Cricklers work like crosswords even though the words no longer physically cross. In a regular 2-dimensional crossword a letter can appear in two clues - one vertical and one horizontal. In a 3-D crossword, a letter can be in as many as three clues. In a crickler a letter may be linked into 2, 3, 4, or more clues! This makes for some interesting puzzles.

Getting Started

When you first start, you will see one or more red-colored squares.  One of these squares will have a flashing cursor.  These red squares always act in unison because they are 'linked'.  When you type a letter, that letter will appears in all the red squares. Type in the whole word and you will see you have filled in letters in several other words. In a regular crossword a letter in both a vertical and horizontal clue is physically linked -- i.e. it's the same letter. Linked letters in a crickler act as if they were the same letter even though they may appear in different places. Squares that have the flashing cursor and are not linked show white instead of red. Squares that contain a vowel contain a pale grey v. In this context, Y counts as a vowel.

Delete a letter (using Space, Delete or Backspace) and all the linked letters will be removed -- just as if you erased a letter in a crossword.

To solve your first crickler, start with the easy clues, as you would in a regular crossword.  When you get to the harder clues, many of the letters will already be filled in making the puzzle easier to complete. Notice how the Use Enter, the arrow keys or the mouse to select the clue you want to work on.

When you complete an answer correctly, you will see its letters turn from gray (pencil) to black (ink). When only three unfinished clues remain, they will be lit up in pale yellow - and any correct letter you enter will lock.  When you complete the crickler, a reward screen appears.

This is all you need to know to get started - so give it a try ...

Additional Features

When you mouse over a letter, all the letters linked to it show in cyan. This lets you explore where the links are. Letters in the current clue that are linked show in very pale cyan.

The Right Mouse Button moves you to the other instance of a given letter. This is like switching between rows and columns in a traditional crossword. If there are three places where a letter is linked, clicking the right mouse button will cycle between them. Thus, if there are three letter B's linked together, repeatedly clicking will cycle between them all.

Tab moves you to the next word.  Shift-Tab moves you to the previous word.  The Control key (when pressed without another key) moves you to the next empty square. Pressing up-arrow down-arrow moves you to the first empty square in the current clue.  Shift-Enter moves you to the previous clue.

If you want to delete a whole clue, use Shift-Delete.  Locked letters (inked) are not deleted. Use Insert to un-delete a letter you previously deleted and Shift-Insert to undelete a whole clue, Use the CLEAR button at the bottom to clear all letters that are not inked (black).

The All Caps switch may be turned off. This shows the answers correctly in upper and lower case irrespective if which case you use to enter them.  Vowels with accents always match the same letter without the accent.  The Sounds option will always turn sounds off but may not always turn sounds on. If you have IE security settings set too high, your browser may not play sounds - or maybe you are using an older browser or your PC is missing so key sound component.

Bottom Panel Options:

You can RESET the puzzle at any time and start over. CLEAR only removes letters which are not locked (in black) which can be helpful if you entered a wrong answer. The HINT button can be used just once if you get thoroughly stuck - after that it changes to SOLVE - in case you decide to give up.

Home