What are Word Search Puzzles?
A word search puzzle is a type of word puzzle that looks something like this (click the image to see a larger version):
Often, the word search puzzles are theme-based, so you will be searching for words around a common topic.
For example, in the picture above, the theme is ‘town and city‘ and the words are all typical words that you would find around town.
I think that a theme-based word search puzzle is more fun and there are almost limitless ideas and themes that you can find.
How to Solve Word Search Puzzles
Simple word search puzzles usually have a list of words that you need to find in the grid.
The word search puzzles that you will find here and in my books require an extra step. I think this makes them more interesting and improves the learning process.
For example, in the word search book picture above, you have the English words and have space to write in the translation of that word in your native language. This gives you a handy table for learning vocabulary.
In other word search puzzles, you have a clue or a picture and have to find the word to search for in the grid.
To complete the puzzle, you have to find the word in the grid. It can be forwards or backwards, up or down, or even diagonal. The words can also intersect. The words are also in a straight line, so no bends in the middle.
Sometimes, the answer is two or more words and in this case, the letters in the puzzle are without the spaces. I’ll show you what I mean with an example. If the phrase that you’re looking for is RED ROSES, then you would search for the letters REDROSES in the puzzle.
Tips and Tricks
One obvious way to solve these word search puzzles is to start at the top and work your way down, looking for the first letter of the word and when you find it, see if any of the eight letters around this match the second letter. If so, keep looking in that direction to see if the whole word is there. If not, keep on looking.
Once you have found the word, mark it with a ring around it and move to the next word. This is sometimes called the brute force method.
But there are smarter options.
As you probably know, some letters are more common than others. If the word that you’re searching for has one of more uncommon letters, you could quickly scan for that letter. It doesn’t matter where the letter appears in the word.
By a similar logic, if there are unusual combinations of letters in the word, these might stand out on the page and can be spotted more easily.
Let’s look at a concrete example.
Suppose we’re looking for the word EXCHANGE. If we use the brute force method, we will be looking for the letter E, which is the most common letter in the English language. A smarter strategy would be to realise that the letters XCH are relatively rare, so by looking for those letters together, you will get to the solution in a much shorter time.
How Word Search Puzzles Help Vocabulary
These days, smart phones and apps are commonplace. Looking up a foreign word is quick and easy – unfortunately, too quick and easy.
I’ll explain what I mean.
If you spend no time thinking about the word, you will forget it in no time. However, if you spend longer thinking about the word, you will remember it for a longer period of time. It’s just the way our brains work.
The cool thing about word search puzzles is that it forces you to think about a particular word until you find it in the puzzle. All the time you’re thinking about this word, your brain is making stronger connections, which result in a better memory of that word. It’s actually a great way to remember vocabulary, but you’re not even aware that it’s happening. You’re having so much fun with the word search puzzle that you don’t notice the added benefits of improved vocabulary.
Word Search Puzzles Summary
Word search puzzles are a great way to relax and wind down after a hard day.
With the added advantage of actively improving your vocabulary, what’s not to like?!?
Do you like these type of puzzles? Please use the comments below and let us know!
