Word Search Generator

What makes a word search hard

Three things, in this order:

• Backwards words. The biggest single jump. Solvers scan left-to-right by instinct, and allowing reversals roughly doubles the work.
• Diagonals. Harder to scan than rows and columns, but not as punishing as reversals.
• Grid size relative to word count. A crowded grid is easier, not harder — more real words means fewer places for the eye to get lost. A large grid with few words is the cruellest combination.

For infants, use 8×8 with horizontal and vertical only. For upper primary, 12×12 with diagonals. For adults, 15×15 with everything switched on.

Choosing words

Four to eight letters is the sweet spot. Very short words appear by accident in the filler letters, which makes them frustrating rather than hard; very long ones dominate the grid and are usually spotted first.

Words sharing letters cross each other more often, which produces a denser, better-looking grid. If your list is thematic this happens on its own.

Printing

Use your browser's print dialog. The navigation, footer and controls are hidden automatically, the grid is sized to fit a portrait page, and the answer key goes on a second sheet — so you can print page one for the class and keep page two.