Crozzwordz 13 X

Crozzwordz 13 X is the Mac OS X build of CrozzWord 1.3d, Steve Weyer's cross-platform Java crossword client. It plays standard and cryptic puzzles either from local files or from an online catalogue of more than 30,000 puzzles in six formats, including authenticated New York Times access, and was a winner in the 2002 JPDA Application Developers Contest.

Concept and feature set

CrozzWord is a full-fledged crossword viewer, solver, and archiver. A user can browse and download puzzles from an extensive categorised list of public sites, customise application and puzzle appearance, save partial games, and selectively check or reveal answers. The OS X build is functionally identical to the Classic Mac, Windows, Zaurus (Linux/Jeode), and iPaq (PocketPC/Jeode) editions Weyer also shipped.

Gameplay

Standard crossword interaction -- click a square, type letters, jump between across and down clues -- is augmented with shortcuts to skip to incomplete or incorrect guesses, a Favorites system for puzzle sources, and the ability to archive a remote puzzle for later offline play. Six file formats are supported out of the box, so puzzles from .puz, Across Lite, and the major newspaper feeds all open without conversion.

Engine and technical notes

CrozzWord is written in Java, so the Mac OS X build needs only a working Java runtime; this is the X-suffixed sibling of crozzwordz-13.hqx, which targeted Mac Classic 8.1-9.2.2 via Apple's MRJ. Distribution is the zipped CrozzWord_Installer_13d_osx.zip wrapped in the Info-Mac BinHex envelope. New York Times access requires a paid NYT subscription and works only on the OS X / Windows builds, not the older MRJ build.

Development and release

Steve Weyer (saweyer@comcast.net) released CrozzWord as shareware via Kagi (project page at kagi.com/weyer/z/crozzword.htm). The 1.3d release won the 2002 JPDA Application Developers Contest sponsored by Insignia Solutions, HP, Intel, Metrowerks, Sharp, Softbank Publishing, and Sun Microsystems -- a reflection of how aggressively Weyer pursued cross-platform Java portability across Mac, Windows, and the early PDA Linux scene.