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Word Buff Stuff!

Introduction

One day at work, a little while back, I was a tad embarrassed to find my boss standing behind me with a disapproving look on his face. Eventually, I realized the issue. You see, my PC Start Menu was open, and here's what it looked like...

While my work colleagues had filled their shortcut menus with work-related spreadsheets and testing tools, my computer had become a word gamer's arsenal, overflowing with crossword solvers, word finders, anagram generators, Scrabble helpers... you name it! Everything, that is, except the things that were supposed to be there.

You can use this document as your (slightly more discreet) one-stop-shop for all the very best word game tools I've found over the years. It's all very high-quality and quite a few of these resources are absolutely FREE!

The reason I can vouch for the quality of these tools is that I've used all of them extensively, and some of them I use on a daily basis for maintaining Word-Buff.com.

And when I say that some of these tools are completely free – I mean just that. They are not 'limited-feature trial-versions' of commercial products with upsells, or anything disingenuous like that.

I've listed the resources in plain old alphabetical order, and added the label FREE to all the freebies. In some cases, I link you to an extensive review or demonstration on my website to help you decide whether it might be useful for you.

Oh, I almost forgot! Welcome to Word Buff Stuff! You are now officially a Word Buff subscriber. That means you'll get an occasional newsletter with all sorts of interesting articles about word games and puzzles, as well as access to freebies that aren't available to regular Word Buff visitors. If you'd like more regular updates, make sure you subscribe to My Word Games Blog. That way you'll automatically hear about anything new I post to my site – so you don't have to keep checking.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to sign up – and please drop me a line via my Contact Me page if you have any requests or suggestions. I'm always very happy to hear from fellow word buffs ;-)

All the best,

Derek McKenzie, aka Word Buff

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®

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Word Buff Stuff!

Across LiteFREE

Across Lite is an application that allows you to view and solve crossword puzzles on your computer screen. It is the most popular choice for online crossword-solvers. When you open a crossword puzzle in Across Lite you'll see a screen like this...

You fill in entries by simply highlighting the relevant slot in the crossword grid, and typing letters on the keyboard. To speed up the process, when you select a clue in either the Across or Down panels, the relevant entry is automatically highlighted in the grid, and vice versa. It is so widely used in the crossword industry that you'll find most websites offering online crossword puzzles distribute at least some of their puzzles in Across Lite format.

NOTE If you want to create crossword puzzles that others can solve using Across Lite, the easiest way is to use the industry-standard Crossword Compiler, which allows you to create Across Lite puzzles with the click of a button. However, Crossword Compiler is NOT free.

Download Across Lite Right Now!

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®

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Word Buff Stuff!

BobChess Online Chess ClockFREE

What is a Chess Clock doing here in a book about word games? Well, it doesn't really matter what it's called. In any timed game between two players (e.g. Scrabble) a special kind of clock is required that allows each player to start with a specified amount of time, and display the time they have remaining as the game progresses. This requires a mechanism for each player to stop their clock at the end of their turn, and automatically start the opponent's clock simultaneously.

An easy solution is to buy a chess clock, of course. But they are expensive, and if you don't have one, BobChess Online Chess Clock provides a way to time your games on your computer screen. Here's the simple interface...

You end your turn by clicking the panel displaying your remaining time, and this automatically triggers your opponent's timer to continue counting down. All the things you'd expect to be able to control (e.g. the timer-mode and the amount of time allocated to each player) can be adjusted to your 'house rules'.

Because the program runs entirely within your browser (i.e. it doesn't use the internet), you can use the clock offline even when you don't have, or want, network access. To do this, you simply right-click on the main page and save the page to your computer. When you subsequently open that page from its saved location, the browser will open and run the program, but it will not attempt to access the internet.

Tired of playing Scrabble with people who take too long to make their moves?

Well, check out the BobChess Online Chess Clock.

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®

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Word Buff Stuff!

Confident Grammar

Confident Grammar is an audio-course that covers all the basic grammar you're likely to need in daily life, without getting bogged down in the academic stuff you'll never use.

The course is definitely tailored to grammar beginners, or those of us who may have forgotten what a preposition means, how to determine the subject and object of a sentence, or where the apostrophe goes in those tricky cases. The following selection of topics should give you the idea...

• Prepositions, subjects, objects, and all that jazz

• Avoid the apostrophe catastrophe

• Eliminate common pronoun errors

• Master subject-verb agreement

• Commonly confused words

• Use prepositions precisely

• Words and phrases to avoid

The program is delivered in brief 10 minute tutorials, so that even though the content is not exactly riveting, it's very easy to listen to. It includes a workbook with practice exercises and, most importantly, a 57 page ebook called Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes You Must Avoid.

