How to play Word Search

A word search hides a list of words in a square of letters, running in straight lines. This version adds a twist that is popular in European puzzle magazines: once every word is found, the letters nobody used spell one final solution word.

The rules

1. Every word in the list on the right is hidden somewhere in the grid in a straight line: horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
2. To mark a word, drag from its first letter to its last, or tap the first letter and then the last. Your selection snaps to the nearest straight line, and it may be made in either direction.
3. Words may cross each other and share letters, so one cell can belong to several words.
4. When all words are marked, the remaining cells, read like a book (left to right, top to bottom), spell the solution. The Solution panel shows how many letters it has, and a short description of the word appears when you finish.

Now and then the generator cannot make the leftovers form a word. In that case the Solution panel is hidden and the goal is simply to find every word.

Getting started

Say you are playing Medium, a 12×12 grid, and the list contains RIVER. Rather than reading the grid line by line, look for the letter R. Suppose you spot one in row 2, column 4. Check the eight cells around it for an I. There is one in row 3, column 5, diagonally down to the right. Follow that diagonal: row 4, column 6 is a V, row 5, column 7 an E, and row 6, column 8 an R. Drag from row 2, column 4 to row 6, column 8, and the word gets a coloured line and is struck off the list.

Work through the list the same way. The counter shows how many words you have found, and the progress bar fills as you go. Stuck on one? Press Hint: the first letter of a word you have not found yet flashes, and the status line tells you which word it is.

Strategies and tips

• Hunt rare letters. Letters like Q, X, Z, J and K appear only a few times in a grid. If a word contains one, start your search there instead of at its first letter.
• Look for double letters. Pairs such as OO, LL or EE stand out once you are looking for them, and they narrow the search quickly.
• Start with the long words. They are easier to see, and because they cross many lines they often share letters with shorter words you can find next.
• Sweep in one direction at a time. Scan every row for a word, then every column, then the diagonals. A steady sweep beats darting around the grid.
• On Hard, read backwards. Words can run right to left and bottom to top. Search for the word spelled in reverse, or start from its last letter.
• Use the leftovers early. The coloured lines show which cells are already used. Near the end, the unmarked letters often suggest the solution word before you have found the last few words.

How the difficulty adapts

You choose the level yourself, and each step changes several things at once:

• Easy is a 10×10 grid with at least 8 words of 3 to 8 letters. Words only run left to right or top to bottom.
• Medium is 12×12 with at least 12 words of up to 10 letters. Words can also run diagonally, downwards or upwards to the right, but always read forwards.
• Hard is 14×14 with at least 16 words of 4 to 12 letters, in all eight directions, including backwards.

The hidden solution word also gets longer with each level. Every puzzle is newly generated, so you never see the same grid twice. When Easy starts to feel automatic, move up a level: your brain gets the most out of a puzzle when the challenge keeps rising with your skill, and a search that stays slightly hard is better training than one you finish on autopilot. You can read more about what research says about puzzles and brain health.

A short history of Word Search

The word search as we know it is usually credited to Norman E. Gibat, who published one in a small newspaper in Oklahoma in 1968. The format spread quickly through newspapers, puzzle magazines and school worksheets, because it needs no special knowledge: if you can recognise a word, you can play.

The version with a solution formed by the leftover letters is a staple of puzzle magazines in the Netherlands and other European countries. It turns a pure search into something with a payoff at the end, and it means the filler letters are not random noise but part of the puzzle.

Frequently asked questions