I've just released Palabra 0.1.7 which nows supports word lists with scores and clue databases. That means you're now able to use your own word lists and clues in constructing crosswords. I'd love to hear some feedback on the design and how it's working.
If you want to use your own word lists, these should be text files with a word, a comma and the score per line. A clue database is also a text file with a word, a comma and a clue per line.
I would also like to know what you think of the way the clue editing is done (see the screenshot below): there's a main words/clues with an overview, a lookup tab for finding clues for a word and an advanced tab for other things (such as adding an explanation for a clue).
If you're running Ubuntu you can download the latest version here:
http://pypi.python.org/pypi/palabra . Support for Windows and Mac OS X should follow in due time.
Here is a screenshot of the main window, showing the New York Times crossword of May 16, 2011:
Assisted and automated grid filling are also upcoming: you can already use a basic filling engine to let Palabra search for grids that can fit a certain number of theme words (see the new puzzle window). I'll work a bit more on a general filling engine which should be added in a future release.
I would be very grateful for any feedback, positive or negative