Confident Grammar is very inexpensive as far as e-courses go. In fact, I bought it just to get hold of the handy ebook, which is easily worth the price of admission.

Download Confident Grammar Right Now!

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®

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Word Buff Stuff!

Crossword ButlerFREE

Now, I know you'll think this is a bit lazy of me, but I couldn't help wishing that instead of visiting all my favorite crossword sites every day to download my daily puzzle fix, wouldn't it be cool if they all came to me. Perhaps by just pressing a magic button like this...

Well, you can imagine my glee when I discovered that this magic button actually exists! Here's the full screenshot with the result of pressing the magic button just the other day...

It's called Crossword Butler and it's available for both Windows and Mac OS X. It's so easy to use that you'll be downloading and solving today's crossword puzzles online in a couple of minutes! (From time to time this application is taken down for further development – if so, make sure you try again some time later, as it really is a neat little app.)

Download Crossword Butler Right Now!

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®

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Word Buff Stuff!

Crossword Compiler

Would you like to create your own crosswords for a class you teach, a newsletter you publish, or maybe to liven up your website or blog? What sort of puzzle would you like to create?

These are the options Crossword Compiler will present you with whenever you open it up. (Sudoku? What's that doing there? Blasphemy!).

Crossword Compiler comes with a ton of built-in crossword lists and a tool that automatically creates all the crossword-fill for you and even works out the clues! What's left for you to do? Well, if you want your puzzle published in the New York Times, you'll want to tweak the fill and the clues to get something truly original. But if you just need to create a crossword puzzle in a hurry, you can have one ready in less than a minute!

The main reason I use Crossword Compiler is to create a professional online crossword puzzle for my website's newsletter. You can see an example of one of my regular puzzles here. While you're there, have a go at it! In my interviews with professional crossword constructors, I discovered that virtually all of them use this tool (although the proud ones resort to it reluctantly!).

Anyway, if it sounds like it might be just the thing to spice up your lessons, newsletter, blog, or even get your puzzles published professionally, you'll be in excellent company.

Download Crossword Compiler Right Now!.

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®

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Word Buff Stuff!

Cruciverb.com

The name of this website comes from the term Cruciverbalist, which basically means 'a person who really digs crosswords'. And this is a very apt name, because Cruciverb.com is a community website for American-style crossword constructors and serious crossword solvers.

The Cruciverb website brings together a vast collection of people and resources dedicated to helping people make and publish their crosswords, as well as discuss the crossword puzzle industry in general. A little while back, I published a fun interview with Cruciverb's creator, Kevin McCann here.

Whether you are a beginner trying to get your first crossword puzzle published in a local newspaper, an experienced constructor trying to get yourself out of a tricky corner, or a seasoned veteran seeking to debate crossword publishing practices, this is definitely the place.

Here are some of the helpful resources you'll find here...

• A Forum and Mailing List where you can ask questions of experienced crossword constructors.

• Expert Articles on the art of constructing crosswords, written for beginners.• Puzzle Submission Guidelines for most of the major American newspaper crosswords.• Links to daily Crossword Puzzles you can download and solve online.• The Cruciverb Database, which allows you to search clues and answers from puzzles

published in major American newspapers over more than a decade!

Almost everything at Cruciverb.com is free. The only thing you'll be asked to pay for, if you want it, is 'gold-member' access to the Cruciverb Database (see the last bullet point above). And this is really just a kind of donation to help keep this great community resource alive.

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®

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Word Buff Stuff!

Magnum OpusFREE

Magnum Opus is an application you can use to make all sorts of word puzzles, like Crosswords, Wordsearches, Acrostics and Cryptograms, as well as other lesser known puzzle types like LadderWords, Futoshiki and Slitherlink (don't ask me!).

It even lets you build online versions of your puzzles so you can upload them to your blog or website. If you visit Word Buff's Members Area, you'll see the online Word Search Spelling Bee I publish with each of my newsletters. I create that puzzle using Magnum Opus. If you have a go at it, you'll see that it's very professional-looking and user-friendly.

TIP – Although I've found Magnum Opus to be a wonderful tool for creating online word puzzles, its printed word puzzles are less reliable. I've found the layout features to be a bit quirky and unpredictable. When I need a professional quality printed word puzzle, my preference is to use WordSearch Printer for word search puzzles, and Crossword Compiler for crossword puzzles. These applications are terrific, but unfortunately they are not free.

Download Magnum Opus Right Now!

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®

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Word Buff Stuff!

Memory in a Month

Whether you want to improve your spelling, vocabulary, grammar, or general knowledge, you're going to be using your memory extensively. That might worry you, but it shouldn't. You see, you would be amazed at what an ordinary person can do with an ordinary memory. Just ask this guy...

