Terminology / appendix
Learn the terminology used across the PuzzleMe™ documentation.
A
Allow repeatable letters
This field is present in the Content section of the creator form of a Word Flower puzzle. When enabled, answer words can reuse any of the available letters; when disabled, each letter can only be used once per word. See Word Flower section for more details.
Analytics
This icon appears both in front of each puzzle in the dashboard, and in the series controls at the top of the dashboard. Clicking on it opens the analytics page for that puzzle or for the current series, respectively.
Assist features
A series setting that controls which help options are available to solvers across a series, including hint, check, and reveal options. These are automatically disabled in contest mode to ensure fair, competitive gameplay. See assist features for more details.
Audio messaging
This set of fields is present in the Messaging section in the creator form. They are used to control audio feedback provided to puzzle solvers. See multimedia messaging section for more details.
Author email
This field is present in the Puzzle attribution section of the creator form. It is used to denote the puzzle author's email address. See puzzle attribution section for more details.
Author homepage
This field is present in the Puzzle attribution section of the creator form. It is used to denote a link to the puzzle author's homepage. See puzzle attribution section for more details.
Author name
This field is present in the Puzzle attribution section of the creator form. It is used to denote the puzzle author's name, shown below the game grid. By default, it's populated with the login name. See puzzle attribution section for more details.
B
Background image
This field is present in the Visual messaging section of the creator form. It is used to set the image shown behind the puzzle grid. See multimedia messaging section for more details.
Branding
The interface used to customize the visual appearance of puzzles - colors, fonts, and other visual elements. Formerly known as the "themer" or "series designer". The Branding icon appears both in front of each puzzle in the dashboard, and in the series controls at the top of the dashboard. Clicking on it opens the branding tool for that puzzle (Enterprise only, via individual puzzle branding) or for the entire series, respectively. See puzzle branding for more details.
C
Calendar picker
A picker type that turns a daily archive into a calendar solvers can flip through. Set up with help from the PuzzleMe team. See puzzle pickers for more details.
Central letter
This optional field is present in the Content section of the creator form of a Word Flower puzzle. If set, every word a player forms must include this letter at least once. See Word Flower section for more details.
Check
This field is used to control the Check options available to puzzle solvers, for some supported puzzle types. It can be set per-puzzle in the Scoring section of the creator form, or series-wide via Assist features.
Check grid
This option is available to solvers, wherever check option is enabled. It is used to check the validity of all entries entered in the grid so far.
Check letter
This option is available to solvers, wherever check option is enabled. It is used to check the validity of the currently highlighted letter.
Check word
This option is available to solvers, wherever check option is enabled. It is used to check the validity of the currently highlighted word.
Clone
This button appears below the slug for each puzzle in the dashboard on hover. Clicking on it creates a copy of the given puzzle in the same series.
Clue
This field is present in the Content section of the creator form for supported puzzle types. It is used to enter the text for a given clue. See the Clues editor section for more details.
Code-based multiplayer
This is the default version of the Multiplayer (co-solving) feature. For a co-solving session for a given puzzle, it generates a code which can be used to join the session. Link-based multiplayer is a more advanced variation. See Multiplayer and sharing section for more details.
Codeword
Codeword, also known as coded Crossword is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe.
Completion message
This field is present in the Messaging section of the creator form. It is used to enter the message in the completion pop-up, shown to solvers when they finish a puzzle. See the completion experience section for more details.
Completion sound
This field is present in the Messaging section of the creator form. It is used to set an audio, which can be played as soon as a solver finishes a puzzle. See multimedia messaging section for more details.
Content set
An arrangement linking a master (source) series to one or more child (linked) series that share the same puzzle content. Updates flow only from master to children. Each series can still differ in branding, messaging, the rest of series settings (security, scoring, assist features, and other series-level behavior), analytics, and embed codes. See content sets.
Contest mode
An inbuilt mode, available for Crossword, Sudoku, Quiz, Codeword and Jigsaw puzzles, that lets you run online puzzle competitions with server-side timing and secure submissions. Enabled via the contest mode toggle in the Scoring section of the creator form. See contest mode for more details.
Copyright message
This field is present in the Puzzle attribution section of the creator form. It is used to specify a copyright declaration for the puzzle, shown when a player opens the hamburger menu and clicks "Support". See the puzzle attribution section for more details.
