Tarsia Maker

I've written a lot about Tarsia puzzles in the past, and have also made a lot!  There is now a new Tarsia puzzle maker on the block, which I have just been checking out.  It's called Tarsia Maker.

As you can see from this screenshot, there are four different puzzle shapes available:

1. little triangle - 9 pairs
2. big triangle - 18 pairs
3. "lozenge" - 11 pairs
4. hexagon - 30 pairs

You click on the puzzle shape you want to make, and then it's just a question of typing in your pairs of words or phrases.  You can toggle easily between the boxes by using the Tab button.  Once you've finished typing in your words, just click "Export to PDF" and your puzzle is ready.  The PDF includes the puzzle solution and a link to your puzzle if you want to retrieve and edit it.

So how does it compare to the Formulator Tarsia?  I've compared them and listed the advantages and disadvantages of Tarsia Maker.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Web-based – no need to download and install any software Much easier and less time-consuming to type in your words and phrases You can use the “shuffle” button to change the position in the puzzle of your pairs of words/phrases and randomise them.	Only one font (although it is a clear Arial-type font) Only 4 puzzle types Not possible to have red-herring or extension words/phrases on the puzzle edges Not possible to add images The PDF provides the puzzle and its solution but not the table that Formulator Tarsia provides. Not possible to create dominoes or “follow-me” activities

It looks like there are more disadvantages than advantages, but the advantages are significant and the program's convenience goes a long way to outweighing the disadvantages.

If you're interested in making Tarsia puzzles to use in language lessons, don't forget to have a look at my guide Ideas for using Tarsia.