Ron White is a two-time US Memory Champion, and he DOES NOT have photographic memory. Ron has developed an excellent E-course called Memory in a Month, in which he reveals a whole swag of clever memory tricks that absolutely anyone can use to quickly recall lists of words, names, dates, numbers, or just about anything.

The core of the program consists of a sequence of 30 audio tutorials, a workbook with practice activities, and several memory training applications, including a word memory game. In addition to this core, is a set of video demonstrations of the techniques in action (from one of Ron's training seminars), and a full speed-reading program.

Whatever you want to study, you'll find techniques here that will really help make things stick. I spent a month mastering Ron's system and wrote an extensive review here.

Download Memory in a Month Right Now!

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®

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Word Buff Stuff!

OneAcrossFREE

OneAcross is an online tool for solving American style crossword puzzles (i.e. it is not designed for British style cryptic crosswords). You just enter the clue, and whatever you know about the answer-pattern, and click Go!

What's so special about that?

Well, it's not the functionality that's special – it's the quality of this particular solving engine. This crossword solver has a long and prestigious history, having been built by a team of computer scientists in 1999, and developed continuously since then. The database of known clues and answers is massive, and the artificial intelligence in the solving algorithm is second to none.

A lot of people think solving American style crosswords on a computer is easy compared to cryptics. Wrong. It is surprisingly difficult, and as a result there is some serious grunt under the hood of these search boxes. Initially this program ran on a collection of twelve computers!

In short – OneAcross is a free crossword solver that will give you the correct answer to American style clues almost every time, in a few seconds. What more do you need to know?

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®

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Word Buff Stuff!

QuackleFREE

Quackle is an artificial intelligence and analysis tool that can be configured to play and critique Scrabble games. Quite simply, Quackle is the best there is.

Here's what it looks like when it's been set up to play a game of Scrabble (this screenshot comes from a game I played against Quackle recently)...

In the left hand panel you'll find most of the analysis tools. Here you can list all the possible plays available for a given move, and even get an estimate of the likelihood that each of those moves will win the game from the current position.

I've written a bit more about this wonderful Scrabble player here, but the best way to learn is to start playing, so...

Download Quackle Right Now!

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®

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Word Buff Stuff!

Ultimate Vocabulary

The best way to a great vocabulary is a life-long dedication to literature. BUGGER!If, like me, you find that answer depressing, a software program called Ultimate Vocabulary is a very nice alternative. I don't have a lot of space here to describe this program in detail, so let me just tell you about two of my favorite features.

First and foremost is the fantastic collection of word lists. This package contains about 150,000 words and, even better, hundreds of these words have been organized into lists that would otherwise have taken me two or three years to put together...

In addition to all these built-in lists you can also create your own lists to customize the system for your personal vocabulary and spelling goals. I highly recommend doing this.

My second favorite feature is the extensive word usage notes. Normally, when I look up a word in a typical dictionary I see a concise definition followed, if I'm lucky, by the word used in an example sentence. I now realize why the word rarely sticks - this is nowhere near enough exposure to a new word. This program, on the other hand, provides a list of up to fifty sample sentences with each word!

If you take the time to read all these usage samples, which cover every imaginable context in which the word is used, it is virtually impossible to forget what the word means. Context is so much more important than a technical definition.I don't have room here to go into all the different types of quizzes, progress reports and other snazzy features of this great vocab builder, but I've put together a detailed review here.

Download Ultimate Vocabulary Right Now!.

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®

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Word Buff Stuff!

ZyzzyvaFREE

Zyzzyva is primarily a word-study tool for Scrabble players, although it can easily be adapted to other word games too, just by using a different dictionary. Here's a screenshot showing how to find all valid Scrabble words having 7 or 8 letters and containing at least 5 vowels...

This very flexible Scrabble helper enables you to create just about any kind of word list you want, and it lets you quiz yourself and keep track of your performance on the particular set of words you've specified. It is also frequently used as the official word judge in Scrabble tournaments. Zyzzyva is far and away the most frequently downloaded product by Word Buff visitors. You'll understand why when you start playing with it!

Download Zyzzyva Right Now!

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®

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Word Buff Stuff!

And Finally...Well folks, those are my top word game resource selections right now – I hope you get as much fun and use out of them as I do. I also publish quite a few tutorials and 'how-to' articles that you might find helpful. To keep up to date, just take a few moments to subscribe to My Word Games Blog – that way, all my news will be delivered straight to your door in real time!

Until then...

Arrivederci,

Derek McKenzie, aka Word Buff

©2010-2011 Word-Buff®