Discovery Education Puzzlemaker is a free, browser-based puzzle generator for teachers that produces 10 puzzle types — word search, criss-cross, double puzzles, fallen phrase, math squares, mazes, letter tiles, cryptograms, number blocks, and hidden message puzzles — from your own word lists, with no account or payment required. Printoodle is a paid alternative (10 free credits on signup, credit packs from $5, reprints free forever) that generates print-ready PDFs of word searches, crosswords, coloring pages, photo-to-coloring-page art, color-by-number, bingo, flashcards, mazes, dot-to-dot, and themed party packs. Choose Puzzlemaker for free, curriculum-focused word and math puzzles; choose Printoodle if you also want visual activities like coloring pages and personalized, image-based printables.
Bottom line: Puzzlemaker wins on price (completely free) and depth of word/math puzzle types for classroom vocabulary work; Printoodle wins on visual and personalized output — photo-based coloring pages, color-by-number, bingo and party packs — with print-ready PDFs and free reprints. They serve overlapping but different needs, so the right pick depends on whether you need free text puzzles or image-based activities.
TL;DR
- Discovery Education Puzzlemaker is free and requires no account; it generates 10 puzzle types from your own word lists.
- The 10 Puzzlemaker types are word search, criss-cross, double puzzles, fallen phrase, math squares, maze, letter tiles, cryptogram, number blocks, and hidden message puzzles.
- Puzzlemaker includes a word filter that prevents random generation of offensive words — useful when students create their own puzzles.
- Printoodle generates print-ready PDFs (Letter default, A4 toggle) from a photo, document, or short brief, using a credit system.
- Printoodle's free tier gives 10 credits on email verification; credit packs start at $5 and reprints are free forever.
- Printoodle covers visual formats Puzzlemaker doesn't: themed coloring pages, photo-to-coloring-page, pixel color-by-number, bingo, flashcards and party packs.
- Puzzlemaker is strongest for K-12 vocabulary and math reinforcement; Printoodle adds personalization (child's name, pet photos) for classrooms, homes and parties.
Head-to-head
| Dimension | Discovery Education Puzzlemaker | Printoodle |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Freewinner | 10 free credits on signup; credit packs from $5; reprints free forever |
| Puzzle types | 10 types: word search, criss-cross, double puzzles, fallen phrase, math squares, maze, letter tiles, cryptogram, number blocks, hidden message | Word searches, crosswords, trivia cards, bingo, flashcards, mazes, dot-to-dot, worksheets, party packs, coloring pages, color-by-number |
| Visual/image output | None — text and number grids only | Themed coloring pages, photo-to-coloring-page line art, pixel color-by-number mystery pictureswinner |
| Personalization | Custom word lists only | Photos, documents, or a short brief; birthday kits with the child's name; pet-photo coloring pageswinner |
| Output format | Printable puzzle page | Print-ready PDF, Letter default with A4 togglewinner |
| Ease of use | Step-by-step form per puzzle type, then 'Create My Puzzle' | Upload a photo, document, or brief and download a PDF in secondswinner |
| Classroom grade range | Kindergarten through high school (documented use cases per grade)winner | Teacher worksheets and quizzes from own lesson material; family activities for ages 3-12 |
| Storage & reprints | Generate and print; no saved library | Everything saved in a library; reprints free foreverwinner |
Scores
Discovery Education Puzzlemaker
puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/ ↗Puzzlemaker is Discovery Education's free puzzle generation tool for teachers, students, and parents. It creates customized, printable puzzles from your own word lists across ten formats: word search, criss-cross (crossword), double puzzles, fallen phrase, math squares, maze, letter tiles, cryptogram, number blocks, and hidden message puzzles. It sits inside Discovery Education's broader free classroom-resources hub alongside interactive learning experiences and virtual field trips, and Discovery Education users can also access it within the Discovery Education Experience platform. The tool is form-driven: you pick a puzzle type, follow the on-page steps, enter your word list, and click 'Create My Puzzle' to generate a printable version. TeachHUB's classroom guide documents use at every level — letter-identification word searches in kindergarten, sight-word puzzles in first grade, vocabulary crosswords in second grade, hidden-message decoding in third, cryptograms and double puzzles in fourth, fallen-phrase puzzles in fifth, math squares as middle-school warm-ups, and number blocks for high school. A built-in word filter prevents random creation of offensive words, which makes it safe enough for student-led puzzle creation.
