Word search
- Learn how to create word search puzzles on PuzzleMe™
- Explore customization options for word search design
- Understand the player experience
What is a Word Search puzzle?
Word Search is a classic puzzle where players find hidden words in a grid of letters. Words can be hidden horizontally, vertically, diagonally, forwards, or backwards. It's a great way to exercise observation and pattern recognition skills.
PuzzleMe goes beyond traditional word search by letting you add multimedia clues like images, audio, and video to make puzzles more engaging.
How it works
Players see a grid of letters and a list of words to find. Words and phrases can be hidden in 8 different directions:
- Horizontally (left to right or right to left)
- Vertically (top to bottom or bottom to top)
- Diagonally (in all four diagonal directions)
To find a word, players click the first letter and drag to the last letter. When found correctly, the word highlights in the grid and gets marked off the word list.
The navigation bar shows how many words have been found, the time elapsed, and the current score. Players can also use hints if they get stuck.
Only words found without hints count toward the final score.
Types of clues
Traditional word search puzzles simply list the words to find. PuzzleMe offers several clue types to make puzzles more interesting:
Word lists (default)
The simplest approach - show the exact words players need to find. As players find each word, it gets checked off the list.
Text clues
Instead of showing the actual words, provide clues like in a crossword puzzle. Players must first solve the clue, then find that word in the grid.
For example, instead of listing "Sacramento," you could clue it as "Capital of California."
Multimedia clues
Add images, audio, or video to your clues. A thumbnail appears next to each clue - clicking it displays the image or plays the media. You can combine multimedia with text for even richer clues.
The PuzzleMe platform allows you to use your media in several places. Some examples of media usage include using a puzzle backdrop image, images or audio inside crossword or Word Search clues, images for a Picdoku game, and game completion sounds. If you are on the Professional or Enterprise Plans, you can upload your media files into PuzzleMe. If you are on the Personal Plan, you will have to host them on a public website and provide the URL to PuzzleMe.
A live example of a word search puzzle with multimedia (images, audio and video) is embedded below.
Hiding clues entirely
For maximum challenge, hide all clues. Players only know the theme (like "state capitals") and must find words without any word list or hints.
This works best with well-known categories that have a limited set of obvious answers. The score shows the total number of words and how many have been found, but players don't know what specific words to look for.
Why use word search puzzles?
Word search puzzles work well for:
- Brand reinforcement: Hide brand names, product features, or key messages in the grid. Add images or videos for stronger brand association.
- Training and onboarding: Help new employees learn department names, company values, or industry terminology in a fun way.
- Marketing campaigns: Create puzzles where finding certain words unlocks prizes, discounts, or special content.
- Education and awareness: Use image or audio clues to teach important concepts about health, safety, or other topics.
- Event promotion: Build excitement for conferences by hiding speaker names, session topics, or event highlights.
With text and multimedia clues, you can adjust difficulty and engagement to match your audience and goals.