Word Search
Word search tips: how to find words faster
Updated Wednesday, October 21
To find words quickly, stop reading the grid line by line. Pick a word from the list, scan the grid for its first letter, and check the eight directions around each one. Here is how to do that without getting tired.
Start with the long and the unusual words
A long word has few places to hide, and a word with a rare letter (Q, Z, X, J or K) is easy to spot because that letter is rare in the grid too. Find those first. Every word you mark takes letters out of the search and makes the others easier to see.
Scan for the first letter, then look around it
Run your eyes over the grid looking for only one letter at a time. Each time you find it, look at its neighbours for the second letter of the word. If it is not there, move on: you will not have lost anything.
Know which directions to expect
The level tells you where to look. In every level, a word can be selected from either end.
- Easy: a 10 by 10 grid with 8 words, running left to right and top to bottom.
- Medium: a 12 by 12 grid with 10 words, running left to right, top to bottom and along two diagonals.
- Hard: a 14 by 14 grid with 12 words, running in all eight directions, including backwards.
Use the theme
All the words of a puzzle belong to one theme, written above the grid. Knowing it helps you guess endings and spot a word when you only see half of it.
Tap or drag, and use the hints
Tap the first letter of a word, then its last letter. You can also drag from one to the other, or use the arrow keys and Enter. Stuck? A hint points at the first letter of a word that is still hidden. Each hint is worth a little less XP, and the timer is optional.