Six Results Already Sit Around a 3×3. They Place the Nine Numbers.
Your reader turns the page and finds plus and times signs sitting between nine empty cells, and six results already printed around the edge. No rules box. The job is visible in four seconds: put each of 1 through 9 in once so every printed result holds.
They try the top row left to right. 4 + 2 × 8. The page wants 48, not 20. Classic Cross Sum reads in order, the way a kid writes across a worksheet.
Then the pencil stays on those nine cells.
That is the whole appeal. A math page that teaches itself and holds an adult. What it has never been is easy to produce by hand: nine numbers, six equations, and a key that still matches after you typeset the results.
Cross Sum does that part. Classic 1-9 is the first book. It places the operators, prints the six results, and writes the puzzle image and the matching solution image together. Variations opens Custom when you want the second listing.
Try the free demo and make one 3×3 before you decide anything.
Why Cross Sum Earns a Place in Your Catalog
Math and activity catalogs are a wall of times-table drills and boxed 9×9. A shopper who already owns three drill books will skip the fourth unless the first unsolved page is already doing arithmetic they can see.
A Cross Sum is that page. Same reader. A small crossword of arithmetic they can point at: a fixed 3×3 of number cells, operators between them, and six printed results around the edge, one for each row and one for each column. The thumbnail works because the results are already on the page. Nine numbers and six equations is enough for a coffee. An empty 3×3 is enough for a fight.
Here is the whole rule set, and it fits in a line: place each of the nine numbers once so the three row equations and the three column equations all hold.
I built this because I kept wanting a math page that Look Inside could sell in one glance, and I could not face typesetting another six-equation key by hand. This is the module I open when a math catalog needs a page that is not another empty grid.
What You Can Create
One Creator. These are the books this product prints:
- A standalone Classic 1-9 Cross Sum book for KDP and other print platforms, unsolved 3×3 pages in the front, matching keys in the back
- A graded chapter that opens on three given digits and closes on an empty 3×3, each clue count from its own Create
- A class pack from one page shape: a 3-clue Classic for students still working, a 2-clue Classic for the middle of the room, and a 0-clue Classic for the ones already done
- Worksheet packs and printables for Etsy, Teachers Pay Teachers, or a store you run
- On Variations: a second listing the Classic shopper can tell apart without reading the title, 11-19, Base plus 1 through 9, or Regular Math
- On Variations: an operator edition that stays on Only +, Only −, Only ×, or Only + −
- On Variations: a mixed-fraction title that prints 1 1/2, or a Only − title that can go below zero
- Mixed math books that sit Cross Sum beside your other Puzzle Maker Pro types, when Puzzle Book Studio is on the edition
Every Create writes two images: the unsolved 3×3 the solver sees, and the matching solution image with all nine numbers filled.
See the Output
The unsolved page is the listing. The key is the back of the book.
Why Create It with Puzzle Maker Pro?
The stall was never drawing a 3×3. It was typesetting six results, filling the key later, and hoping the arithmetic still matched.
Cross Sum writes the puzzle image and the matching solution image in the same pass, so the back of the book costs you nothing. Set Quantity from 1 to 10000 and you get that many puzzle-and-solution pairs from one setup and one clue count.
Classic stays honest on the page: numbers 1 through 9, each used once, left to right, and every result and every step in between stays a whole number, zero or greater. 4 + 2 × 8 is 48. That is the worksheet rule, and it is the rule the key uses.
Clues set how long they stay on the page, not a grade stamp. You pick 0, 1, 2, or 3 given digits. Each clue sits in a different row and a different column. One clue count per Create, so a 3-clue chapter and an empty-3×3 chapter stay separate runs.
Key Creation Workflows
Give them three given digits, or leave the 3×3 empty Clues run from 0 to 3. Three given digits is the short page, the after-test sheet, the first chapter. Two is the middle of the book. Zero is the empty 3×3 for the ones who want a fight. Each clue sits in a different row and a different column, so the footholds never stack in one line. One clue count per Create. Three Creates give you three chapter moods from the same Classic 1-9 setup. The clue count is how long they stay.
