From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Bible reference software, see WORDsearch.
A word search, word find, word seek, word sleuth or mystery word puzzle is a word game that consists of the letters of words placed in a grid, which usually has a rectangular or square shape. The objective of this puzzle is to find and mark all the words hidden inside the box. The words may be placed horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Often a list of the hidden words is provided, but more challenging puzzles may not provide a list. Many word search puzzles have a theme to which all the hidden words are related such as food, animals, or colors. The puzzles have, like crosswords and arrowords, become very popular. Also in common with these latter puzzles, have had complete books and mobile applications devoted to them.
Strategies[edit]
A common strategy for finding all the words is to go through the puzzle left to right (or right to left) and look for the first letter of the word (if a word list is provided). After finding the letter, one should look at the eight surrounding letters to see whether the next letter of the word is there. One can then continue this method until the entire word is found.
Another strategy is to look for ‘outstanding’ letters within the word one is searching for (if a word list is provided). Since most word searches use capital letters, it is easiest to spot the letters that stand out from others. These letters include Q, J, X, and Z.
Lastly, the strategy of looking for double letters in the word being searched for (if a word list is provided) proves helpful, because it is easier to spot two identical letters side-by-side than to search for two different letters.
If a word list is not provided, a way to find words is to go row by row. First, all the horizontal rows should be read both backwards and forwards, then the vertical, and so on. Sometimes the puzzle itself will help. The puzzles generated by a computer tend to put words in patterns. Furthermore, the bigger the words and the more words, the easier they are to spot. In some computer-generated puzzles, if the person solving the puzzle sees one word, all they have to do to find more is to look in adjacent rows, columns, or diagonals. The puzzle might use every row, column, or diagonal—or just every other row, column, or diagonal.
History[edit]
The word search puzzle (also known as WordSeek, WordFind, WonderWord, etc.) was originally designed and published by Norman E. Gibat in the Selenby Digest on March 1, 1968, in Norman, Oklahoma, although the Spanish puzzle creator Pedro Ocón de Oro was publishing «Sopas de letras» (Spanish «Soup of Letters») before that date.[citation needed]There is a very likely possibility James Patrick Carr of Villa Grove, Illinois created this puzzle before 1968. Pat Carr had titled the puzzles «Slate R Straight» and was stolen by a copyright/patent company he sent the puzzle idea to. There is proof predating Gibats 1968 of PC’s puzzles in Villa Grove High School sporting event brochures.
Selenby was a small want-ad digest distributed free at Safeway and other stores in the town. The original page size is 8.5 by 5.5 inches.
The puzzle was very popular locally and several more followed this original. Some teachers in the Norman schools asked for reprints to use in their classes. One teacher sent them around the country to various friends in other schools. Undoubtedly one of these scattered copies eventually led somebody to sell the idea to a syndicator.
Word search puzzles have been popular on the internet with Facebook games such as the 2013 Letters of Gold. Other digital and tabletop word search games include A Way with Words, Boggle, Bookworm, Letterpress, Ruzzle, Wonderword, Wordament, WordSpot and Word Streak with Friends.
Secret messages[edit]
Sometimes secret messages are hidden in the word search.[1] In one variation, the secret message is created by all the words that are written backwards in the puzzle. In another variation, the secret message is created by the letters that are not used in any word within the puzzle. This variation is more common in more difficult puzzles where most letters are used. Kappa Publishing is well known for this. Their Magazines are called «The Magazine with the Last Message» or other saying that is related.
Another type of word search puzzle contains a trivia question at the bottom. Like a traditional word search puzzle, words from a word list must be circled or crossed through in the puzzle. There is also one or more extra word or phrase hidden in the puzzle that is not in the word list. This word or phrase usually answers the trivia question at the bottom of the page.
