Word Search hands you a square of letters and a list of twelve words to find. Each word hides in a straight line, and it may run forward, backward, up, down or along a diagonal. You drag across the letters to mark a word, and the list crosses it off. This version is built on WordFind.js, an open-source puzzle generator by Bill of BunKat LLC with additions by Lucas-C.
How to Play Word Search
When the page opens, a themed list such as Animals, Music or Ocean is picked for you. Read the list, then scan the grid for the first letter of a word. Press on that letter and drag in a straight line to its last letter, then let go.
If the letters spell a word on the list, they turn blue and the word gets a line through it. A selection that does not match anything simply clears.
Find all twelve words and the whole grid turns green with an “All words found.” note. There is no timer and no score, so you can take as long as you like. If you get stuck, “Solve Puzzle” colors every word you have not found in purple. “New word list” moves on to the next of the seven themes, and “New grid with these words” shuffles the current list into a fresh layout.
Word Search Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Select a word | — | Press on the first letter and drag to the last | Touch the first letter and slide to the last |
| Switch to the next themed word list | — | Click "New word list" | Tap "New word list" |
| Make a new grid from the words shown | — | Click "New grid with these words" | Tap "New grid with these words" |
| Add or change a word | Type in a word box | Click "Add word" for an extra box | Tap "Add word" for an extra box |
| Reveal the remaining words | — | Click "Solve Puzzle" | Tap "Solve Puzzle" |
Tips and Strategies
- Hunt the rare letters first. The random filler letters never include Q, X or Z, so if you spot one of those, it belongs to a word.
- Start with the longest word. The grid starts out exactly as wide as the longest word, so that word usually fills a whole row, column or diagonal.
- Check the reverse direction. If a word’s first letter leads nowhere, look for its last letter and read the line backward.
- Watch the highlight. The orange trail stops growing as soon as you stray from every word, which tells you right away that a direction is wrong.
- Look for shared letters. Words are often placed so they cross, so a found word is a good place to look for the next one.
Features
- Seven word themes: Animals, Kitchen, Weather, Space, Fruit, Music and Ocean, with twelve words each.
- Eight directions: words can run across, down, up, backward or along any diagonal.
- Custom lists: type your own words and the generator builds a grid that fits them all.
- Solve button: reveal the leftover words in a separate color when you want to finish.
Tested and updated:
