Things You'll Need:
- Graph paper Pencil
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Step 1
Choose a theme for your word search. All of the words that you include in your word search should be related to the theme you choose. The theme can be topic oriented, such as animals or U.S. capitols, or it can be a collection of words that have something in common--perhaps all are past participles or spelling words for a given week.
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Step 2
Create a list of words related to the theme you chose in Step 1. You can create a simple puzzle using a handful of short, common words, or make it more complex with longer, more challenging words. The more words your puzzle contains and the more difficult they are to spell, the harder they will be to recognize and the more challenging the puzzle will be. Write the list of words at the top or bottom of the graph paper, so players know what words they're looking for. If you really want your puzzle to be challenging, you can give players only the theme, and require them to find words related to the theme without a list to follow.
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Step 3
Now it's time to place your words in the puzzle. Using one square on the graph paper for each letter in a given word, write the words on your list randomly on the paper. Words may be written vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, from top to bottom or bottom up, forward or backward. Words that are written from top to bottom or from left to right on a horizontal line are the easiest to spot. Diagonal words are typically more difficult to find than vertical or horizontal words. Words may intersect one another, or you can place them a few spaces apart from one another.
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Step 4
Draw a square or rectangular border around the words in your puzzle. Now fill in each of the blank squares with a random letter. To throw players off, intentionally place the first few letters of a word on your list in succession every now and then. When every square contains a letter, your word search is ready to be played.
