste the word and clue table into a free online crossword or word search maker, which builds a clean, printable grid automatically.
```

## What to fill in

- crossword / word search / both
- LIST - names, places, inside jokes, key terms
- age and reading level
- small (10-12 words) / medium (15-20) / large (25+)
- printed gift, party activity, classroom, card insert
- ADD FACT ABOUT ___

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.