Ship Classic 1-9 first, left to right Numbers 1 through 9, Default operators, left to right. That is Cross Sum Standard, and it is still on the Creator when you move up. Instant Puzzle Books builds the interior from that one setup: unsolved pages, then the keys. Put 4 + 2 × 8 = 48 on the title so a shopper who expects school order does not write you about the math. Results and intermediates stay whole numbers, zero or greater. Ship this book first. It is the listing a shopper can finish.
Put an 11-19 page next to the Classic book Variations opens Custom on this same Creator. Flip to 11-19 and Look Inside is a different number world the Classic shopper can tell from 1-9 without reading the title. Or set Base plus 1 through 9 (Base 20 prints 21 through 29). Or type nine tokens yourself. Classic stays on the Creator. Flip back to 1-9 when you want the original book. That is a second listing from one product, not a second engine.
Lock the operators to the listing you named Default keeps + − × ÷. Lock the page to Only + −, Only +, Only −, or Only × when the cover promises that arithmetic. Regular Math uses times and divide before plus and minus (PEMDAS), so the same 4 + 2 × 8 prints 20. Put that evaluation rule on the Instant Puzzle Books title. A listing that says Regular Math and prints 48 is the one-star review you do not want. Only − lets a line go below zero. Those operator modes live on Custom, on Variations and Productivity.
Print 1 1/2 when a row divides, and let Only − go below zero Custom can allow mixed fractions. Division may land off a whole number, and the page prints it as a minimized mixed fraction, 1 1/2, not a decimal. Custom can also allow negative outcomes, so an intermediate or a final result may sit below zero. Only − turns negatives on with the operator lock. That is a genuinely different title from Classic 1-9, off the same 3×3.
Fit the 3×3 to the fonts already in the book Operators, equals signs, and printed results take the puzzle font you set. Clue digits on the puzzle and all nine digits on the solution take the solution font. Border line, inner line, canvas, and the filler squares around the number cells are yours. Arial on white is the default look. Change it for the series you already print, then save the preset and open the next Cross Sum book on that look.
From One Puzzle to a Full Book
One 3×3 is a listing image. A Cross Sum book needs a chapter of them, keys in the back, and a footer that names the solution page.
Instant Puzzle Books is on every edition. It builds a ready-to-print book from your current settings: title page, table of contents, puzzle pages, the answer key section, and a cross-reference footer on every puzzle and every solution (“Solution 12 on page 87” on the puzzle, “Puzzle 12 on page 5” on the key). Export that book as an interactive PDF book from Instant Puzzle Books and the contents and those footers become clickable links. The unsolved 3×3 opens its filled key.
Puzzle Book Studio edits the collection with the same title page, contents, and cross-reference footers, and writes the same interactive PDF book. Variations opens Studio on one Cross Sum collection: full book design, fonts, titles, page numbers, trim. Productivity opens several collections in one title, so a Classic 1-9 chapter and an 11-19 chapter live in the same book.
Time Saver, on Productivity, queues the batch: a row per quantity, with optional negatives, fractions, or Regular Math on that row. A row follows the Creator for clues, operators, and the number pool. Saved Cross Sum presets can run as their own rows.
Output Formats and Publishing Options
The 3×3 you generate has to land in the book or the worksheet pack you already build. Cross Sum writes JPG, PNG, and transparent PNG for the unsolved page and the matching solution image.
Standard is Classic 1-9: quantity, clues, and style, then Instant Puzzle Books for a book from that setup, including the interactive PDF book from that builder.
Variations keeps Classic 1-9 and opens Custom: 11-19, Base plus 1 through 9, typed tokens, Regular Math, operator locks, mixed fractions, and negatives. Instant Puzzle Books still builds the book. Puzzle Book Studio edits one collection, and writes the interactive PDF book from that collection.
Productivity adds Time Saver for batch rows and Puzzle Book Studio for several collections in one title, plus JSON export with puzzle type cross_sum for your own apps and workflows. Time Saver queues the rows. JSON is the data file. Name both. They are not the same thing.
