When I was young, I witnessed my grandfather and then my father was always engrossed with the eyeglasses and pencil, scribbling on white & black squares in a newspaper. One fine day, I could not restrain myself asking my father as to what fun he and his father derive while writing English letters and making all kinds of faces alongside. It was a Crossword puzzle. At first, I didn't realize what was so stimulating about these puzzles but came to know later that most people find solving puzzles fun and brain tease. Online crossword puzzles are actually an ideal workout for your brain. If those profits are not enough for you, please be aware that you can now get paid to do puzzles. Yep, it is true.

Crosswords – the way of Life

In traumatic times, like1920s, solving a crossword was just a pastime but a necessary solace. In fact, the crossword puzzle was first seen in December 1913, in a popular newspaper just before the start of first World War. Actually, Mr. Arthur Wynne, the editor of New York World, was looking for a new game for that Newspaper's FUN section. So he himself conceived a blank word-search grid, and suggested some clues to readers so they could guess the letters, and titled it "FUN's Word-Cross Puzzle." A few weeks later he changed the puzzle's title to "Cross-Word", and since then puzzle was permanently known as crossword. It unexpectedly became a way of life in the 1920s. To increase its circulation News Paper increased crossword's frequency and started offering a variety of puzzles to its readers. Footfall to libraries increased and sales of dictionaries sky-rocketed.

For the crossword fans, it was a refuge from the commotion.

They even inspired a hit song called "Crossword Mama, You Puzzle Me." Check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP8zplB_kJY

Profit Markets for Crosswords puzzles & other games

Key Points

•Companies across the world are working hard to meet the rising demand for online crossword puzzles. It has been seen that this demand growing at the rate of 370% year over year.

•According to one puzzle historian, the current surge in demand due to Covid -19 is nearly similar to the demand that was seen during the Great Depression.

•It's not uncommon for some people to turn to different variety of puzzles during times of economic crisis.

Some global key facts

In 2019 the worldwide puzzles and games market size was valued at $11.88 billion. It is projected to expand at a CAGR (Compound annual growth rate) of 18.6% from 2020 to 2027. Increasing the adoption of new information technology methods to design innovative games is expected to contribute to puzzles & other games industry growth considerably. With the introduction of new software technologies, the online crosswords platforms have to diversify their product offerings, thus proposing new earning streams for puzzle enthusiasts. The development of graphic memory and improved cognitive skills by participating in these puzzles are further increasing the acceptance rate of crossword puzzles online amongst many youngsters.

Ready for the new Market

The new forms of entertainment, wherein people indulge in different social activities inspire them to adopt online crosswords, card, field games. Game designers are choosing to innovate and modernize existing games by adding attractive features to catch more millennials, consequently driving increased revenue generation. For instance, Puzzle makes have created time-based incremental levels on such platforms through with you can win 10 times the amount you invest. Additionally, the ability to integrate real-life soft skills such as team spirit, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking and many more into crossword puzzles online for millennials is motivating people to adopt puzzle games, thus driving the market growth.

Changed trends

The online introduction of popular games like Sudoku and crossword puzzles is expected to contribute to growth further. It is becoming a general trend among millennials to go online and play and earn their second income by playing crossword puzzles online for the development of their brainpower and creativity. This attitude is positively influencing the product demand. Several, apps and websites in various countries have started such online games and offer an experience, which is full of fun and profits to puzzlers. Thanks to technological advancements that we get to see eye-catching fusions of high-end graphics, thrilling music, and 3-4D effects in digital games which help puzzle heads develop logical thinking and reasoning abilities and earn some passive income by playing real money making games.

Profit market for Puzzle makers

Have you ever realized that the crossword puzzle is still one of the most sought-after things of many newspapers? Surprisingly, some people buy newspaper copy only for that reason alone. A survey says that after sports, TV section, Front and Back pages of papers, it remains high up in the 'most read' pages. So there is a strong demand for people who create and sell crossword puzzles. It is applicable to online puzzle makers also who either create their own and sell it on various web platforms or write codes that generate a variety of online crossword puzzles. This market certainly offers sideline opportunities and profits for you. Are you a dedicated creator, player of offline or online crossword puzzles?

Some tips for crosswords makers: -

1.It's the Theme first

Start by thinking of a theme. For instance, something to do with geography or maybe history. Why not a theme on film(s), travel, or maybe on popular TV shows. I guess famous people's themes will always be interesting. You don't have to open your cards by revealing the theme to a solver, give them clues.

2.Make a list of words

Now make a list of 30 words that relate to your theme. Make sure you have a good variety of words in the list of synonyms, opposites, easy, popular. This way you make your 'word bank', to draw words for your other puzzles.

