background background background background background background background
🚧 Website Under Development 🚧
×

Retain More, Stress Less.

Turn your textbooks, syllabus and notes into playable crosswords, or choose from hundreds of pre-made crosswords.

Wishlist on Steam See Features

Screenshots.

Sample crossword

Create Interactive Crosswords from your study materials.

Import PDFs or text.

Confetti and progress bar celebrating finished puzzle.

Visuals powered by GLSL Shader Graphics

Modern visuals and a polished feel.

Printout

Physical Copies

Print to PDF, or paper, whatever works for your study.

How It Works

TickWords is a video game that lets you create and play custom crosswords built directly from your own study materials. Simply drop in your digital files (PDF or TXT), and it generates revision crosswords from the key facts and concepts inside.

It also includes hundreds of pre-made crosswords covering a wide range of high-school and university subjects. The crosswords can be printed, or played as a video game. This provides students with a new tool to support their learning.

  1. 1

    Import

    Drop in a PDF or paste text. Everything stays on your machine.

  2. 2

    Generate

    We extract key terms, and craft relevant, concise clues. Get a crossword per chapter, or for a page range.

  3. 3

    Play

    You got this. Set the clue difficulty and know where you're at.

  4. 4

    Progress

    Revisit missed/flagged words. Do revision crosswords: previous words, different clues, using spaced repetition.

Do the crossword during, or after, reading the chapter. Play the crossword, or print it out. Whatever works for you.

Trailer & Media

Description

For many, crosswords are a relaxing way to study, but traditionally creating a high-quality crossword is both time-consuming and difficult. TickWords changes that by automating the process, it can scan your documents, extract the important terminology, and generate tailor-made crosswords in seconds.

The printable crosswords become versatile study aids you can do them during, or after, reading a chapter. It's also something you can do on a bus or train, where unpacking study materials is not practical. There is also something inherently social about it, you can ask a friend: Hey, seven down: pairing of electrons responsible for superconductivity... ends in r?, and they will just join you... to solve the puzzle.

While TickWords is great at printing crosswords, there are also advantages to doing them in the software:

From the Author.

This isn't another learning app. It's a tool built by a former lecturer who got sick of educational software that either treats students like kids who need a dopamine hit, or attempts to replace teachers. This is not gamified homework. It's a focused, low stress, way to actually remember what you study.

If you're a parent looking for help, you may be confused by the price. It's a fraction of the cost normally charged for educational software. The reason is that this software is priced so students can afford it. Normal educational software positions itself as a substitute for private tuition, and understands you will pay for results. I am not selling to you, so there is no monthly fee. My proposition is that the amount asked is something a senior high school student can justify, as a tool that will aid them until they finish university. My business model is not preying on bank accounts of concerned parents.

If you're an educational institution, this software can definitely help teachers prepare coursework. There is no site/classroom licence option because this is a tool that helps students organise and perform. It's not intended as a substitute for teaching hours. If you see giving students a crossword, as a substitute for contact hours with an educator; or you see it as a way to reduce costs, please go find other software.

This software is built for you, the student. I sell it on Steam because I believe it's a place where great software can find a following. Steam offers a good refund policy, and regionally appropriate pricing, keeping this software affordable and accessible to all. I respect that.

Yours sincerely,

- Dr Warren Creemers

Get TickWords

Desktop-first. A premium, one-time purchase.

If you don't have Steam, or just want a standalone installer; you can purchase the binaries on itch.io

Buy on Steam Get on itch.io

Community

Discord

Join the community for updates, study tips, and feedback.

Join Discord

Support

  1. 1

    Help Centre

    Guides for importing notes, creating puzzles, and accessibility.


    Browse articles →
  2. 2

    Contact

    Can't find what you need? We're here to help.


    Discord Channel →
  3. 3

    Report a Bug

    Found an issue? Tell us so we can fix it quickly.


    Report a bug →