Snaking puzzles[edit]
Some word search puzzles are snaking puzzles, in which the word is not a straight vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line, but «bends» at 90 degrees at any given letter. These are much more difficult than conventional puzzles. The difficulty level is further heightened when the next letter can be at 45 degrees, and using the same letter more than once is permitted, too. Snaking puzzles either hide words in a random fashion, or are designed to trace out a path in a definite shape, like a square, rectangle, horseshoe, or donut.[2]
Teaching[edit]
Word search puzzles are often used in a teaching or classroom environment, especially in language and foreign language classrooms. Some teachers, particularly those specializing in English as a Second Language (ESL), use word search puzzles as an instructional tool. Other teachers use them as a recreational activity for students, instead. They also use them as April Fool’s Day Pranks. The word searches involve no words.
On a more advanced level, word searches are good ways to demonstrate the use of searching algorithms.
See also[edit]
- Wordament
- Word Puzzle
- Word polygon
- Crossword
- Sudoku
References[edit]
- ^ Radadiya, D. «Word Search». Word Search. Net. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- ^ «Word search shapes».
External links[edit]
Word Search at Curlie
The history of Word Search puzzles is clouded with uncertainties, but a surprising feature is clear: it is a very young game. Perhaps due to its simplicity, it may seem that Words Search has been around for centuries. Nevertheless, its origins can be traced back to the mid-late 60s which makes it just a little over 50 years old.
The beginning of the history of Word Search
The creation of these word puzzles is officially attributed to Norman E. Gibat, an American from Norman, Oklahoma. In 1968, Gibat was looking for ways to engage readers with his publication Selenby Digest when he unexpectedly invented what we now know as Word Search games.
His goal was to create something to distinguish his publication from its competitors and these word puzzles came to him as a simple game that could be played when waiting in line at the supermarket or in any waiting room. The chosen topic was cities from Oklahoma with Norman’s street names following the next week.
The puzzles were an incredible success. Everyone loved the games and teachers were especially quick in understanding its learning potential.
Norman teachers wrote to the Selenby Digest requesting more puzzles they could use in their classroom. They later spread the word to other Oklahoma and out of State teachers who immediately started to also request these word puzzles.
The Selenby Digest was short-lived and closed doors in 1970, but the game created by Gibat was to live much longer.
The Spanish claim
The claim to the creation of Word Search is contested by Pedro Ocón de Oro, a Spaniard credited with inventing over 125 types of puzzles in Spanish.
During the 60s, this puzzle aficionado created what he called Sopa de Letras (Soup of Letters) which was nothing more than a Word Search puzzle. Historians have not been able to pinpoint when Ocón de Oro created his puzzles, although they all agree with the decade.
This lack of certainty made the history of Word Search puzzles tilt in favor of Norman E. Gibat but even now it is generally accepted that American may have had a certain Spanish inspiration.
The many names of the game
As neither Norman E. Gibit nor Ocón de Oro patented the creation of Word Search puzzles, these quickly became syndicated, appearing in several publications throughout the world. The lack of a particular name also gave rise to several denominations of the game.
Word Search and Word Find are the most common names used nowadays, but the game is also known as Seek and Circle, Search a Word, Circle Circle, Word Seek, Mystery Word, or Word Sleuth, among many others.
Game variants
Gibat created the classical game version that provides a list of words grouped around a theme for the player to find in a grid of letters. The size of the grid has always been subject to changes to match the difficulty of the puzzles.
As the years went by, the history of Word Search puzzles has also been marked by the emergence of different game variants. Despite all being faithful to the basic structure of the puzzles, little tweaks were enough to differentiate them.
The three most popular variants are:
No word list provided: the player only knows the topic and the total number of words to be found.
List with clues: this variant is similar to Crosswords. To know which words to find, the player needs to decipher a list of clues or simple definitions.
Snake Search: the words hidden in the grid can twist and turn in any direction.
From players to creators
Creating Word Search puzzles was a time-consuming task… until the internet arrived.
Nowadays there are countless programs and online tools that help individuals create their personalized puzzle in no time.
Now, players control the game. Students and teachers can carefully choose which vocabulary to display or review and set the difficulty level accordingly. Grids with customized secret messages can be sent to loved ones to entice their competitive side with a funny joke or a sweet declaration.
In approximately 50 years, the history of Word Search puzzles took a 180º turn and now players and creators are entwined and create a unique community of puzzle lovers.
