Word Search

Find every hidden word in the grid

Word Search is the newspaper classic rebuilt as a live browser puzzle. Ten themed words are hidden inside a 12 by 12 grid of 144 letters, written across, down, or along a diagonal in any of eight directions. Drag from the first letter to the last to mark a word, or tap the two ends if you prefer. Correct picks lock in green and the entry is struck off the list at the side, so you always know exactly what is left.

Each puzzle is generated in your browser the moment you pick a theme, so no two rounds come out the same. The placer fits words longest-first and lets them cross wherever the letters agree, which is what gives a hand-made puzzle its dense, interlocking feel; every remaining square is then filled with a random letter so there are plenty of convincing decoys. Because generation is verified as it goes, all ten words are guaranteed to be present and reachable before the timer starts.

Three themes are available: Animals, Food and Colours, each with its own fixed list of ten words from three to seven letters long. A timer counts up rather than down, and your fastest clear for each theme is kept on your device, which turns repeated play into a personal best chase. Found words stay highlighted in the grid, so you never waste time rescanning a corner you have already solved.

The whole thing is one HTML file with no libraries, no images to download, no network requests after load and no tracking. It runs in any modern browser, reflows to a portrait phone screen, and supports touch drag, mouse drag and a keyboard cursor equally. No account, no install, no payment.

How to play

Pick Animals, Food or Colours on the start screen to generate a puzzle.
Drag from the first letter of a word to its last letter, or tap the two ends.
Words run across, down, or diagonally, and may read forwards or backwards.
Correct picks turn green in the grid and are struck off the word list.
Find all ten words to finish; your time is compared against your best for that theme.

Controls

Mouse: press on the first letter, drag to the last, then release
Touch: drag across a word, or tap its first and last letter
Keyboard: arrow keys move a cursor, Space or Enter marks the endpoints
Keyboard: press Escape to clear a selection

Tips

Scan for unusual letters first, such as Q, Z or X; common vowels rarely give a word away.
Do not forget the backwards and upward diagonals, since those are the directions people miss most.
Remember the theme. If you are playing Animals, a promising run of letters that spells nothing is almost always filler.