How to Play Word Search: A Beginner's Guide

A word search is a grid of letters with a list of words hidden inside it. Your job is simply to find every word on the list. There is no timer, no score, and no penalty for taking your time — it is one of the most relaxing puzzle formats ever printed.

The basic rules

• Every word on the list appears exactly once in the grid.
• Words are always placed in straight lines — never bent or zig-zagged.
• Words can run in eight directions: left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top, and the four diagonals.
• Letters can be shared. One letter may belong to two different words where they cross.
• Spaces and punctuation are removed. "ICE CREAM" would appear as ICECREAM.

Your first puzzle, step by step

1. Read the whole word list first. Knowing what you are looking for makes the shapes easier to spot. 2. Start with the longest word. Long words have fewer places they can fit, so they are often the easiest to find. 3. Pick a word and hunt for its first letter. Then look at all eight neighbours of that letter for the second letter. 4. Mark the word clearly. On paper, circle both end letters and draw a line through the word, or highlight it. On this site, drag from the first letter to the last. 5. Cross the word off the list and move to the next one.

A note on directions

Beginners are often surprised by backwards and diagonal words. Roughly half the words in a typical puzzle run left-to-right or top-to-bottom, so start there. As your found words fill in, the remaining letters stand out more and the hidden words get easier to see.

Playing on this site

Our word search puzzles use big, clear letters and generous spacing. You can play in the browser by dragging across a word (or tapping its first and last letters), or print any puzzle and solve it on paper with a pencil — just press the Print button on the puzzle page.

Ready to try? Start with today's daily word search or browse the theme collection.