This tool lets you design the black-and-white layout of a crossword by clicking squares to toggle them between open (white) and blocked (black). It computes the across and down clue numbers automatically as you edit, and can enforce the rotational symmetry that published puzzles use — so you get a properly numbered blank grid ready to fill, print or save as a PDF.
How it works
Click any square to block or unblock it. With 180-degree rotational symmetry on, blocking one square also blocks the square diametrically opposite, matching standard crossword convention. The tool then numbers the grid using the standard rule: scanning left to right, top to bottom, a white square gets the next number if it starts an across word (its left edge is blocked or at the grid edge and the square to its right is open) or starts a down word (its top edge is blocked or at the grid edge and the square below is open). Grids range from 5×5 up to 21×21.
Example
In a grid where the top-left square is open with a blocked square to its right but an open square below, it starts a down word only and receives number 1. The next eligible square scanning rightward and downward becomes 2, and so on — exactly the numbering you see in a newspaper crossword.
Choose a grid from 5 to 21 squares, block out your pattern, then print or save as a PDF from your browser. Nothing is uploaded.