The crossword puzzle maker

Crosswords: the one format AI overviews won’t kill.

Crosswords turned print into a daily ritual for generations. Ship the same habit on your site. Long sessions, daily return visits, and the rare format no reader wants AI to finish for them.

No coding. Fully customizable. Brand-ready.

Create a crossword Book a demo

No credit card required. 14-day free trial.

2:48

average engagement time on Riddle content

73.4%

start → finish conversion rate

28.6%

lead form opt-in rate

3.02×

engagement vs. standard web pages

Source: Riddle 2025 Quiz Marketing Report · 8.96 billion platform data points. Numbers are platform-wide across Riddle’s interactive formats.

Why publishers run crosswords

Tap into a habit that already exists. Your readers have solved crosswords their whole lives. Now they’ll solve yours.

The one format AI can’t shortcut. Summaries get outsourced. Crosswords only work when a human actually plays.

Daily visits, long sessions. 6+ minutes per session on Riddle minigames like Sudoku.

Leads and zero-party data from opt-ins before the puzzle, before hints, or before the solution.

Sponsored that doesn’t feel like ads. Brand the theme and clues. Readers play instead of skip.

Play one yourself

This is a live Riddle crossword. The exact same embed you’d ship on your site. Play a few clues. Notice how you want to finish it. That’s the habit your readers will build too.

Hooked already? Build your own crossword in minutes.

How publishers use crosswords

Newsletter-gated puzzles.

Put a crossword behind a lightweight opt-in on landing pages or pop-ups. Riddle lead forms convert at 28.6% on average — about 10× the rate of standard pop-ups.

Crossword puzzle embedded in an article to boost content engagement and time on site

On-article engagement.

Drop a themed crossword into an article, blog post, or sponsored placement and watch average session time climb. Readers aren’t scrolling. They’re solving.

Daily, weekly, or monthly challenges.

Connect a crossword to a leaderboard and turn solving into a recurring competition. Players race for speed and streak. You get the daily-return habit publishers chase.

Build crosswords readers come back to play every day

No-code builder.

Assemble a full puzzle in your browser. Clues, grid, reveal logic. No dev tickets, no release cycle. From blank page to live embed in under 10 minutes.

Crossword puzzle settings panel with options for clues, difficulty, and grid size

Customize every puzzle.

Control every detail: clues, answers, grid size, difficulty, theme. Tune each puzzle to the reader you’re building it for, from casual morning play to sponsored campaign.

Branded crosswords.

Drop in your logo, set your fonts, match your colors. Or go deeper with custom CSS. The finished puzzle looks like it was always part of your site. Because it is.

Do you need coding skills to create a crossword puzzle online?

No coding is required. Crossword puzzles can be built using Riddle’s visual no-code builder in just minutes.

How do I collect leads using a crossword puzzle?

With Riddle’s crossword puzzle maker, you can add an opt-in form before showing the puzzle, before revealing hints, or before displaying answers. This helps collect emails and zero-party data in exchange for access.

Can I control puzzle difficulty or size?

Yes. You can choose grid size, number of clues, and difficulty level to match your audience, from quick casual puzzles to challenging brain teasers.

Does Riddle work with my CMS or WordPress?

Yes. Riddle’s universal embed code works with any CMS, site builder, or app. There’s also a dedicated WordPress plugin for one-click publishing into your posts and pages.

How much does Riddle cost?

Riddle offers Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans for different team sizes and content needs. You can start with a 14-day free trial without a credit card. Full plan details are on our pricing page.

What our clients say

Riddle helps our Children's interactive team to quickly create engaging content that provide compelling data insights about our audience.

We were looking for ways to increase engagement with our audience and we decided to work with Riddle. Our content team love Riddle and our quizzes are getting 35% more page views and 40% more time on site after the first month.