Popular
Word Search
Word Search puzzles were invented by Norman E. Gibat and first published in the Selenby Digest in 1968. They became a newspaper and puzzle-book staple and remain one of the most popular puzzle types worldwide. The game exercises pattern recognition and vocabulary — finding words hidden among random letters in any direction.
Word Search Rules
A grid of letters contains hidden words from a given list. Words may run horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, and can read forward or backward in any of these directions.
Find each word in the list and select it by clicking the first letter and dragging to the last letter (or tapping both ends on mobile). Found words are highlighted and crossed off the list.
The puzzle is complete when all words on the list have been found.
Word Search Strategy & Tips
Scan for the first letter, not the whole word
Pick a word from the list and look for instances of its first letter in the grid. Once you spot the first letter, check all 8 directions radiating from it for the second letter. This is much faster than scanning entire rows for complete words.
Look for uncommon letters first
If a word contains Q, Z, X, J, or K, search for that rare letter in the grid first — there will be very few of them. Then check if the word extends from that letter. Rare letters are much easier to scan for than common ones like E or S.
Check backward and diagonal — they're easy to miss
Most people naturally scan left-to-right and top-to-bottom. Words going right-to-left, bottom-to-top, or diagonally are harder to spot because they don't match your reading direction. If a word isn't showing up, deliberately scan the less natural directions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Word Search words go backwards?
Yes. Words can run in any of 8 directions: left-to-right, right-to-left, top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top, and all four diagonal directions. Backward and diagonal words are generally the hardest to find.
Are Word Search puzzles good for your brain?
Word Searches exercise pattern recognition, visual scanning, and vocabulary recall. Research on puzzle-solving in general suggests it can help maintain cognitive function, though the specific benefits of Word Searches are less studied than crosswords. They're particularly popular for vocabulary building in educational settings.
What is the fastest way to solve a Word Search?
Start with words containing rare letters (Q, Z, X, J) since those letters appear infrequently in the grid. Then tackle the longest words — they have the most constrained placement options. Save short, common words for last since their letters appear everywhere.