Word Search

Twelve hidden words on a 12×12 grid. Pick a theme, play today's puzzle, or generate a new one whenever you like.

How to play

1. Every word on the list is hidden once in the grid, in a straight line: across, down or diagonally, and it can read backwards.
2. Press on the first letter and drag to the last (or tap the first letter, then the last). Release on a word from the list and it locks in colour and is crossed off.
3. Only words on the list count. A real word that isn't on the list, a bent line or a word you already found does nothing.
4. The clock starts with your first move, pauses while the tab is hidden and stops when the last word is found.

Hints and giving up

You get 3 hints per puzzle. Tap a word in the list, or the bulb button, to spend one: the first letter of that word pulses in the grid and stays ringed until you find it. A second hint on the same word shows its last letter too. A hint never finds the word for you; you still have to trace it. Stuck for good? Give up reveals every remaining word, but the game counts as a loss and, on a daily puzzle, resets your streak.

Scoring

• Points: 100 per word found, minus 1 per second and 150 per hint, never below 0.
• 3 stars: all twelve found with no hints in under four minutes (20 seconds a word).
• 2 stars: all twelve found with at most one hint.
• 1 star: all twelve found with two or three hints.
• Giving up scores the words you found before you gave up, with no stars.

Themes

Animals, food, sports, space, school, ocean, weather, music, jobs, colors, garden and holidays. Every theme has about forty words, and each puzzle picks twelve, so the same theme stays fresh for weeks. Each theme has its own daily puzzle and its own streak.

Daily or Unlimited?

Daily is the same grid for everyone who picks that theme today, and finishing it extends your streak. Unlimited makes a new grid on demand; the link in the address bar reopens that exact puzzle, so you can send one to a friend or a classroom.

Tips for finding words faster

• Scan for uncommon letters first: a Q, X, Z or J in a word is the quickest anchor.
• Look for double letters (LL, OO, EE) as a pair rather than letter by letter.
• Sweep rows left to right, then columns, then diagonals, rather than hunting at random.
• Remember words can be spelled backwards; read each line both ways.