3.Use both short and long words

The combination of both long and short words is a very likable idea though there very few words of four or under 4 letters. Always choose words that have 'often used' letters. Like S, T, L, M, N, and vowels, because they are easier to fit and link. Try and avoid words that use Q X and Z for the same reason.

4.Put longer words in the center for Linking

Pick four or five of the longer words from your word bank and try and link them together in the center of a graph paper, beginning with a horizontal line. You can now try and fit in the smaller words around the longer ones. Start building the grid from there and conclude by filling in the spaces with a blank square.

5.Number all the squares with letters

After the completion of your grid number every square which contains the 1st letter of a word. You will now end up making 2 lists out of this, one of 'Down' words and another of 'Across' words.

6.Time to make clues

That's the most fun thing! In this stage, you have to create clues for the players. Some of the crosswords have simple clues and others display cryptic clues – avoid mixing both in the same crossword.

7.Get one thesaurus for word help

Looking for clue ideas for crossword puzzles online; a thesaurus is a really handy way of getting one. You may find one absolutely free online or you can buy one from the book shop. Find proposed words that may be similar in meaning, just look up your clue which could mean something similar, and this could be made the basis of your clue. I am sure crossword puzzlers would know that there are computer programs specifically made to assist you in creating and solving online crossword puzzles. Although the good ones may be quite expensive, can be bought or licensed for smaller or occasional job works. Don't be surprised if you come across buyers who prefer to pay only for crossword puzzles online that haven't been created by software or in other words by a computer. so always check first or give options.

Selling crossword puzzles

Most New papers and plenty of magazines have crossword puzzles for their regular readers. They might show some interest in buying your puzzles. You can inquire straight away by calling or maybe write to them formally. My suggestion is that you should start doing so with the smaller publications, not with the branded ones and so on! For your information, larger publishers of magazines & News Papers usually have in-house crossword creators. But don't be disheartened, you can still approach them as they buy puzzles from freelancers sometimes. And this could turn into a full-time job as their regular internal puzzles compiler in the future.

One more tip when compiling puzzles for Newspapers: Please be aware that Newspapers tend to have a fixed grid size as Newspapers are all about space. They generally are very hesitant to change the size. And within that very space, they try and experiment just by shifting the column, truncating the edges, making mirror images out of it, and so on and so forth. So always check back on such issues before you create /compile puzzles for that publication. You can also contact some very specific puzzle making agencies which create crossword puzzles for selling purpose only to the industry.

Educational and Games book publishers also require puzzles for the books they publish for students and the general public. Sometimes they have a need for hundreds of crosswords a year for their puzzle books and school textbooks. Educational publishers also need crosswords for study aids which are used for children in schools.

COVID-19 Effect

The ongoing COVID-19 around the world has put a large chunk of the population behind the doors, this has resulted in the rapid adoption of online crossword puzzles and many other online games. This may be attributed to worldwide lockdowns implemented in different countries at different times. There is no or very less work that leads people to engage in leisure, fun-filled, and entertainment activities to pass their time. People are confined to four walls of their homes because of social distancing protocol. They need to spend quality time with family, which is one of the main reasons for the wide-scale adoption of online crossword puzzles amongst people all across the world. Lots of traditional board games have now turned digital. Games like monopoly, Carom, evergreen Ludo, and snakes & ladders are some of them that have witnessed a major increase in adoption.

Puzzle enthusiasts are really thrilled as many organizations around the world are using this opportunity to develop new platforms & games for people. They are trying to make use of the situation so that markets could be penetrated more effectively. For instance, LUMSA in Rome has developed a new board game that highlights the importance of social distancing. It also aims to generate awareness among the masses of this disease which is highly contagious. Additionally, already established companies have also started diversifying their product range and services in order to increase their share of the revenue. A company in the U.K. has already initiated making 4D puzzles, and Hasbro Inc. who has been into toys and popular board games has started offering subscription services to the people.

Conclusion

The online puzzles sector netted major revenue share in the year 2019. The growing trend of online crossword puzzles and learning puzzles among students and teenagers is further stimulating sector growth. There has been a substantial shift in the trends in altering the shape of puzzles as compared to yesteryears. To increase the adoption rate manufacturers are concentrating on newer patterns, themes, styles, and processes and making it more lucrative for puzzle enthusiasts. Regular puzzlers and beginners have started looking at it differently now. Earlier, this was only limited to fun, knowledge, and brain exercise, which is not the case anymore. NOW, you can play and earn too.

When you get started on online crossword puzzles, you wouldn't want to stop working on clues and getting puzzles solved. You will become addicted to the feeling of achievement and self-confidence, but it's a good addiction. You will persevere and in the process, you will become hungry for more knowledge.

Get started with online crosswords today!

I may ask for my share...! Good luck