for FREE

While they may seem outdated to some, crossword puzzles have made the transition to the digital medium quite effectively. You can fine them everywhere on the web, with many released for free by well-known publications. However, you still need an app that emulates the pen and paper solving experience.

Black Ink is just that — an app designed to open puzzles saved to specific formats, which you can then solve in a specialized interface. You can find puzzle files yourself, but the app can also download them automatically, from publications such as the Wall Street Journal or New York Times.

As soon as you open a puzzle, everything will make sense instantly. You’ll see the crossword on the left and the questions on the right, with the question for the currently selected square also displayed at the top. A timer, pause, and reset buttons are at the bottom.

When you click a square, the clue across is highlighted, and you can click it again to view the clue down. The same thing can be done using the keyboard, using the arrow keys. You can also hold down Shift to cycle between words, or press Tab to move to the next one.

When you launch the app, you will be given the option of downloading puzzles from certain publications, with crosswords released on earlier dates also available. Some will require a subscription to that particular publication, but some are completely free.

If that’s not enough, you can add more sources from the app’s preferences, enabling you to download their puzzles more easily. Moreover, crosswords saved to the Across Lite format can be opened directly.

Black Ink gives you everything you need to download, open, and solve puzzles without any additional hassle. It features a well-designed, customizable UI, supports the Across Lite format, and can be navigated intuitively using only the keyboard.

Black Ink is part of these download collections: Crossword Tools