Hidden Word Search

What is the Hidden Word Search?

A hidden word search shows a grid of letters that secretly holds a handful of words. Unlike a classic word search, the words here do not run in straight lines: each one snakes through neighbouring letters, turning corners as it goes, and together the words use every letter in the grid exactly once. You are told how many words there are and, at first, how long each one is.

Researchers who study reading are interested in how flexibly we recognise words that are not laid out left to right, and studies of competitive Scrabble players suggest this skill keeps improving with practice in adulthood. The Neuroptimize Hidden Word Search game turns the idea into a timed puzzle: you trace the hidden words on two or three grids against one clock, with bigger grids, longer and rarer words and twistier paths as your level rises.

How to play the Hidden Word Search

1. A grid of letters appears, with a few blocked cells, a prompt such as "Find the 4 hidden words" and a slot for each word showing its length.
2. Drag your finger through neighbouring letters (up, down, left or right, never diagonally) to spell a word. You can also tap the letters one at a time and tap the last one again to check it.
3. A hidden word locks in its own colour the moment you trace it, and its letters cannot be used again. You may trace a word from either end.
4. Any real word counts if the rest of the grid can still be filled with words of the remaining lengths. A real word that cannot fit is simply cleared without a penalty, but letters that do not spell a word cost points and break your combo.
5. Hint rings the first letter of a word for a few points. Press it again to reveal that word, which scores nothing. If you go a while without finding a word, a Skip grid button appears: the words you have not found count as missed, and the grid's solution is shown for a few seconds before the next one.
6. Fill every board before the clock runs out and the time left becomes a bonus. Higher levels bring bigger grids, longer and rarer words, words that read backwards, hidden lengths from level 19 and no blocked cells from level 25.

Strategies and tips

The science behind the Hidden Word Search

Reading normally runs in one direction, so a word that bends through a grid has to be pieced together against habit. Ian Hargreaves, Penny Pexman and colleagues (2012) found that competitive Scrabble players, who spend years finding words in jumbled letters, judged words faster than other readers and were far less slowed when words were printed vertically, showing that word recognition stays trainable in adults. Here every word you find also narrows down the rest, since the hidden words must cover every letter.

Frequently asked questions