Hard Word Search

Word · Big grids, words in all 8 directions and decoys to trip you up.

Hard word search puzzles for when the usual grids are too easy. Hard gives you 12×12 grids with words in all eight directions, including backwards; Expert goes to 14×14 with longer words, letters drawn from the hidden words themselves and decoys that start a word and then run off.

🏆 Leaderboard

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How to play

Find every word in the list hidden in the grid. Words can run across, down, diagonally and backwards.
Drag across a word to circle it, or tap its first letter and then its last.
Hard: 12×12 grid, 11 words. Expert: 14×14 grid, 12 words of four letters or more.
On Expert, watch out for decoys: the first letters of a real word, laid out in another direction and then broken off. Check the whole word before you drag.
You get three hints a game, and Teach me has Hops explain which word is easiest to spot next and why.

Tips to win

Look for the rarest letter in a word, not the first one. On Expert the grid is built from the hidden words' own letters, so common first letters are everywhere.
Check backwards too: read the last two letters of a word as a pair, since many words hide right to left or bottom to top.
Sweep in a pattern, row by row or column by column, instead of jumping around the grid.
Double letters (like LL, SS or EE) are easier to spot than single letters. Hunt for them first.

Guides

Questions

What makes a word search hard?

A bigger grid, more words, words in all eight directions including backwards, and letters that look like real words. Expert adds all of these.

How many directions can words go?

Eight: left to right, right to left, up, down and the four diagonals.

What are decoys?

On Expert, a few false starts are planted in the grid: the beginning of a real word that breaks off. They make scanning for first letters much harder.

Is it free?

Yes. Hard word search is free in your browser on phone or computer, with no download and no account.