Made by a Dad and His Son, One Word at a Time

CrissCross started about a year ago as a small practice tool for my son, Tom. He was working on his reading, spelling, and vocabulary, and I wanted to give him something that felt more like a game than homework. So I built him a crossword.

He turned out to be my toughest critic and my best tester. He played every version, over and over, through more rounds of changes than either of us can count. And he tested it the way only a child can: tapping things nobody would think to tap, dragging tiles where they were never meant to go, and turning up the weirdest edge cases with remarkable talent. So did his friends.

He also came up with many of the app’s fundamental ideas. The medals started with him, and so did a lot of the topics. Whenever something didn’t behave the way he expected, he told me, and more often than not he was right, so the app changed. Bit by bit, it grew to fit exactly what he needed: clues pitched at the right level, words that stretch him without overwhelming him, and puzzles that feel like play rather than a test.

It worked so well that we decided to turn it into a proper app other families could use too. That was supposed to be the quick part. It was not. We’ve spent months since then writing new words and clues, sanding down every tap and drag, and tucking in small details for kids to stumble across along the way.

CrissCross is still made by just the two of us, with a lot of care. I hope it helps your child the way it helped mine.

Robin & Tom