Word Search Puzzles

We see them in our daily newspaper. Those rectangular or square grids full of letters that at first glance, appear to be from an optometrist’s eye chart. Letters that have no rhyme or reason, but look closer. Is that a word in there?

Millions of people would feel incomplete without their daily word search puzzle. Also known as WordSeek, WordFind, WonderWord, Word Sleuth or Mystery Word, the word search puzzle has become a fixture on the comic page of nearly every newspaper.

A word search puzzle is a word game that is comprised of letters in a grid, usually in a rectangular or square shape. The puzzle solver’s objective is to find and mark a list of words that are arrayed in various alignments within the grid. The words may be horizontally, vertically or diagonally displayed. Many word search puzzles have a theme to which all the hidden words are related, such as holidays or special events.

Word search puzzles can be found in daily newspapers, but dozens of puzzle books are produced solely for the word search puzzle aficionado. They are also used in schools, teachers finding them beneficial as educational tools for children, encouraging students to learn new words by seeking them out letter by letter, improving spelling skills as well.

Word search puzzles have also made their presence felt online. There are hundreds of websites devoted to word and puzzle games, and word search puzzles are prominently featured. Some of the more popular are listed below.

There are various strategies the puzzle solver can utilize when attempting to solve word search puzzles. The most basic strategy is to scan the word rows from left to right (or vice-versa), looking for the first letter of the desired word. After finding the first letter, look at the surrounding letters to see if the next letter is there. This method can then be repeated from row to row. Another popular strategy is to look for “outstanding” or rarely used letters in words, such as Q, X, or Y. Also, finding double letters in words often make finding the sought-after word easier.

The original designer of word search puzzles is generally attributed to Norman E. Gibat of Norman, Oklahoma.
His first word search puzzle was published March 1, 1968 in the Selenby Digest, a small want-ad circular distributed free at area Safeway grocery stores and local businesses.

There are many programs available on the web that will provide a user with crossword puzzles. Some websites tend to use a daily crossword system, sometimes created solely by human hand. But what many people might not realize is that often times, the crosswords they play are created through the use of crossword software. While there are various kinds of crossword software available on the web, they all tend to work in similar ways. They provide the maker of a crossword with an automated system for creating the crosswords they want.

Many individuals who solve crossword puzzles do not think about the amount of effort that goes into individuals creating these puzzles by hand. This is where crossword software comes in. All an individual needs to do for many of these programs is to input a list of words and clues. The program will then create a crossword out of the given words. With crossword software, the time required to make a crossword puzzle is reduced immensely. No more spending hours attempting to find a way to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Some of these programs will not only allow users to create a crossword puzzle, but they will also create interactive crossword puzzles for use on the individual’s website. With countless people across the world who love to solve crossword puzzles, this can be an extremely effective means of drawing more traffic to the website.

As great as crossword software can be, there are also certain limitations to it. Some of these limitations are not the fault of the program, either. Users might input too many words or a combination of words that cannot be used together well enough to create a good looking crossword puzzle. This can cause a user to become frustrated and believe that it is simply the programs fault. This problem can easily be rectified by choosing a larger crossword puzzle size or through changing some of the words for the crossword. Sometimes, a user might also dislike the first crossword that the program creates for the given set of words and clues. Luckily, most crossword software is able to create many different crossword layouts for a given set of words and clues.

So for anyone seeking to create crossword puzzles for any type of occasion and for any reason, crossword software is definitely the best and most efficient way to create crossword puzzles.

This Solitaire style word game is perfect for word game lovers and casual gamers everywhere. Players race through 4 rounds where they have to play two through five letter words before the clock runs out.

Solo Words is a game based on 4 rounds of Word Play Solitaire.
Players must play a word in each of the five (5) horizontal word slots. Words must be at least 2 letters and are only limited by the number of letters allowed in each slot. (You can play a 3 letter word in the 5 letter slot)

Playing a full word in any slot enables the bonus tiles for the word slot above it.

Each round is over when 5 words have been played or the timer runs out.

If you like crossword puzzles, or Scrabble, you’ll love Word It! The simple idea is to rearrange the letters on screen to create words. Like playing “Speed Scrabble” you are working against the clock to use up every letter, and get the highest score by making the words overlap. There is even a dictionary feature allowing you to look up words and definitions.

Rex Parker

Rex Parker and The New York Times Crossword Puzzle