NextGen Crosswords

OFFICIAL CROSSWORD SOFTWARE FOR THE UK'S BIGGEST NEWSPAPERS

The Times The Sunday Times The Sun

Built by David Ellams of NextGen Software in partnership with Times crossword setter David Akenhead — the official desktop app for his crossword archive, solutions, hints and more. Loved by crossword enthusiasts across the UK.

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THE PUBLICATIONS

Three of Britain's Biggest Papers.

David Akenhead is one of the UK's most celebrated crossword setters — his puzzles appear in three of the country's most-read newspapers. NextGen Crosswords brings his entire archive to your desktop.

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The Times

One of the world's most iconic newspapers — home to one of Britain's most revered crossword traditions. The Times crossword has been a national institution for over 80 years.

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The Sunday Times

The Sunday companion — for those who like their weekend to include something that genuinely challenges the mind alongside their morning coffee and toast.

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The Sun

Britain's biggest-selling newspaper brings its crossword to the app — making Akenhead's puzzles accessible to millions more solvers across the country.

THE APPLICATION

Elegant. Intuitive. Powerful.

Built in WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) — a polished, professional desktop application that feels right at home alongside the newspapers it complements.

Akenhead Crossword Solutions application screenshot

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PLATFORM

Windows Desktop

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TECHNOLOGY

WPF / .NET

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Everything the Crossword Enthusiast Needs.

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Full Archive Access

Browse and solve the complete archive of David Akenhead's crosswords from The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun — going back as far as the archive runs. Years of puzzles, all in one place.

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Solutions & Hints

Stuck on a clue? Check the official solution — or reveal just a single letter if you want a nudge without giving the game away. Hints at your own pace, your own style.

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Interactive Grid

Click, type and fill in the grid directly on screen — a proper interactive crossword experience rather than just a static solution viewer. Navigate by clue, by cell, by direction.

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Clue Search

Search across the entire archive by clue text, answer pattern or keyword. Find that clue you half-remember from three years ago. Research recurring themes and setter patterns.

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Date Navigation

Jump to any crossword by date — browse by day, month or year. Revisit a puzzle from a special occasion or work through a particular era chronologically.

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Progress Tracking

Track how many crosswords you've completed, your average solving time, your personal bests and your archive completion percentage. Because every crossword enthusiast secretly loves a stat.

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Print Ready

Print any crossword beautifully formatted — for those who still prefer pencil on paper (a completely valid and noble choice). Perfect layout every time.

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Clean Dark UI

A beautifully designed WPF interface that's easy on the eyes — whether you're solving at breakfast or during a late-night session after everyone's gone to bed.

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Regular Updates

New crosswords added as David Akenhead publishes them — keeping the archive current and giving you a fresh puzzle to look forward to every day.

A CLUE

How Did a Game Developer Build a Crossword App?

1 ACROSS (6 letters)

"Versatile developer who taught himself C++, DirectX, websites and WPF — built games, crossword apps and eventually an entire technology universe (6)"

D A V I D

✓ Confirmed. That was the easy one.

"I've always loved a challenge outside my comfort zone. The web when no one knew what it was. C++ in my final year. And then WPF — a completely different paradigm — to build something genuinely useful for people who love language as much as I love code."

NextGen Crosswords was built by David Ellams — the same developer who taught himself HTML in 1999, C++ and DirectX in 2001, and who went on to design the entire OASIS architecture. The crossword app was built in WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) — a powerful but demanding .NET UI framework that David taught himself for the project.

The app was created in collaboration with Times crossword setter David Akenhead — a professional partnership that produced a polished, commercial-grade desktop application for thousands of crossword fans across the UK. Three newspapers. A full archive. A beautiful interface. All built by one developer.

It's a long way from Snake 3000 in VB6 — but the spirit is identical. Give David Ellams a new technology and a problem worth solving, and he will teach himself whatever it takes to solve it beautifully.

David Ellams

DEVELOPER — NEXTGEN CROSSWORDS · CEO/CTO/FOUNDER — NEXTGEN WORLD LTD · CREATOR OF THE OASIS

PART OF THE BIGGER PICTURE

One Developer. Twenty-Five Years. One Universe.

Akenhead Crossword Solutions is one chapter in a remarkable story — a developer who has spent 25 years teaching himself whatever technology was needed, building whatever needed building, and never once settling for "good enough".

🐍 Snake 3000 — 1999 🕹️ Shadow Fighter — 2001 ✏️ NextGen Crosswords — 2010s 🧘 Yoga4Autism — 2013 🌍 Our World — 2016 🌌 OASIS — 2019

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