Correct answer audio
This field is present in the Messaging section of the creator form. It is used to set an audio, which can be played as soon as a solver enters a correct word. See the multimedia messaging section for more details.
Creator form
This is an alternative name used for the game editor.
Crossword
Crossword is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe. See the Crossword section for more details.
CSV file
CSV, short for comma separated values, is a file format used for importing several puzzle types into PuzzleMe.
D
Dashboard
This page shows all the puzzles in your PuzzleMe account. See the dashboard page for more details.
Decipher
Decipher is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe. See the Decipher section for more details.
Delete icon
This icon is present in front of each puzzle in the dashboard. Clicking on it deletes the given puzzle from your account.
E
Empty box
This field is present in the Grid section of the branding tool for grid based game types. It is used to set the color of an empty box/cell. See branding tool for more details.
Empty box image
This field is present in the Visual messaging section of the creator form. It is used to set a custom image for the empty boxes in games like crosswords. See multimedia messaging section for more details.
Empty grid
This is the initial state for a grid based puzzle when no letters or numbers have been entered in the grid. See Sudoku or Crossword creation sections for more details.
Entry
This field is present in the Content section of the creator form for supported puzzle types. It is used to specify the words used in the puzzle. See the Clues editor section for more details.
Explanation
This field is present in the Content section of the creator form for supported puzzle types. It is used to enter the explanations, which are shown to solvers once the puzzle is completed/solved. See the Clues editor section for more details.
F
Fill-Ins
This is an alternative name for Kriss Kross puzzles.
Font
This field is present in the branding tool page. It is used to set fonts for the textual elements in the puzzle player interface. See branding tool for more details.
G
Game
This is another alternate name used for a puzzle.
Game editor
This page, also called the creator form, is used to set the content, messaging, scoring and other settings for a puzzle. It opens when you create a new puzzle, and can be reopened later by clicking the Edit game icon in front of a puzzle in the dashboard.
Google font
This section is present in font selector window on the branding tool page. It is used to set a Google Font for the textual elements in the puzzle player interface. See branding tool for more details.
Grid
This is a set of rows and columns present in grid based games, where solvers fill in letters, numbers or pictures.
Grid editor
This page is available only for grid based games. It is used to directly edit the puzzle grid's contents, and is opened by clicking the Edit grid & clues icon in front of a puzzle in the dashboard. See the Grid editor section for more details.
Group picker
A picker type that keeps themed or clustered puzzles together, like one for each day of the week. Set up with help from the PuzzleMe team. See puzzle pickers for more details.
H
Hint
This field is present in the Content section of the creator form for supported puzzle types. It is used to specify a hint for a given word/entry. See the Clues editor section for more details.
HTML view
By default, the start message, pause message and completion message fields support a rich HTML editor. You can disable the rich editor and edit the HTML contents of of these fields directly. See the Messaging section for more details.
I
Icon
This image is present in front of each puzzle in the dashboard. By default, it takes a preset image value based on the type of the puzzle. It can be overridden using thumbnail image.
Individual puzzle branding
An Enterprise-only feature that allows customization of colors, fonts, and visual elements for specific puzzles. Accessed via the Branding icon on each puzzle row in the dashboard. Individual puzzle branding takes precedence over series-level branding when both are applied. See individual puzzle branding for complete details.
J
Jigsaw
Jigsaw is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe. See the Jigsaw section for more details.
K
KenKen
KenKen® is a Sudoku variant supported by PuzzleMe, with cages that have math operations. See the KenKen section for more details.
Killer Sudoku
Killer Sudoku is an advanced variation of Sudoku, supported by PuzzleMe. See the Killer Sudoku section for more details.
Krazy Word Search
Krazy Word Search is an advanced variation of Word Search, supported by PuzzleMe. It can be enabled via the Settings section of the creator form for word searches.
Kriss Kross
Kriss Kross is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe. See the Kriss Kross section for more details.
L
Language
This field is present in the Content section in the creator form. It is used to set the language of the puzzle player interface. See game language section for more details.
Lead generation
A series setting that lets you collect attributes from puzzle solvers, such as for contest giveaways, newsletter sign-ups, or event registrations. Supports up to 3 custom fields per puzzle. See lead generation for more details.
Lines
This field is present in the Grid design section of the branding tool for grid based game types. It is used to set the color and thickness of the gridlines. See branding tool for more details.
