How to Play Word Search

Find every word on the list inside the letter grid. Press on the first letter of a word, drag in a straight line to its last letter and let go. If the letters spell a word on the list, they take a color and the word is crossed out. If not, the highlight disappears and nothing is lost. You can drag with a mouse or with a finger on a touchscreen.

You can start from either end of a word, so a word that runs backward is selected the same way. A selection follows a row, a column or a 45-degree diagonal, and it needs at least two letters to count. The game shows how many words you have found, a timer and the full word list in alphabetical order. The clock starts with each new puzzle and stops on the last word, and the game then shows your final time. There is no time limit.

Levels and Themes

The Level menu has three settings, and Medium is selected when the game opens.

Easy is a 10 by 10 grid with 8 words. Words run left to right or top to bottom.
Medium is a 12 by 12 grid with 10 words. Words can also run diagonally, down and to the right or up and to the right.
Hard is a 14 by 14 grid with 12 words. Words can run in all eight directions, including backward and upward.

The Theme menu offers Animals, Fruits, Sports, Ocean, Space, Kitchen, Weather, Music, School and Jobs, plus a random theme, which is the default. Each puzzle uses a random handful of everyday words from the theme, so the puzzle changes every time. Changing the level or the theme starts a new puzzle at once, and so does the New puzzle button.

Tips and Strategy

Hunt for unusual letters. Pick a word with a J, K, Q, X or Z and scan the grid for that letter first. There are fewer of them, so you have fewer places to check.
Look for the first two letters together. Searching for TI is faster than searching for T when you want TIGER.
Know which way words run. On Medium, nothing runs backward, so read every line in one direction only: left to right, top to bottom or diagonally to the right. On Hard, check right to left and bottom to top as well.
On Hard, search from the last letter. If a word will not show up, look for its final letter and read the line the other way.
Reuse colored squares. Words in this game can overlap and share letters, so a square you already marked may belong to another word.
Start on Easy. With a smaller grid, fewer words and only two directions, it is the best way to learn the drag motion before you move up.

Word Search FAQ

Can I play Word Search online for free?

Yes. The game is free, runs in your browser and needs no download or account. The player has a full screen option, and New puzzle gives you a fresh grid whenever you want one. If you like word games, try Wordle or Hangman, or browse the puzzle games category.

How do you play a word search?

Read the list of words, find each one in the grid and drag from its first letter to its last. Words can run across, down or diagonally, depending on the level. The How to Play section above covers the controls in this version.

Is there a word search for kids?

Start with Easy. It has a smaller grid, 8 words and only two directions, and there is no time limit. The words are everyday nouns grouped into themes such as Animals, Fruits and School, so younger players can pick a theme they know.

Can words go backward or diagonally?

It depends on the level. Easy words only run left to right or top to bottom. Medium adds two diagonal directions that still read forward. Hard allows all eight directions, so words can also run backward, upward and on backward diagonals.