How to play Word Search
Every puzzle hides between eight and ten words from one theme in a square grid of letters. The theme is shown under the list, and the words to find are listed below the grid. The rest of the grid is filled with random letters to keep things tricky.
To mark a word, press on its first letter and drag in a straight line to its last letter. The selection snaps to the nearest straight direction, so you do not need a perfectly steady hand. If you prefer, tap or click the first letter, then tap the last letter. When your line matches a word on the list, it is highlighted in its own colour and struck through in the list. Selecting a word from end to start also counts.
Choose your challenge with the two menus:
- Theme: Ocean, Space, Garden, Kitchen, Weather, Music or Random.
- Easy: a 10 by 10 grid where words only run left to right or top to bottom.
- Hard: a 12 by 12 grid where words can run in any of eight directions, including diagonally and backwards.
The timer starts as soon as the puzzle appears and pauses if you switch to another tab. Find every word to finish. Your fastest time for each difficulty is saved in your browser. Press New for a fresh puzzle at any time.
Controls
| Desktop | Click the first letter of a word and drag to the last letter, then release. You can also click the first letter and then click the last one. |
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| Mobile | Touch the first letter and slide your finger to the last letter, or tap the first letter and then tap the last one. |
Tips and strategy
Scan for unusual letters
Letters that are rare in English, such as J, K, Q, V, X and Z, stand out in a grid. If a word on your list contains one, look for that letter first. There are usually only a few copies, so checking the letters around each one is quick.
Look for the first two letters together
Rather than searching for a single starting letter, look for the first two letters side by side. For PIANO, find every P and check whether an I touches it in any direction. This removes most false starts at a glance.
Work through the grid in a system
- On Easy, sweep each row from left to right, then each column from top to bottom. That covers every direction words can run.
- On Hard, words can also run backwards and diagonally, so it helps to read rows in both directions and to trace diagonals from the edges.
- Tick off long words early. They take up a lot of space, and once they are found the remaining letters are easier to read.
Use shape, not just spelling
Double letters make distinctive patterns. Doubles such as the LL in SKILLET or the EE in SEEDS show up as two identical letters side by side, which is easy to spot while scanning.
Speed tips for a better time
- Read the whole list once before you start so your eyes recognise words as you pass them.
- Use the tap-first, tap-last method on a phone if dragging feels fiddly.
- If a word refuses to appear, check whether it shares letters with a word you have already found, since words can cross each other.
About Word Search
Word search puzzles, where a list of words is hidden in a grid of letters, have been a staple of newspapers, puzzle magazines and activity books for decades. They are popular with all ages because the rules are simple and the puzzles gently exercise spelling, pattern spotting and concentration.
This Word Search is our own browser version, built from scratch for PlayNook. Each puzzle is generated fresh when you start, so you will not see the same grid twice. The generator places every word first, making sure crossing words share matching letters, and then fills the empty squares with random letters. If a layout cannot fit every word, it simply tries again with a new arrangement. There are six family-friendly themes, two grid sizes and a timer that remembers your best result for each difficulty on your device.
Frequently asked questions
Can words go backwards?
Only on Hard. Easy puzzles place words left to right or top to bottom, while Hard puzzles use all eight directions, including diagonals and reversed words.
Does it matter which end I start my selection from?
No. A line drawn from the last letter to the first letter is accepted just the same as one drawn the normal way.
Can two words share a letter?
Yes. Words sometimes cross, sharing a letter where they meet, so a letter that is already highlighted can still belong to another word.
Does the timer keep running if I switch tabs?
No. The timer pauses while the page is hidden and carries on when you come back, so your time only counts while you are playing.
