Word Search
Players hunt your hidden words in a letter grid. How to set up a Word Search.
Word Search is a word-hunting activity. Players are given a grid of letters with your words hidden inside it, and they race to find them by tracing a straight line across each one. It's visual, satisfying, and works in any language.
How players experience it
- Each player sees the letter grid and a list of the words to find.
- To claim a word, they drag a straight line across its letters, or tap the first letter and then the last. On a keyboard, arrow keys move a cursor and Enter marks the first and last letter.
- Words can be hidden across, down, diagonally, and backwards, so a trace counts in either direction.
- When a trace matches a hidden word, that word tints its cells and strikes off the list, and a running "found" count climbs.
- Finding a word earns points, and finding it faster earns more, so it rewards both spotting words and being quick. Each word can only be claimed once.
When someone finds every word, an "All found!" celebration appears. The round result tells each player how many of the words they found out of the total.
Setting one up as a host
When you add a Word Search to your Roo, you give it two things:
- The words. Add between 3 and 12 words, up to 14 letters each. Any language works, including scripts like Tamil. Longer words are harder to hide and harder to find.
- The grid size. Choose 8×8, 10×10, or 12×12. Bigger grids hide words better but take longer to search.
You don't lay out the grid yourself. Tikroo generates a fresh grid every time you play. Same words, new hiding spots, and it fills the empty cells with random letters.
Tips
- Mix word lengths. A couple of short words gives everyone an early win; a longer one keeps the keen players hunting.
- Match the grid to the words. A handful of short words on a 12×12 grid can feel like a needle in a haystack. Size down if you want a quicker round.
- Great as an energiser or a themed warm-up. Pick words around your topic and let the room race.
If you're not sure where to start, add three or four themed words on a 10×10 grid and you're ready to play.
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