Word Search: play free online

Word Search is a free browser puzzle with clear word lists, six themed collections and three difficulty levels. Play on your phone, tablet or computer without downloading an app. The next discovery can begin with a single letter.

Choose animals, nature, food, countries, space or home. Each collection brings its own vocabulary, from everyday objects and favourite foods to places and things beyond our planet. Following a theme gives each board a different character and helps you decide what to play next. Work through the boards in a collection or choose another topic whenever you want a change of subject.

The easy setting uses an 8×8 grid and six words placed horizontally or vertically. Medium adds diagonal directions and eight words on a 10×10 board. Hard fills a 12×12 grid with ten target words that can run in all eight directions. You can trace a word from either end, so spotting its final letter first is just as useful as finding its beginning.

Touch controls offer two ways to select: drag across the letters, or tap the first and last cells. Tap your starting cell again to clear an unfinished selection. On a computer, use the mouse or move around the board with the arrow keys. Space chooses a starting cell, Enter confirms the end and Escape cancels.

You begin with 100 hint points. Each newly found word earns 5, and completing a board earns another 20. Spend 50 points to reveal the first letter of one remaining word, then follow the letters yourself to finish the discovery. Your progress is saved, making it easy to continue an unfinished puzzle. Each word reward and completion reward can be earned once per board; replaying it does not award them again.

Try the daily challenge for a fresh arrangement, then make the surroundings your own. Forest, ocean, desert and night backgrounds sit alongside light and dark themes. Gentle sound effects and optional ambient audio can be muted. Ten language options include their own puzzle vocabulary, giving you a different collection of words to explore.