Pros
- Completely free — 'Create Your Own Puzzle for Free' is the tool's own pitch, with no membership required
- Ten distinct puzzle types covering literacy, vocabulary, and math
- Customizable puzzle size — teachers can make simplified or larger, harder word searches for differentiation
- Word filter prevents random generation of offensive words, enabling safe student-created puzzles
- Documented classroom use from kindergarten through high school across every content area
- Backed by Discovery Education's wider free classroom-resources ecosystem
Cons
- Text and number puzzles only — no coloring pages, images, or photo-based output
- No saved library of past puzzles; output is a print-and-done worksheet
- No design customization such as fonts, colors, or themed graphics
- Form-based creation means no drag-and-drop editing of the generated puzzle
Printoodle
printoodle.com ↗Printoodle is a consumer web app where anyone — parents, teachers, party hosts, and grown-up colorers — can generate personalized, print-ready activity pages in seconds. You upload a photo, a document, or a short brief, spend credits, and download a print-ready PDF (Letter by default with an A4 toggle). The format list is broad: themed coloring pages, photo-to-coloring-page conversion that turns a pet or family photo into line art, pixel color-by-number mystery pictures, word searches, crosswords, trivia cards, bingo, flashcards, mazes, dot-to-dot, classroom worksheets, and themed party packs. Everything a user makes is stored in a library where reprints are always free. For teachers, the workflow is built around their own lesson material — worksheets, word searches, and quizzes generated from documents they upload. For families, birthday kits can include the child's name, and gifters can turn a pet photo into a coloring page. The product is family-safe by default: no trademarked characters, no NSFW content. New users get 10 free credits on email verification, and credit packs start at $5.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | $0/mo | 10 credits on email verification |
| Credit packs | $5/one_time | Pay-per-credit packs; reprints free forever |
Pros
- Generates visual formats Puzzlemaker lacks: coloring pages, photo-to-line-art, color-by-number, bingo, and party packs
- Personalization — birthday kits with the child's name, pet-photo coloring pages
- Print-ready PDFs with Letter and A4 paper options
- Library storage with free reprints forever
- Free tier of 10 credits on email verification; credit packs from $5 with no subscription
- Family-safe defaults: no trademarked characters, no NSFW content
Cons
- Credit-based, so heavy printing costs money versus a fully free tool
- No math puzzle formats like math squares, cryptograms, or number blocks
- Fewer word-puzzle variants — no fallen phrase, letter tiles, or hidden message puzzles
- Not tied into a wider curriculum platform or standards-aligned resource library
Pricing compared
Puzzle types: 10 formats side by side
Safety and classroom fit
Workflow and output
Which should you pick?
FAQs
Is Discovery Education Puzzlemaker really free?
Yes. Puzzlemaker's own site invites users to 'Create Your Own Puzzle for Free,' and it's listed among Discovery Education's free classroom resources for teachers. There is no membership or payment required to generate and print customized word searches, crosswords, math puzzles, and more from your own word lists. Discovery Education users can also access it directly within the Discovery Education Experience platform.
What are all 10 puzzle types in Discovery Education Puzzlemaker?
The ten formats are: Word Search, Criss-Cross (crossword), Double Puzzles, Fallen Phrase, Math Squares, Maze, Letter Tiles, Cryptogram, Number Blocks, and Hidden Message puzzles. They range from simple kindergarten word searches to number blocks, a high-school-level challenge where missing integers between 0 and 9 must make every row, column, and diagonal add up to the given totals.
How much does Printoodle cost for teachers?
Printoodle gives new users 10 free credits after email verification. After that, credit packs start at $5 as one-time purchases — there's no subscription. Each generation of a new printable spends credits, but reprints of anything already in your library are free forever, so a class set you created once can be reprinted indefinitely at no extra cost.
Can Puzzlemaker make coloring pages or bingo?
No. Puzzlemaker's ten formats are all text- and number-based: word searches, crosswords, double puzzles, fallen phrase, math squares, mazes, letter tiles, cryptograms, number blocks, and hidden messages. It doesn't generate images, coloring pages, bingo cards, or photo-based activities. For those formats, a tool like Printoodle covers coloring pages, photo-to-coloring-page conversion, color-by-number, bingo, trivia cards, and themed party packs.
Which tool is better for elementary teachers?
Both work well at the elementary level but for different jobs. Puzzlemaker is ideal for curriculum-aligned literacy and math practice — sight-word searches in first grade, vocabulary crosswords in second, hidden-message puzzles in third, and math squares as warm-ups — and it's free. Printoodle is stronger when you want visual and personalized activities: worksheets and word searches generated from your own lesson documents, plus coloring pages, color-by-number, and themed activities. Many elementary teachers would reasonably use both.
Is Printoodle safe for kids?
Printoodle is built as a family product with safe-for-kids defaults: it contains no trademarked characters and no NSFW content. Its core audiences include parents of kids aged 3-12 and teachers, and outputs are print-ready PDFs suitable for classroom or home use. Similarly, Puzzlemaker includes a word filter that prevents the random creation of offensive words, making it safe for student-led puzzle creation.
Sources
- Online Puzzlemaker | Create Your Own Puzzle | Discovery Education
- Create Your Own Word Search Puzzle | Discovery Education Puzzlemaker
- Free Classroom Resources for Teachers | Discovery Education
- How to Use Discovery Education Puzzle Maker - TeachHUB
- Education Platform & Learning Resources for K-12 | Discovery Education
- Printoodle — Print-ready activity pages
- Free Word Search Generator | Super Teacher Worksheets
- Best Word Search Makers for Teachers in 2026
- Word Searches for Kids in Elementary School – 2026