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How can one make a word search puzzle more interesting?
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MitchellWmA
Mar 9, 2012, 7:26:30 AM3/9/12
to
I need to come up with a way to make word search puzzles more
interesting as I'd like to create one per day but find that
personally, I find word search puzzles the least intriguing for me,
personally. Yet I can't get away from the fact that they're very easy
to create.
So thought that I'd try to see if I could add a twist.
Unfortunately, making one of those words searches that leaves behind a
certain number of letters that then can be unscrambled to form a
phrase is a no go because that takes it into the realm of the other
puzzles I create - I couldn't do one per day. And, secondly, after
working a couple of weeks on one of those and proudly giving it over
to beta testers, there was a fail as one person wouldn't solve the
puzzle as he found another word using a different combination of
letters than the design called for. So this type of word search I
don't even attempt anymore to do since then.
Any ideas on how to jazz up a simple word search puzzle? Thanks.
interesting as I'd like to create one per day but find that
personally, I find word search puzzles the least intriguing for me,
personally. Yet I can't get away from the fact that they're very easy
to create.
So thought that I'd try to see if I could add a twist.
Unfortunately, making one of those words searches that leaves behind a
certain number of letters that then can be unscrambled to form a
phrase is a no go because that takes it into the realm of the other
puzzles I create - I couldn't do one per day. And, secondly, after
working a couple of weeks on one of those and proudly giving it over
to beta testers, there was a fail as one person wouldn't solve the
puzzle as he found another word using a different combination of
letters than the design called for. So this type of word search I
don't even attempt anymore to do since then.
Any ideas on how to jazz up a simple word search puzzle? Thanks.
Carl G.
Mar 9, 2012, 12:10:24 PM3/9/12
to
"MitchellWmA" <nos...@nojunkmail.com> wrote in message
news:vhtjl7p0haaahumbh...@4ax.com...
1. Encrypt the puzzle, but not the word list, using a simple letter
substitution cipher. You can also include an encrypted phrase (not in the
grid). Do not include spaces in the phrase. This would make it harder than
a simple cryptogram puzzle and require the solver to find the hidden words
to help figure out the phrase.
2. Scramble each row by rotating the letters. For example, if the first
row was "ABCDEFG:, rotate by 3 to get "EFGABCD". Each row has its own
rotation number. The rotation number can also to used to easily create a
message in the first column. Or, when the rotations are removed, specified
cells spell out a message.
3. Don't give the word list directly. Use clues similar to cryptic crossword
puzzle clues. Include several extra words in the grid as "red herrings".
4. Use really long words and break the words into smaller pieces.
5. Instead of having the letters in each word follow a straight path, let it
change direction every 3 or 4 cells. This would allow longer words. The
paths could also form a picture.
6. Allow wrap-around grids in conjunction with one of the other ideas.
7. Replace all vowels, or other set of letters, with a question mark or
asterisk. Use this with one of the other ideas.
8. In each clue word, mark one or more of the letters. Have the solver
connect or black out the cells containing the marked letters in a given
order. This can be used to create a hidden picture.
Carl G.
Mensanator
Mar 9, 2012, 10:47:28 PM3/9/12
to
who was doing a "word search of the day"
here a few years ago. See the archives for examples of what NOT to
do.. For instance, the idiot's puzzles
were devoid of intersecting words.
Also, the less familiar the word list to the player, the better. I
made a puzzle once called
"Saxons & Pesticides", Saxon kings of England mixed with organic
chemicals. Edwin, Aldrin, Albert,
Ethelbert, Ethylbenzene, Endosulfan II...which is which? But that's
the point, you don't NEED to know to solve a word search.
Sure, the organic chemist might have an advantage spotting words in
the matrix, but how many of
them are there?
And don't choose random characters for null letters. Have the nulls
taken fromn a letter frequency
table based on the word list.
MitchellWmA
Mar 10, 2012, 9:32:22 AM3/10/12
to
On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 09:10:24 -0800, "Carl G." <cgi...@socal.rr.com>
wrote:
Wow, these are all _excellent_ ideas, thank you. I'm going to print
this list out and work on which combination will work for me. Perhaps
I can come up with 5 puzzle combos so my visitors can expect a certain
type for each day of the week. That works for me. Hmmm, well, going
to get to work now.
Thanks! :oD
wrote:
this list out and work on which combination will work for me. Perhaps
I can come up with 5 puzzle combos so my visitors can expect a certain
type for each day of the week. That works for me. Hmmm, well, going
to get to work now.
Thanks! :oD
MitchellWmA
Mar 10, 2012, 9:33:36 AM3/10/12
to
a busy day working on the word search issue <g>.
Puppet_Sock
Mar 23, 2012, 3:18:35 PM3/23/12
to
On Mar 9, 8:26 am, MitchellWmA <nos...@nojunkmail.com> wrote:
> I need to come up with a way to make word search puzzles more
> interesting
[snips]
> I need to come up with a way to make word search puzzles more
> interesting
Heh heh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFol-Aiz8MQ
Laser obstacle word search.
Socks
Remysun
Mar 24, 2012, 12:47:49 PM3/24/12
to
Blank mystery letters which include a null as a possibility.
Anagrams.
Anagrams.
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