Puzzles by Denise
I have written puzzles for several decades. I have produced quite a few themed puzzle books for groups such as the RSCPA, the Royal Flying Doctors Service, and the Alice Springs School of the Air. My syndicated puzzles have appeared in publications around the world. I create everything from picture puzzles like mazes and dot-to-dots, to find-a-words, codes and cryptograms, and cryptic crosswords.
My work is syndicated through Auspac Media, and available at The Clue Detective Puzzle Agency.
You can find me over on
Secret Shapes, Volume 1
Secret Shape puzzles are word search puzzles with a difference (and an invention of mine, some years ago) — find all the words (and practice your spelling, but don't worry, it's painless), and then colour in the leftover squares to reveal a hidden picture. This PDF book costs less than a cup of coffee, you get an immediate download, and can print pages as needed. Winning! Head over to Lulu.com now to get your copy!
Here is a free sample of one of my Secret Shape puzzles to try out: Valentine's Day Secret Shape.
Crossword Fabric
This one's a bit weird — but I've designed 
cryptic crossword fabric. You can get your very own over here at Spoonflower. You can choose the type of fabric and a bunch of other options. Make yourself a crossword pincushion, pillow, tie, skirt, or a whole crossword outfit! Can you imagine it? (Yeah, but maybe don't go with the whole outfit ...)
Free puzzles
Education and fun at the same time? Winning! You are welcome to download these puzzles and use them in the classroom, at home, or in not-for-profit newsletters. I have divided them into rough difficulty categories, but you will be the best judge of what you, your family, or students are able to enjoy. The easier level puzzles are also great for adults who are learning English.
And I see you science teachers! I've collected the science puzzles in one place for you, just below. This collection is being added to frequently, so bookmark this page. Answers for the puzzles are included in each PDF. All word search puzzles have been scanned for accidentally created rude or swear words, so they are safe for use in schools and home. No risk of sniggering because a naughty word was discovered in the letter grid!
If you wish to use any of these puzzles commercially, please contact me for licensing details.
The Science Collection
- Junior
- Animals Fit-In
- Animal Crossword and Fit-In
- Body Parts Word Search
- Marine Word Search
- Maths Word Search
- Materials Secret Shape
- Senior
Easy puzzles
- Animals Fit-In — Use logic to figure out which words go where in the grid
- Animal Puzzles — a cute crossword and a fit in puzzle.
- Capital Construction Muddle — from The Junior Canberra Puzzle Book.
- Gold Rush Word Search — A word search about the Australian Gold Rush.
- Marine Word Search — A word search about marine life
- Maths Word Search — Mathematical terms feature in this simple word search.
- Materials Secret Shape — a word search combined with colouring in.
- Railways Maze — from The Junior Canberra Puzzle Book.
- Verbs Crossword — Fill in the blanks in sentences to solve this crossword.
Medium puzzles
- 1980s Music Word Search — Find your favourite 1980s song titles in this word search.
- Aquarium Word Search — Lots of aquarium fish in this one, and a hidden message!
- Archaeology Puzzle Sheet — This puzzle sheet was written for National Archaeology Week in Australia, and includes a word search puzzle and a crossword.
- Arty Crossword — A little crossword all about art and artists.
- Astronomy Word Search — Discover the cosmos with this puzzle.
- Aussie Crossword — This is a small crossword with lots of Australian words.
- Canberra 1965 Map Maze — from The Canberra Puzzle Book.
- Delicious Word Search — A "tasty" word search.
- Dinosaur Word Search— A dinosaur puzzle with an Australian flavour and a hidden word.
- Ecosystems Secret Shape— Find all the words and discover a hidden shape!
- Elements Word Search — Find the chemical elements, and reveal a secret word!
- Federation Find-a-Word — from The Canberra Puzzle Book.
- Italian Crossword — Translate English into Italian, and vice versa, to solve this crossword.
- Knitting Word Search — Find all your knitting terms here!
- Physics Word Search — Discover a famous scientist in this word search.
- Quick Break — One of my popular ‘quick’ crosswords. Available through my syndicator, Auspac Media.
- Recipes Word Search — Lots of tasty recipe names in this one.
- Science Word Search — Fields of study feature in this word search.
- Valentine's Day Secret Shape — My own puzzle invention. It combines a regular word search with the fun of colouring in, to discover a hidden picture. Available for syndication through Auspac Media, and as an ebook on Lulu for instant download.
Hard puzzles
- African Scramble Word Search — You need to unscramble the names of African countries and cities before you can find them in the grid.
- Around the World Quiz Word Search — answer the quiz questions to find out which words to look for in the grid.
- Christmas Crossword — The name says it all! Clues are on the tricky side, but not too hard.
- Elements Crossword — The answers are either the names or symbols of chemical elements.
- The Enigma Crossword — This one is just generally very hard! Tricky vocabulary.
- Gardener Crossword — A difficult gardening and botany themed crossword, syndicated through Auspac Media.
- Gourmet Crossword — A challenging food, cooking, and wine themed crossword. Auspac Media
- Indonesian Cross Quizzes — Two cross quizzes about Indonesia.
- National Parks Crossword — A crossword about Australia's national parks
- Puppy Secret List Word Search — It's hard because you only get a list of initial letters of the dog breed names!