Which Edition Should You Choose?
The question is not which edition lists the most rows. It is what you are making this month.
Standard if this month is one Classic 1-9 book. Full Classic generator, clues 0 to 3, style, JPG / PNG / transparent PNG, and Instant Puzzle Books for the interior, including the interactive PDF book.
Variations if you want Custom on this same Creator and Puzzle Book Studio for one collection. Classic 1-9 stays. Instant Puzzle Books stays. Custom is the second Look Inside.
Productivity if you are making books, not pages. Time Saver batch rows, Puzzle Book Studio for several collections, and JSON (cross_sum). Time Saver is the batch. JSON is the file.
| Standard | Variations | Productivity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic 1-9, left to right, clues 0 to 3 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom: 11-19, Base+1 to 9, typed numbers, Regular Math, operator modes, fractions, negatives | Yes | Yes | |
| JPG, PNG, transparent PNG, puzzle and key | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Instant Puzzle Books, with title page, contents, and solution cross-references | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Interactive PDF books from Instant Puzzle Books | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Puzzle Book Studio, with the same interactive PDF book | One collection | Several collections | |
| Time Saver batch rows | Yes | ||
JSON export (cross_sum) |
Yes | ||
| License to sell finished books, worksheets, and packs to your own readers | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| License to sell or supply generated puzzles to other publishers | Yes |
Pick Standard, Variations, or Productivity in the switcher at the top of this page. You can move up to any higher edition after you buy.
Who This Is For
Puzzle book publishers who already sell math or activity titles. You have readers who buy number pages and a catalog that looks like everyone else’s drills. This is the same reader and a page they can tell from an empty grid in one glance. It drives like every other module you own, with the same presets and the same Instant Puzzle Books compile, so the first Classic book does not ask you to learn a new app.
Publishers already using Puzzle Maker Pro. Drop a Cross Sum chapter into the Instant Puzzle Books compile you already run, in the fonts and lines of the rest of the title. Variations adds Custom for a second listing from this Creator. Productivity adds Time Saver rows and Puzzle Book Studio for several collections.
Teachers and Teachers Pay Teachers sellers. The page shape never changes: a 3×3 and six printed results, so the room stays on one routine. Print a 3-clue Classic for the group still working and a 0-clue Classic for the ones already done, from the same rule. The matching solution image is the teacher key.
If you have been drawing these 3x3s by hand, or skipping a math-cross because typesetting six equations and then filling the key is more work than the listing is worth, this is what changes: you generate the set, and the key comes out of the same Create.
Try It Before You Buy
Make a Cross Sum yourself before you spend anything. The free demo covers every current Puzzle Maker Pro module, generates real puzzles, and shows you the unsolved 3×3 and the matching key coming out of the software. Demo output is watermarked. Paid files are watermark-free.
Licensing and Commercial Use
Standard and Variations both let you sell the finished books, worksheets, and packs you make to your own readers and customers, on KDP, Etsy, Teachers Pay Teachers, or your own store. One-time commercial-use license. Watermark-free. The two editions carry the same rights. The difference between them is what you can make, not what you may sell.
Productivity includes that, plus you may sell or supply the generated puzzles to other publishers and sellers.
