Photocross Review

Photocross is an iPad app which takes an interesting approach to a traditional crossword puzzle by adding picture clues, as well as allowing the addition of photos hints of one’s choosing.

These puzzles are very enjoyable, and I am not someone who especially likes crossword puzzles in general. My mind never works in the way it needs to for the hints to be helpful, and my spelling is questionable to the point that knowing how many letters a word has is of very little help. The photo hints make all the difference here, and with this info, I was able to complete these crosswords. It would be nice if letter hints could be obtained if the player desired, in the form of filling in a space of the player’s choosing when feeling stuck.

I do, however, wish that there were basic instructions and a title page that this app opened to. I had to poke around for quite some time, figuring out what to do, but when I got the hang of it, it is very simple to use, educational, and fun. I like that when a letter is correct, it is green; wrong letters are black. This helps the player know if he is on the right track at the start of spelling, not having to wait until the end to see if the word fits, or the middle to see if intersection letters work. As a bad speller, I find it especially helpful that some of the letters which are wrong are black while the majority of the word, spelled correctly, are green. This is rare in the world of things like spellcheck, to see exactly where the mistake was made, and this alone is a good learning experience.

It is also a nice touch that one can customize pictures and words for this app. I think this would be a great tool for learning student spelling words if an adult can come up with a photo of the words needed. I am disappointed, however, that the instructions to do this are on the developer's site, not in the app itself and I had to go searching for them.

Photocross is a good variation on crossword puzzles. I wish I had been able to use this for my spelling words when I was in grade school. I hope in the future, basic play and photo instructions can be added directly into this app.