diff --git a/cruciverb-core/src/import/puz.rs b/cruciverb-core/src/import/puz.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2580b9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cruciverb-core/src/import/puz.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,192 @@
+use crate::config::SymmetryType;
+use crate::grid::{Cell, Grid};
+use crate::grid::slot::Direction;
+use crate::puzzle::{Clue, PlacedWord, Puzzle};
+
+pub fn from_puz(data: &[u8]) -> Result<Puzzle, String> {
+    if data.len() < 52 {
+        return Err("file too short for .puz format".into());
+    }
+    if &data[2..14] != b"ACROSS&DOWN\0" {
+        return Err("missing ACROSS&DOWN magic".into());
+    }
+
+    let width = data[44] as usize;
+    let height = data[45] as usize;
+    let num_clues = u16::from_le_bytes([data[46], data[47]]) as usize;
+
+    if width == 0 || height == 0 || width > 50 || height > 50 {
+        return Err(format!("invalid grid size {}x{}", width, height));
+    }
+
+    let board_size = width * height;
+    let solution_start = 52;
+    let state_start = solution_start + board_size;
+    let strings_start = state_start + board_size;
+
+    if data.len() < strings_start {
+        return Err("file truncated before grid data".into());
+    }
+
+    let solution = &data[solution_start..state_start];
+
+    // build grid
+    let mut grid = Grid::new(width, height);
+    for i in 0..board_size {
+        let r = i / width;
+        let c = i % width;
+        let b = solution[i];
+        if b == b'.' {
+            grid.set(r, c, Cell::Black);
+        } else if b.is_ascii_alphabetic() {
+            grid.set(r, c, Cell::Letter((b as char).to_ascii_uppercase()));
+        } else {
+            grid.set(r, c, Cell::Empty);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // parse null-terminated strings after the state grid
+    let string_data = &data[strings_start..];
+    let strings = parse_null_strings(string_data);
+
+    // strings[0] = title, strings[1] = author, strings[2] = copyright
+    // strings[3..3+num_clues] = clue texts, rest = notes
+    if strings.len() < 3 + num_clues {
+        return Err(format!("expected {} clue strings, found {}", num_clues, strings.len().saturating_sub(3)));
+    }
+
+    let clue_strings: Vec<&str> = strings[3..3 + num_clues].iter().map(|s| s.as_str()).collect();
+
+    // number the cells and assign clues
+    let (clues_across, clues_down, words) = number_and_assign(
+        &grid, width, height, &clue_strings,
+    )?;
+
+    Ok(Puzzle {
+        grid,
+        words,
+        clues_across,
+        clues_down,
+        width,
+        height,
+        symmetry: SymmetryType::None,
+        difficulty_score: 50,
+        generation_time_ms: 0,
+        theme: None,
+        theme_entries: vec![],
+        is_cryptic: false,
+    })
+}
+
+fn parse_null_strings(data: &[u8]) -> Vec<String> {
+    let mut result = Vec::new();
+    let mut start = 0;
+    for (i, &b) in data.iter().enumerate() {
+        if b == 0 {
+            let s = String::from_utf8_lossy(&data[start..i]).to_string();
+            result.push(s);
+            start = i + 1;
+        }
+    }
+    result
+}
+
+fn number_and_assign(
+    grid: &Grid,
+    width: usize,
+    height: usize,
+    clue_strings: &[&str],
+) -> Result<(Vec<Clue>, Vec<Clue>, Vec<PlacedWord>), String> {
+    let mut clues_across = Vec::new();
+    let mut clues_down = Vec::new();
+    let mut words = Vec::new();
+    let mut clue_idx = 0;
+    let mut number = 1u32;
+
+    for r in 0..height {
+        for c in 0..width {
+            if grid.get(r, c).is_black() {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            let starts_across = (c == 0 || grid.get(r, c.wrapping_sub(1)).is_black() || c.wrapping_sub(1) >= width)
+                && c + 1 < width && !grid.get(r, c + 1).is_black();
+
+            let starts_down = (r == 0 || grid.get(r.wrapping_sub(1), c).is_black() || r.wrapping_sub(1) >= height)
+                && r + 1 < height && !grid.get(r + 1, c).is_black();
+
+            if !starts_across && !starts_down {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            let num = number;
+            number += 1;
+
+            if starts_across {
+                if clue_idx >= clue_strings.len() {
+                    return Err("ran out of clue strings".into());
+                }
+                let answer = read_word(grid, r, c, width, height, Direction::Across);
+                words.push(PlacedWord {
+                    word: answer.clone(),
+                    row: r,
+                    col: c,
+                    direction: Direction::Across,
+                    clue_number: num,
+                });
+                clues_across.push(Clue {
+                    number: num,
+                    direction: Direction::Across,
+                    text: clue_strings[clue_idx].to_string(),
+                    answer,
+                    definition: None,
+                    wordplay_type: None,
+                });
+                clue_idx += 1;
+            }
+
+            if starts_down {
+                if clue_idx >= clue_strings.len() {
+                    return Err("ran out of clue strings".into());
+                }
+                let answer = read_word(grid, r, c, width, height, Direction::Down);
+                words.push(PlacedWord {
+                    word: answer.clone(),
+                    row: r,
+                    col: c,
+                    direction: Direction::Down,
+                    clue_number: num,
+                });
+                clues_down.push(Clue {
+                    number: num,
+                    direction: Direction::Down,
+                    text: clue_strings[clue_idx].to_string(),
+                    answer,
+                    definition: None,
+                    wordplay_type: None,
+                });
+                clue_idx += 1;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    Ok((clues_across, clues_down, words))
+}
+
+fn read_word(grid: &Grid, row: usize, col: usize, width: usize, height: usize, dir: Direction) -> String {
+    let mut word = String::new();
+    let (mut r, mut c) = (row, col);
+    loop {
+        if r >= height || c >= width { break; }
+        match grid.get(r, c) {
+            Cell::Letter(ch) => word.push(ch),
+            Cell::Empty => word.push('_'),
+            Cell::Black => break,
+        }
+        match dir {
+            Direction::Across => c += 1,
+            Direction::Down => r += 1,
+        }
+    }
+    word
+}