Product Details
| Product | Puzzle Maker Pro – Cross Sum |
| Editions | Standard; Variations; Productivity |
| Platform | Windows desktop |
| Internet required | No |
| The puzzle | Fixed 3×3 number cells on a 7×7 board; operators between the cells; six printed results (3 rows + 3 columns); each of nine numbers used once |
| Classic | Numbers 1-9, Default operators, left to right (4 + 2 × 8 = 48); results and intermediates whole numbers, zero or greater |
| Custom (Variations and Productivity) | 11-19, Base+1 to 9, typed tokens; Regular Math (PEMDAS); Only + − / Only + / Only − / Only ×; mixed fractions (1 1/2); negatives when Only − |
| Clues | 0 to 3 given digits, each in a different row and column. One clue count per Create |
| Quantity | 1 to 10000 puzzle-and-solution image pairs from one setup and one clue count |
| Output formats | JPG, PNG, transparent PNG |
| Solution pages | Yes, a solution image generated with every puzzle |
| Puzzle books | Instant Puzzle Books (all editions); Puzzle Book Studio (one collection) on Variations; Time Saver + Puzzle Book Studio (several collections) on Productivity; title page, table of contents, and solution cross-references on every edition; interactive PDF books from Instant Puzzle Books on every edition, and from Puzzle Book Studio on Variations and Productivity |
| JSON | Productivity, puzzle type cross_sum. Time Saver is the batch. JSON is the file. |
| Time Saver | Productivity |
| Upgrades | You can move up to any higher edition after you buy |
| Commercial license | Sell finished books, worksheets, and packs to your own readers and customers. Productivity adds selling or supplying the generated puzzles to other publishers and sellers |
| Free demo | Yes |
| Delivery | Immediate, in your member area |
Questions Before You Buy
Is there a free demo?
Yes. One download covers every current Puzzle Maker Pro module and generates real Cross Sum puzzles, so you can make a 3×3 before deciding. Demo output is watermarked. Paid files are watermark-free.
Can I upgrade later?
Yes, to any higher edition after you buy. Start with Standard if Classic 1-9 and Instant Puzzle Books fit the book you are making today. Variations adds Custom and Puzzle Book Studio for one collection. Productivity is the step when you want Time Saver batch rows, Puzzle Book Studio for several collections, and JSON. Starting at Standard is never a dead end.
How does Classic Cross Sum differ from Regular Math?
Classic reads left to right. 4 + 2 × 8 is 48. Regular Math (on Custom, Variations and Productivity) uses times and divide before plus and minus, so that same row is 20. Put the evaluation rule on the Instant Puzzle Books title so the listing matches the page.
How do clues work?
Clues run from 0 to 3 given digits. Each clue sits in a different row and a different column. One clue count per Create. A 3-clue chapter and a 0-clue chapter are two runs, not one mixed batch.
What files do I get?
Every Create writes a puzzle image and a matching solution image as JPG, PNG, or transparent PNG. Quantity 1 to 10000 is that many pairs from one setup and one clue count. Instant Puzzle Books compiles those pairs into a print-ready book, including an interactive PDF book with clickable contents and puzzle-to-solution links.
Can I sell what I make?
Yes. Every edition includes the license to sell the finished books, worksheets, and packs you create, on KDP, Etsy, Teachers Pay Teachers, or your own store, to your own readers and customers. Productivity adds the right to sell or supply the generated puzzles to other publishers and sellers.
Do I need the internet to create?
No. You generate and export on your own Windows PC.
What does Puzzle Book Studio add?
Variations opens Puzzle Book Studio on one Cross Sum collection: title page, contents, fonts, page numbers, trim, and the interactive PDF book from that collection. Productivity opens several collections in one book, so a Classic chapter and an 11-19 chapter live in the same title. Instant Puzzle Books stays on every edition.
Does every puzzle come with a solution?
Yes. Every puzzle ships a matching solution image. Instant Puzzle Books puts those keys in the back of the book, with a footer that names the solution page.
How do I start?
Open Cross Sum. Classic is 1-9. Custom is the Variations tab when you want the second listing. Getting Started with Cross Sum walks both.
Put a Classic Title and a Custom Title on the Same Shelf
Another times-table book competes on cover art. A Cross Sum competes on six printed results around a 3×3 a shopper can point at.
Six months from now your shelf can carry a Classic 1-9 title and an 11-19 or Regular Math title beside it, keys you never typeset by hand, and a footer on every page that names the solution.
Make one first. The demo is free and it generates the real 3×3.
Six results already sit around a 3×3. Your reader places each of nine numbers once so every printed result holds. Classic reads left to right: 4 + 2 × 8 is 48. Every Create writes the unsolved page and the matching key. Try the free demo, then pick Standard, Variations, or Productivity at the top of this page.
