A word search hides a list of words in a grid of letters, reading in straight lines. Staring at the grid rarely works; a method does. These tips help on every difficulty, from Easy to Hard.
Hunt for rare letters
Letters like Q, Z, X, J and K turn up only a few times in a grid. If a word has one, find those letters first and check the lines through them. It’s much faster than looking for an E.
Look for letter pairs, not single letters
Find a word’s first letter, then check the eight squares around it for the second. Pairs like QU, ZZ or a double letter are easy to spot and narrow the search right down.
Sweep the grid in order
Go row by row, then column by column, rather than jumping around. Running a finger (or your eyes) steadily along each line catches words that a random glance skips.
Know which directions to check
Easy: words read only across or down.
Normal: words can also run diagonally.
Hard: words can run any way, including backwards, so look for the last letter too.
Watch for names without spaces
Names and phrases are run together, like STARWARS. Look for the rarer letters in the middle of a phrase, not just its first letter.
Save the short words for last
Long words are easier to spot because they cross more of the grid. Once they’re shaded, the leftover letters make short words much easier to find.