--- title: "Word Search: Free Online Word Find Puzzles | Aback Games" description: "Play Word Search free in your browser. Find hidden words across, down, diagonally and backwards in themed letter grids. Three sizes, new puzzle every time, no sign-up." url: https://abackgames.com/games/word-search --- # Word Search Find every hidden word in a grid of letters, across, down, diagonally and backwards. A fresh themed puzzle every time. ## About Word Search Word Search hides a list of words in a square grid of letters. Each word runs in a straight line, and every other square is filled with random letters to disguise them. Find them all to finish the puzzle. Every puzzle is new: the words come from one of 10 themes, such as animals, space or the kitchen, and are placed in a fresh grid each time. The clock runs while you search, so you can race your own best time at each size. ## How to play Word Search 1. Pick a level: Easy (10 × 10 grid, 8 words, across and down only), Medium (12 × 12 grid, 10 words, across, down and diagonally) or Hard (14 × 14 grid, 12 words, in all eight directions, backwards too). 2. Find a word from the list in the grid. Drag from its first letter to its last, or click or tap the first letter and then the last. 3. If the letters you chose spell a word on the list, forwards or backwards, it is circled and struck off the list. Otherwise the selection clears and you can try again. 4. The clock starts with your first selection. Find every word to finish the puzzle, then start a new one. ## Word Search controls **Keyboard** - **Select a word**: Drag across it, or click its first and last letters - **Move around the grid**: Arrow keys (Tab reaches the grid) - **Choose the first or last letter**: Enter or Space - **Clear a half-made selection**: Esc - **Hint**: H - **New puzzle**: N - **Sound on or off**: M **Touch screens** - **Select a word**: Slide across it, or tap its first and last letters - **Hint and new puzzle**: The buttons above the grid ## Word Search rules ### Where words can hide On Easy, words only run left to right and top to bottom. Medium adds the two diagonals that read left to right. On Hard, words can run in all eight directions, so many are written backwards. Words never bend. They may cross each other and share a letter, and each word on the list appears in the grid exactly once. ### Time and hints The clock starts with your first selection, stops when the last word is found, and pauses while the tab is hidden. A hint highlights the first letter of a word you have not found yet. Puzzles finished without a hint count towards your best time at that level, which is kept only in this browser. ## Tips and strategy - Look for unusual letters first. A word with a J, K, Q, X or Z is easier to spot than one made of common letters. - Scan for a double letter, like the LL in LLAMA or the OO in MOON: pairs stand out in the grid. - On Hard, remember to read backwards. Find the last letter of a word and look for the one before it all around it. - Go through the list from the longest word to the shortest. Long words cover more of the grid and are easier to see. ## Frequently asked questions ### Are the words always real words? Yes. Every word comes from a hand-written list for its theme. The filler letters are random, and are checked so they never spell anything rude by accident. ### Can a word be found in two places? No. Each puzzle is checked so that every listed word appears in exactly one place, forwards or backwards. ### Is there a time limit? No. The clock only measures how long you take, so you can race your best time or simply take it slow. ## More games like this Puzzle ### [Sudoku](https://abackgames.com/games/sudoku) Fill the grid so every row, column and box holds 1 to 9. Four levels, pencil notes, hints and your progress saved as you go. - Keyboard - Touch Puzzle ### [Memory Match](https://abackgames.com/games/memory-match) Turn over two cards at a time and remember where everything is. Find every pair in as few turns as you can. - Keyboard - Touch Developer ### [Code Typer](https://abackgames.com/games/code-typer) A typing test for programmers: type real JavaScript, Python, Rust and SQL code against the clock. - Keyboard - Touch [ All games](https://abackgames.com/games)