How to play Word Search

Word search is the classic hidden-word puzzle: a 12x12 grid of letters conceals 12 words from a themed list — animals, food, sports, space, music, or travel. Your job is to find every word on the list. Words can run in any of eight directions: left to right, right to left, straight up, straight down, and along all four diagonals, so scan carefully in both directions. To mark a word, press on its first letter and drag in a straight line to its last letter — the selection highlights as you go on both desktop (click and drag) and mobile (swipe with your finger). Release on the final letter and, if you found a real hidden word, the letters lock in color and the word is crossed off the list.

The timer starts on your first move and stops when the last word is found, so this free online word search doubles as a race against your own best time. Good word search strategy: scan the grid row by row for the first letter of a word, look for uncommon letters like J, Q, V, and Z that stand out, and check diagonals last since they hide words best. Longer words are actually easier to spot once you catch two or three letters in a row.

Finished the puzzle? Hit New Puzzle for a fresh grid with a randomly chosen theme and a brand-new set of hidden words — endless free word search puzzles, no download or signup needed.