How to play Word Search: finding words faster

Word searches reward a system. These simple scanning habits help you spot words in seconds instead of minutes.

The rules

Words from the list are hidden in the grid in straight lines. On Easy they read left to right or top to bottom. Medium adds diagonals, and Hard allows any of eight directions, including backwards. Drag across a word, or tap its first and last letters, to circle it.

Look for rare letters first

Letters like Q, Z, X, J and K are uncommon in the grid. If a word has one, find that letter first and check around it.

Look for double letters

Pairs such as LL, OO, EE and TT stand out. A word like OTTER or BALLOON is easiest to find through its double.

Use the first two letters

Pick a word and scan for its first letter. Each time you find one, check the eight squares around it for the second letter. Only follow the direction where both match.

Work through the list in order of difficulty

Long words are easier to spot, and finding them circles many letters, which narrows the search for the rest. Save the short ones for last.

Watch for backwards words on Hard

On Hard, a word can read right to left or bottom to top. When you spot a word’s last letter, check whether the word runs backwards from it.