Crossword Generator lets users create 13x13 grid puzzles for free. Credit: Thanasis via Getty Images

Crossword puzzles range from those easy elementary school-level varieties up to nightmarish labyrinths of text . But crafting even the most simple versions remains its own artform. Seamlessly combining dozens of answers into a coherent, functional grid often requires years of practice, but digital strategist and creator Tex Jernigan has designed an impressive tool to level the playing field, so to speak: Crossword Generator .

“Making my own puzzles is something I wanted to do for my neighborhood coffee shop, and [I] started working on it many years ago,” Jernigan, who also recently debuted a vintage Blockbuster VHS sleeve maker , tells Popular Science . “I thought I would be able to have a huge list of theme words, but it can be quite difficult to get more than a small handful of theme words to work.”

Crossword Generator’s creator designed a custom edition for ‘Popular Science’ available for free online.…