1. Who we are and what these terms cover
The Service is operated under the name Puzzles Almanac (“we”, “us”, “our”). “Service” means the website at puzzlesalmanac.com, the pzzl.ist short-link domain, our iOS and Android applications, and everything offered through them: the word search, crossword, and sudoku generators, saved projects and word lists, the daily puzzle, our online games, the blog, the book shop, and printing and download features.
By visiting the Service or creating an account, you accept these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service. You can always reach us at [email protected] with questions.
2. Who may use the Service
Anyone may view and play the publicly available puzzles. To create an account, you must be at least 13 years old (or older where your local law requires it). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 — puzzles intended for children should be printed or shared by an adult, such as a parent or teacher, from that adult’s own account.
3. Accounts
Sign-in works with one-time codes sent to your email address — there are no passwords. You are responsible for keeping access to that email inbox secure, and for activity that happens through your account. Give us an accurate email address and keep it current (you can change it, and add a backup address, in your account settings).
You may delete your account at any time from your account settings. Deletion permanently removes your account and the personal data associated with it, as described in the Privacy Policy. We may suspend or close accounts that violate these terms or abuse the Service.
4. Your content
You may create and save content on the Service — word lists, clues, puzzle projects, and suggested themes (“Your Content”). You keep ownership of Your Content.
So the Service can work, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, adapt, and display Your Content — for example, to render your word list as a puzzle grid, a printable page, or a PDF, and to back it up.
If you mark a project as public, you additionally allow us to display it to everyone (including on public pages that search engines can index), and you allow other users to view it, play it, print it, and copy it into their own account for personal, classroom, or publishing use. You can make a project private again at any time, but copies other users already made remain theirs.
You promise that you have the rights to the content you upload and that it is not unlawful, infringing, hateful, or harmful. We may remove content that we reasonably believe violates these terms or someone else’s rights — see our Copyright & DMCA Policy.
5. Puzzles you generate
Puzzles generated from your own word lists and clues are yours. You may print, share, and use them however you like — at home, in the classroom, or commercially, including in books you publish.
Puzzles and content we author — the daily puzzles, mystery word-search cases, games, blog articles, and puzzles on our public theme pages — are for personal and classroom use. You may play and print them for yourself, your family, or your students, but you may not republish, resell, or redistribute them (for example, in a book or on another website) without our written permission.
6. Acceptable use
- Don’t break the law or upload unlawful or infringing content.
- Don’t circumvent access limits (such as daily puzzle caps), probe or disrupt the Service, or access it with automated tools at abusive volume.
- Don’t scrape, copy, or republish the Service’s content or database at scale.
- Don’t misrepresent who you are, or use another person’s account or email.
7. Our intellectual property
The Service — its software, design, text, graphics, and the puzzles and content we author — belongs to us or our licensors and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws. “Puzzles Almanac” and our logos and marks may not be used without permission. Nothing in these terms transfers any of our intellectual property to you beyond the limited rights expressly granted here.
8. Mobile applications
Our iOS and Android apps are part of the Service and these terms apply to them. The apps are free. When you download an app from the Apple App Store or Google Play, that store’s own terms also apply to the download.
These terms are an agreement between you and us — not with Apple Inc. or Google LLC. Apple and Google are not responsible for the apps or their content, have no obligation to provide support or maintenance for them, and are not parties to these terms; however, Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of this section with respect to the iOS app and may enforce it against you. You represent that you are not located in a country subject to a U.S. government embargo and are not on any U.S. government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
9. Third-party links and affiliate disclosure
The Service links to third-party sites, most notably Amazon product pages in our book shop. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases made through those links. Third-party sites have their own terms and privacy policies; we are not responsible for them.
10. Disclaimers
The Service is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement. We do not promise the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that any particular puzzle, feature, or archive will remain available. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain warranty exclusions, so parts of this section may not apply to you.
11. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, data, or goodwill, arising from your use of the Service. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim (currently zero — the Service is free) and US $50. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including in jurisdictions that grant consumers non-waivable rights.
12. Changes to the Service and to these terms
We are a small team and the Service evolves continuously — features may change, be added, or be retired. We may update these terms from time to time; when we make a material change we will update the effective date at the top of this page and, for significant changes, give notice on the site or by email. Continuing to use the Service after a change takes effect means you accept the updated terms.
13. Disputes
If you have a problem, please talk to us first: email [email protected] and we will try in good faith to resolve it informally within 30 days. If we cannot, disputes will be resolved in the courts of, and under the laws of, the jurisdiction where the operator of the Service resides, unless the consumer-protection law of your place of residence requires otherwise.
14. Contact
Questions about these terms: [email protected].