Word Search

Browser Controls

• Select a Word: Press and drag across the letters of a word to select it — release when the whole word is highlighted, and found words are checked off the list beside the grid. You can drag from either end — selecting a word backwards counts just the same.
• Hint (+15s): One press of the Hint button reveals a word you haven't found yet — and adds fifteen seconds to your clock, so it's a trade, not a freebie.
• New Game & Quit: New Game starts a fresh puzzle at any time; Quit returns you to the difficulty menu.
• Settings: Toggle music, selection and word sounds, and visual effects (particles and animations) any time from Settings.

Special Rules

• Three Difficulties: Easy is an 8×8 grid hiding 6 words, Medium is 12×12 with 10, and Hard is 15×15 with 14 — bigger grids, more words, and far more places to look. Directions scale too: Easy words run only right, down, or diagonally down-right; Medium adds upward diagonals; Hard opens all eight directions, including backwards words.
• Themed Word Lists: Every puzzle draws its words from a theme (such as Animals). Spot the category and you can often guess what you're hunting before you've found a single letter.
• Hints Cost Time: Stuck on a stubborn word? A hint reveals one — for a 15-second penalty on your clock. Rescue a round with it, but lean on it too often and your best times will show it.
• Timer & Best Times: The clock starts with each new game and your fastest clears are recorded on the Best Times board — in word search, the opponent is your own record.

Word-Hunting Tips

• Hunt Rare Letters: Scan for uncommon letters first — Q, X, Z, and J stand out in a grid of noise and usually pin down a whole word the moment you spot one.
• Sweep, Don't Dart: Run your eyes steadily along each row, then down each column, instead of jumping around. A systematic sweep catches words a frantic scan skips right over.
• Anchor on First Letters: Pick one word from the list and hunt only its first letter; check the neighbors of every hit for the second. Unusual word endings make strong anchors too.
• Read the List First: Spend five seconds reading the whole word list before you start. Once your brain knows the exact shapes it's looking for, the grid starts giving words up on its own.