Okay, so today I wanted to mess around with something I saw online called a “carpenter crossword.” The idea is you build a crossword puzzle, but instead of clues, you just give the word lengths. It sounded like a fun little challenge, so I figured I’d give it a shot.
Getting Started
First, I grabbed a piece of graph paper and a pencil. You know, the old-fashioned way. I didn’t want to use any fancy software or anything. I just wanted to see if I could do it by hand. I started by sketching out a basic grid. I think I went with something like 10×10, just to keep it manageable.
Picking the Words
Next, I needed some words. I didn’t have a specific theme in mind, so I just started brainstorming random words of different lengths. I jotted them down on a separate piece of paper:
- Three-letter words: CAR, APE, END
- Four-letter words: NAIL, PLAN, WOOD
- Five-letter words: TABLE, CHAIR, SAWED
I realized that I need to have multiple options for each word length, for fitting purposes.
Building the Puzzle
Now for the tricky part: actually fitting the words into the grid. I started with the longer words, figuring they’d be the hardest to place. I put “TABLE” across the top row, and then tried to fit “CHAIR” going down from one of the letters. It took a lot of erasing and rearranging, I’m not gonna lie.
Trial and Error (Lots of Error)
I quickly discovered that this is way harder than it looks! There were so many times I thought I had a word placed perfectly, only to realize it messed up all the other words around it. I think I spent a good hour just erasing and rewriting words, trying to get them to fit together.
Making Adjustments
I kept running into dead ends, where I couldn’t find any words that would fit in a particular spot. So, I had to go back and change some of my earlier placements, which was a pain. It was like a domino effect – change one word, and you have to change five others.
Finishing the grid
After multiple adjustments and re-arrangements, also with the help of my wife, I managed to fill in the grid completely.
