Word search tips and strategy
Word search looks like pure luck, but some ways of looking are much quicker than others. These ten tips work on paper and on screen, and they matter most on big grids where words run in every direction.
1. Start with rare letters
A grid of 225 letters might hold twenty E's but only one or two K's, V's or W's. If a word on your list has a rare letter, look for that letter first and check around it. Good anchors are J, K, Q, V, W, X, Y and Z. In this grid, the two K's both belong to KAYAK.
2. Look for a pair, not a letter
Scanning for one letter turns up too many matches. Scan for the first two letters together instead, like "PL" for PLANET or "QU" for QUARTZ. When you spot the pair, the direction of the word is already decided: just follow the line.
3. Sweep, do not wander
Our eyes jump to whatever stands out, which means some parts of the grid get looked at again and again while others are never checked. A slow sweep along each row, then down each column, finds the words that darting about misses.
4. Read backwards on purpose
On Hard, Expert and the Daily puzzle, about half the words run backwards. Instead of looking for the first letters of a word, look for its last two letters and read the other way. For DRAGON, look for "NO".
5. Watch for double letters
Words with a double letter, like BALLOON, COFFEE or SLIPPER, are easy to spot because doubles are rarer than you think. Look for the double first, then check the letters either side.
6. Find the short words early
Three and four letter words like OWL or MAP are easy to overlook in a big grid, and easy to find by accident while hunting for something else. When you see one, mark it straight away.
7. Leave long words for later
Long words cross other words. Once you have found a few short ones, the coloured lines give you landmarks, and a long word often runs right through letters you have already marked.
8. Use the crossings
On Hard and Expert, words share letters where they cross. If you are stuck on a word, look at the letters inside words you have already found. The one you are missing may start, end or pass through one of them.
9. Turn the grid
After a while you stop seeing the grid and start seeing the same patterns. Press Rotate to turn it a quarter turn. Rows become columns, backwards words become upward words, and a word you have looked past ten times can jump out.
10. Take a break, then come back
Press pause, look away for a minute, and come back. The timer stops while the game is paused, and fresh eyes often spot the last word in seconds.
When a hint is worth it
A hint shows where a word starts but not which way it runs, so it still leaves you some of the puzzle. It costs 20 points and means that grid will not set a best time. If you are playing to relax rather than for a record, there is no reason not to use one.
Practise at the right level
Tips work best when the puzzle stretches you a little. If you find every word on Easy in a couple of minutes, move up to Medium on the main page, then Hard. When Hard feels routine, Expert is waiting.