[mutant_glofish]

This is very cool. I have a possible use case for this: spaced repetition for learning new vocabulary. If you could easily generate crosswords for the words someone is learning (plus some filler words that the learner already knows), it would be much more entertaining than reviewing Anki cards.

I think the constraints are more relaxed for this use case. The grid really doesn't need to look as neat as an NYT crossword puzzle.

I bet you can already market this to ESL teachers, and perhaps make some $$$ off your hobby project. Good luck with that! (Of course, I mean it sincerely, not ironically :-))

[userundefined]

Thanks! It's a cool idea and giving a user the ability to specify the words, but let the algo choose their locations might be an easy extension to try out. The behavior you describe can then be met. I've added it to my personal backlog, cheers!

BTW, grid neatness isn't a limitation itself, the size and complexity (overlaps, large words) are. Also I already do symmetry checks, so helping users generate symmetric grids shouldn't be too hard.