A word search is a grid of letters with a list of words buried inside it, running in any direction, and your job is to find them.
This one is unusual in two ways. It ships with a wide set of themes, from fruit to countries to computing, and it runs in six languages. That second part turns it into something more than a puzzle: a themed grid in a language you are learning is one of the few ways to meet vocabulary in a form your eye has to work for.
How to play Word Search
- Choose a theme and a language before the grid is dealt.
- The words you are hunting are listed beside or above the grid.
- Find one and drag from its first letter to its last. The line has to be straight.
- Words run across, down, diagonally, and backwards in every one of those directions.
- A found word is struck off the list and stays highlighted in the grid.
- Clear the whole list to finish the puzzle.
There is nothing hidden and nothing tricky. The entire difficulty of a word search is that your eye reads left to right by habit, and roughly half of the answers do not.
Tips and strategy
- Hunt letters, not words. Pick the rarest letter in the target word, usually a J, Q, X, Z or K, and sweep the grid for that one shape.
- Work one direction at a time. Scan the whole grid for verticals, then for diagonals. Switching direction constantly is what makes a grid feel impossible.
- Double letters give you away for free. If the word has a double letter, that pair is far easier to spot than any single character.
- Read the list before you start looking. Knowing you are hunting six words that all begin with a vowel changes what your eye picks up.
- Save the long words for last. They have the most crossings with other answers, so they tend to reveal themselves once the grid is half cleared.
There is a daily puzzle and a much larger collection over on the word search page.
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Developer
Word Search is made in house, and this is its home. It is not licensed from anyone else.
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Frequently asked questions
Can words run backwards in this word search?
Yes. Words run across, down and diagonally, and in every one of those directions they can also run backwards.
How many languages does it support?
Six. The language is chosen before the grid is generated, along with the theme.
Is it free?
Yes. There is nothing to install, no account to create and no payment at any point.
Are the puzzles the same every time?
No. Choosing a theme generates a fresh grid, so the same category can be played repeatedly.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Drag with a finger from the first letter of a word to the last, the same way you would with a mouse.