Who invented word search puzzles

I have recently been making it my duty to find out more about the activities I spend my time on. My favorite pastimes are, of course, puzzles and board games. In my home, we have a weekly board game night, and weekends always include some sort of puzzle. My favorite puzzles are Word Searches — and I suspect that if you are reading this, they may be your favorite too. While doing your regular Word Search, have you ever wondered about the actual origins of the puzzle?

I found myself wondering recently and so got to work on doing a bit of research. While digging around for info, I found out that there was a lot about Word Search puzzles that I did not know. You might have noticed that the Word Search puzzle concept is not owned by a games company like Monopoly, Uno, and other games are. Instead, it was invented and has been freely distributed by various means.

Of course, various publishing houses have released Word Search puzzle books and publications, but there is no license required to do that. You can even create and come up with your own Word Search, if you wanted to. This makes Word Search puzzles quite unique, in my opinion. Let us take a closer look at the history of Word Searches and how they became so popular. Below, each of the abovementioned points is covered in a bit more detail.

It is quite important to note that Word Search puzzles and Crossword puzzles are two very different things. A Word Search puzzle is a type of puzzle that is usually printed in a book or the newspaper. Alternatively, you can print some puzzles from the internet, or download a mobile app— many of them are free. The typical Word Search puzzle includes a list of words that must be found hidden in a grid.

I have spent a lifetime enjoying the game…and I firmly believe that it is never too late to start. Skip to content. Table of Contents show. English Word Search was designed and published by Norman E. The first Word Search was published in the Selenby Digest. The very first published Word Search was released on 1 March After the first Word Search was published, the puzzles went viral. There is some debate over who actually invented Word Search. Word Search puzzles go by many different names.

Not all Word Search puzzles include a word list. Word Search puzzles boost memory and brain health. Doing Word Search puzzles can keep dementia at bay. There are strategies that can make you better at Word Search. Word Search puzzles are usually themed. There are various unique versions of Word Search puzzles available. Word Search puzzles are a popular method for teaching a foreign language. Doing Word Search puzzles reduces stress and promotes relaxation. Word Search puzzles promote quick thinking and boost productivity.

But, in both the U. And in new times of trouble, the crossword puzzle is still there to help solvers escape—just as solvers before them have been doing for more than a century. Contact us at letters time. By Adrienne Raphel. Related Stories. Already a print subscriber? Go here to link your subscription. Need help? The size of the grid has always been subject to changes to match the difficulty of the puzzles. As the years went by, the history of Word Search puzzles has also been marked by the emergence of different game variants.

Despite all being faithful to the basic structure of the puzzles, little tweaks were enough to differentiate them. No word list provided: the player only knows the topic and the total number of words to be found. List with clues: this variant is similar to Crosswords. To know which words to find, the player needs to decipher a list of clues or simple definitions.

Snake Search: the words hidden in the grid can twist and turn in any direction. Creating Word Search puzzles was a time-consuming task… until the internet arrived. Nowadays there are countless programs and online tools that help individuals create their personalized puzzle in no time.