Link-based multiplayer
This is a more advanced version of the Multiplayer feature. For a co-solving session for a given puzzle, it generates a link which can be used to join the session. Link-based multiplayer is enabled by default when using JS embed code or WordPress plugin. Code-based multiplayer is a more basic variation. See Multiplayer and sharing section for more details.
List picker
A picker type that lets solvers browse your series as a list, or land straight on today's puzzle. Available directly from your dashboard. See list picker for more details.
M
Magic Fill
A tool that auto-generates dense, interlocked grids for Crossword and Spiral puzzles. You can specify must-have words and customize dictionary settings. See Magic Fill for more details.
Marching Bands
Marching Bands is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe. See the Marching Bands section for more details.
Masthead
This field is present in the Print section of the branding tool for game types that support printing. It is used to set the masthead of the publication, which appears at the top of a printed puzzle or a saved PDF. See branding tool for more details.
Media clues
This term is used to refer to clues which contain media elements, as opposed to text only clues.
Modal color
This field is present in the branding tool, under the General design options for WordroW. It is used to set the background color of pop-up headers. A separate "Modal button color" field sets the background color of buttons used in pop-ups. See branding tool for more details.
Multiplayer
This is a collaborative, multi player co-solving feature available in PuzzleMe, allowing up to 4 different users to solve a puzzle together. It's available in two variations - a basic code-based version, and a more advanced link-based version. See Multiplayer and sharing section for more details.
P
Pause message
This field is present in the Messaging section of the creator form. It is used to enter the message in the pause pop-up, shown to solvers when they pause a puzzle. See the pause experience section for more details.
Picdoku
Picdoku is an image based variation of Sudoku, supported by PuzzleMe. See the Picdoku section for more details.
Picker
An embeddable component that lets visitors browse a set of your puzzles and choose which one to play, instead of embedding a single puzzle on its own. PuzzleMe offers a few kinds of pickers, including the list picker, calendar picker, group picker, and Puzzle Feed picker. See puzzle pickers for more details.
Preview
This icon appears both in front of each puzzle in the dashboard, and in the series controls at the top of the dashboard. For a puzzle, it opens interactive previews on different device sizes (mobile, tablet, desktop), from which you can access the Publish page. For a series, it shows how the series might appear in a list picker on different devices. See the preview page section for more details.
Primary color
This field is present in the branding tool. It is used to set the primary color, which applies to dialog box buttons and the focused cell on the grid. See branding tool for more details.
Publication date and time
This field is present in the Settings section in the creator form. It is used to set the date and time when a puzzle gets published and becomes available to solvers. The time zone for this publication time can be specified using the Timezone field. See publication schedule section for more details.
Publish
This icon appears both in front of each puzzle in the dashboard, and in the series controls at the top of the dashboard. Clicking on it opens the Publish page for that puzzle or series, respectively, showing all the options for embedding and sharing it. See the embedding the picker section for more details.
Puzzle
A puzzle refers to a single game preset in your PuzzleMe account. Puzzles are referred to as games as well.
Puzzle Feed
Ready-made puzzle collections you can add to your account and publish. Each feed becomes its own series, stays updated with new puzzles automatically, and can be embedded once via the Puzzle Feed picker. See Puzzle Feed for more details.
Puzzle Templates
A gallery of ready-made puzzles you can add to your account to customize, share, or print. See Puzzle Templates for more details.
PuzzleMe AI
An AI assistant, available on almost every page, that can answer questions about the platform and create puzzles (such as Crossword, Sudoku, Decipher, Quiz, Word Search, WordroW, Word Flower, and Kriss Kross) from a simple prompt. See PuzzleMe AI for more details.
PuzzleMe API
An API that lets developers access puzzles, plays, series, analytics, and user data, authenticated via a client_id and client_secret. See PuzzleMe API for more details.
Q
Quick edit
This option appears below the slug for each puzzle in the dashboard, on hover. Clicking on it opens a dialog box to quickly modify basic puzzle settings such as the title, author, and publish date and time.
Quiz
Quiz is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe.
R
Reveal
This field is used to control the Reveal options available to puzzle solvers, for some supported puzzle types. It can be set per-puzzle in the Scoring section of the creator form, or series-wide via Assist features.
Reveal grid
This option is available to solvers, wherever reveal option is enabled. It is used to reveal the solution to the complete puzzle.
Reveal letter
This option is available to solvers, wherever reveal option is enabled. It is used to reveal the solution to the currently highlighted box.