0 Flares
Filament.io
0 Flares
×
Rules: Locate the given words in the grid, running in one of eight possible directions horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
Answer String: Varies by puzzle. There may be an unused word or a message hidden another way to discover related to the puzzle. Enter this word/message, in ALL CAPS and without spaces or other punctuation. This example has the key “CERES”.
(Brief) History of Word Searches: Descended from observational puzzles. The American word search was first published in 1968 in the Selenby Digest in Norman, Oklahoma. The original creator was Norman E. Gibat. (Note: puzzles in Spanish called “Sopas de letras”/”Soup of Letters” were created earlier but were unlikely to have influenced Gibat.) The idea circulated slowly until finally picked up by some newspaper syndicators. Word Searches are now in most major newspapers and puzzle magazines.
History of this example: This planetary word search was written for a puzzle seminar by Thomas Snyder soon after the demotion of “Pluto” as a planet.
Other sources: More Word Search puzzles can be found from a variety of sources, including some future publications from Grandmaster Puzzles.
Design rules for contributors: A Grandmaster Word Search will have a unique solution that can be reached by observation alone. Words should be interlinked (cross at letters) and a large majority of the letters in the grid should be crossed by words. The words should be linked thematically, although the word list need not be provided. Standard variations, including missing letters, rebus clues, or bending words, are also encouraged.
Verb
They haven’t found him yet, so they have to keep searching.
The police searched her for concealed weapons.
He was searched by the guard before he was allowed to enter the courtroom.
The software allows you to search thousands of sites at the same time.
She searched for information on the Web.
He searched her face, hoping to see some glimmer of emotion.
Noun
We will begin a search for a new manager this week.
I performed a search for the file.
I did a Web search for restaurants in that area.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Once approved, parents and guardians may search for participating service providers in the ACE Education Marketplace and submit claims for reimbursement using a dedicated app.
—
Cole Behrens, The Enquirer, 11 Apr. 2023
By December, police and the FBI were searching for 16-year-old Tylee and 7-year-old JJ.
—Allison Elyse Gualtieri, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2023
In a separate incident in Los Angeles, authorities were searching for a person who used a permanent marker to write anti-Islamic words on a mosque and an Islamic cultural center Sunday.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 10 Apr. 2023
Another once searched his pockets without any cause.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2023
The United States is searching for the source of the documents, which appear to detail classified information about Ukraine, Russia and other countries.
—Sammy Westfall, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2023
While clever software has taken over some of the toil of legal work — searching, reviewing and mining mountains of legal documents for nuggets of useful information — employment in the legal profession has grown faster than the American work force as a whole.
—Steve Lohr, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2023
Auburn Hills police are searching for two juvenile females who were in handcuffs when a massive panic broke out at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets and had customers running for safety from what turned out to be a false threat.
—Miriam Marini, Detroit Free Press, 10 Apr. 2023
That afternoon, when the pair didn’t come back as expected, Thompson and Amelia searched for their family members before reporting them missing to authorities.
—Staff, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2023
Additionally, prosecutors said Brian Walshe made grim Google searches – including some on their son’s iPad.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 31 Mar. 2023
The event is partially aimed at helping undergraduate students who wanted jobs in tech broaden their search, says Monica Parker-James, Questrom’s associate dean for career services.
—Lindsay Ellis, WSJ, 30 Mar. 2023
Algorithms search for the best properties for investors to buy—although recent rapid changes in the real estate market left even companies like Zillow and Opendoor struggling.
—Amanda Hoover, WIRED, 30 Mar. 2023
Five months after starting its search, Racing Louisville has hired a general manager.
—The Courier-Journal, 29 Mar. 2023
However, exhaustive searches on land and water, including with the help of 100 fellow Navy personnel, have come up empty.
—Greg Norman, Fox News, 29 Mar. 2023
Authorities used cadaver dogs during Monday’s search of the residence as well as the yard and inside the family’s home – a large converted shed in the yard behind another house.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2023
After a two-month search, Maricopa County has selected one of its own to serve as its new county manager.
—Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 28 Mar. 2023
Crowdsourcers was never established as an independent nonprofit group, according to a search of an IRS database.
—Shawn Boburg And Emma Brown, Anchorage Daily News, 28 Mar. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘search.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.