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Crossword Puzzle: what it is and how to make one
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What it is
In the Crossword Puzzle, players work out a series of words laid out in rows and columns that cross over by sharing letters. Each square is filled in with the corresponding letter.
Each word can have a clue in the form of text, an image and/or audio.
Examples of use
- Languages: vocabulary based on definitions or translations.
- Science: scientific terms from their definitions (body parts, physics concepts…).
- History: figures, places or events based on clues.
- Language and literature: literary terms, synonyms, antonyms…
- Primary education: spelling and vocabulary with simple definitions.
- Vocational training: technical or regulatory terminology from any field.
How to create a Crossword Puzzle with Ray
- Click Create game and select Crossword Puzzle.
- Enter a topic, add instructions and/or attach a file with the content.
- Ray automatically generates a game ready to publish (with a title and description). You can review and change anything you like before publishing it.
Ray's advanced options
The gear icon gives you options to configure how Ray generates the game. Some are common to all game types:
- Output content: choose text only, or text plus automatically generated speech. Speech is capped at 1,000 characters in total per account on the Basic and Advanced plans; on the Academic plan and Commercial plan it is unlimited.
- Output language: the language of the game content. If you don't specify it, Ray detects it from the prompt or the file.
- Difficulty: easy, medium (default), hard, or a custom level (for example, “for primary school students”).
The Crossword Puzzle also has a specific option:
- Words: how many to include (8 by default), or as many as the content you attach contains.
Source library
With the Sources button you can upload files to Ray (PDF, Word, images…) or select your own games for it to use as content for the new one. For example, generate a Crossword Puzzle about organs from the PDF of a teaching unit, or turn a Word Search Puzzle about animals into a Crossword Puzzle.
How to create a Crossword Puzzle without Ray
- Click Create game and select Crossword Puzzle.
- Close the Ray window.
- Enter the words and their definitions. You can accompany the definitions (or replace them) with images or audio.
- The Crossword Puzzle is generated from the second word onwards. With the Regenerate button (in a corner of the preview) you can try other layouts. If a word doesn't fit with the others, it can't be placed.
If you want, you can include more than one Crossword Puzzle in the same game by clicking Add crossword puzzle.
Game options
- Penalize mistakes: limits mistakes and deducts points for each one. By default, mistakes are unlimited and don't deduct points.
- Time: the time limit to complete the Crossword Puzzle (unlimited by default).
With an Advanced plan you can remove the ads, add a background image, change the visibility (Public or Hidden), configure player identification (Optional, Required or no method), hide elements of the interface (Ranking, Restart, Social media or Correct answers) and add a custom final message.
With an Academic plan you can restrict the visibility to your guests or to the integrations you create (Google Classroom, Moodle, Canvas…), and remove the player identification link.
With a Commercial plan you can also customize the game with your logo and corporate footer, choose the colors and hide the Educaplay brand.
Information and publishing
On the Information tab you set up what your player will see before and during the game. Ray automatically generates the Title and Description; if you created the game without Ray, you add them yourself. Here you also choose the Language of the game interface (you can present the game to your players in any of the 27 available languages, regardless of the language of the content), set the Education level and add Tags so your game is easier to find in the search engine. Before publishing, use Preview to check that everything looks the way you want.
Frequently asked questions
Can I decide how the words are laid out in the Crossword Puzzle?
The system lays them out automatically. With the Regenerate button in the corner of the preview you can try other combinations until you find one you like.
Can I make a Crossword Puzzle with images or audio in the clues?
Yes. Clues can include images or audio, and can even replace the text. You can also generate the reading automatically.
Can I import a word list I've already made?
Yes. Paste or attach the list in the Ray box or with the Sources button.
Can I change the language of the game interface?
Yes. On the Information tab you can choose from the 27 available languages: Afrikaans, Aragonese, Asturian, Basque, Catalan, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and Ukrainian. The interface language is independent from the content language: you can have a game written in English and show the interface in Japanese for your Japanese students, for example.
Which features require a paid plan?
With the Advanced plan you remove the ads, add a background image, manage visibility and player identification, hide interface elements and add a final message. With the Academic plan you can also restrict access to your guests or to your integrations (Google Classroom, Moodle, Canvas…). With the Commercial plan you customize the game with your logo, corporate colors and hide the Educaplay brand.