Reveal word
This option is available to solvers, wherever reveal option is enabled. It is used to reveal the solution to the currently highlighted word.
Rotate letters
This field is present in the Settings section in the creator form for word search puzzles, for creating Krazy Word Search puzzles. It is used to rotate arbitrarily chosen letters in the grid, to make it more difficult for solvers to solve the puzzle.
Rows Garden
Rows Garden is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe. See the Rows Garden section for more details.
S
Scale letters
This field is present in the Settings section in the creator form for word search puzzles, for creating Krazy Word Search puzzles. It is used to increase the size of arbitrarily chosen letters in the grid, to make it more difficult for solvers to solve the puzzle.
Secondary color
This field is present in the branding tool. It is used to set the secondary color, which applies to the clue bar, the selected clue, dialog buttons on hover, and the background of the selected word in the grid. See branding tool for more details.
Series
A series is like a folder for your puzzles. See the What is a series? section for more details.
Slide
Slide is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe. See the Slide section for more details.
Slug
A user-friendly, unique name that identifies a puzzle within a series (also called a puzzle id), used by the system to locate and load the puzzle across the platform (URL, embed code, and APIs). See slugs for more details.
Social sharing
This feature allows solvers to share the puzzle itself, or their completion time and score, on social media with a single click. It's enabled directly when using JS embed code or WordPress plugin, and appears in the hamburger menu and the completion pop-up. See Multiplayer and sharing section for more details.
Social sharing image
This field is present in the Visual messaging section of the creator form. It is used to set a custom image shown when a player shares the puzzle on social media. See multimedia messaging section for more details.
Spectator mode
A feature for live Crossword events and contests that lets an organizer broadcast a screen showing multiple solvers' puzzles being solved simultaneously, each with their own play link. See spectator mode for more details.
Spiral
Spiral is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe, where answers run in both directions, inward and outward. See the Spiral section for more details.
Start message
This field is present in the Messaging section of the creator form. It is used to enter the message in the start pop-up, shown to solvers when they start a puzzle. See the start experience section for more details.
Start pop-up
This is a pop-up shown when the puzzle starts, either because a start message is set (showing that message) or because "Show standard pop-up" is enabled (showing just the puzzle title and a start button). If neither is set, the puzzle auto-focuses on load without showing a pop-up.
Sudoku
Sudoku is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe. See the Sudoku section for more details.
T
Tags
This field is present in the Advanced Settings section in the creator form for Quiz puzzles. It is used to label questions, which lets you select a subset of questions from a large question bank, including for randomization. Tags are not shown to solvers. See the Tags section for more details.
Thumbnail image
This field is present in the Messaging section in the creator form. It is used to override the default puzzle icon image. See multimedia messaging section for more details.
Timezone
This field is present in the Settings section in the creator form. It is used to set the timezone in which the publication date and time is denoted. See publication schedule section for more details.
Title
This field is present in the Content section in the creator form. It is used to set the title of the puzzle. See game title section for more details.
U
Update game
This field is present at the bottom of the creator form for an existing puzzle. Clicking it will update the given puzzle with whatever changes have been made in the creator form.
User identity (UID)
A stable id you pass to PuzzleMe so it can recognize the same player on return visits, enabling progress restore, session mobility across devices, and reliable analytics. See user identity for more details.
User Stats
A feature that shows solvers a personal scoreboard (streak, max streak, puzzles started, completion percentage) on the completion pop-up after finishing a puzzle. See User Stats for more details.
V
Visual messaging
This is a set of fields present on the Messaging section of the creator form. It is used to set the thumbnail image, the background image, the social sharing image, and the empty box image.
W
Word fills
This is an alternative name for Kriss Kross puzzles.
Word Flower
Word Flower is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe. See the Word Flower section for more details.
Word Flower letters
This field is present in the Content section of the creator form for Word Flower puzzles. It is used to specify 4, 6, or 8 unique letters present at the outer petals of the Word Flower puzzle. See Word Flower for more details.
Word Search
Word Search is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe. See the Word Search section for more details.
Wordoku
Wordoku is an image based variation of Sudoku, supported by PuzzleMe. See the Wordoku section for more details.
WordroW
WordroW is a puzzle type supported by PuzzleMe. See the WordroW section for more details.
Wrong answer audio
This field is present in the Messaging section of the creator form. It is used to set an audio, which can be played as soon as a solver enters a wrong word. See multimedia messaging section for more details.