About Word Search
Word search is the most forgiving of the word games: there is no spelling to work out and nothing to score against the clock. Every word you are looking for is listed beside the grid, and the only task is spotting where each one has been hidden among the filler letters.
Each puzzle here is a 10×10 grid holding eight words, generated from the date. Everyone playing on a given day gets the same grid, and because the puzzle is derived rather than stored, every past date is still playable from the archive.
How to play
Drag from the first letter of a word to its last. Words can run left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top, and along either diagonal in both directions — eight possible orientations in total.
When you release on a correct word it stays highlighted in its own colour and is struck through in the list beside the grid. Words sometimes cross and share letters, so a letter you have already used can still belong to another word.
Tips and strategy
- 1.Scan for unusual letters first. J, Q, X and Z appear rarely in the filler, so a word containing one is usually quick to locate.
- 2.Work the list, not the grid. Picking a word and hunting its first letter is far faster than reading the grid row by row hoping something jumps out.
- 3.Check the diagonals last. Most people find horizontal and vertical words quickly, so whatever is left over is usually running diagonally or backwards.
- 4.Look for double letters. A word like POSSUM or LETTER gives you a distinctive pair to scan for rather than a single character.
- 5.Remember words overlap. Once a grid is mostly solved, the remaining words often thread through letters you have already highlighted.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play word search?+
Drag from the first letter of a hidden word to its last letter. The eight words to find are listed beside the grid. A correct word stays highlighted and is marked off the list.
Which directions can words run in?+
All eight. Words can read left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top, and along both diagonals in either direction. Backwards and diagonal placements are what make the harder words hard.
Is there a new puzzle every day?+
Yes. A new grid is generated for each date. Past puzzles remain playable — open the calendar button to browse the archive or enter a game ID, which is simply the date written as YYYYMMDD.
How many words are hidden in each grid?+
Eight words are placed in every 10×10 grid. They are drawn from a list of everyday English words between four and eight letters long, so there is nothing obscure to guess at.
Can words share letters?+
Yes. Words are allowed to cross where their letters agree, so a single letter in the grid can be part of two different answers. Highlighting one word does not take its letters out of play.
Is my progress saved?+
Yes, in your browser, per puzzle. You can leave a grid half-finished and come back to it. The Reset game button clears your progress on the current grid if you want to start it again from scratch.