How to play
Each word in the list is hidden once in the grid, in a straight line. Press on the first letter and drag to the last one; when the selection matches a word, it stays highlighted and the word is crossed off the list. On a phone or tablet you can also tap the first letter, then the last.
The easy puzzle runs words only across and down, the medium puzzles add diagonals, and the hard puzzle hides words in every direction, including backwards. Phrases such as Auld Lang Syne and Times Square are hidden without their spaces.
Printing a puzzle
Print under a puzzle prints just that puzzle on one page with the word list underneath. Print with answers adds a second page with every word circled. Choose “Save as PDF” as the printer to keep a PDF. New grid hides the same words in new places, so several people can race on different versions.
Want your own list, such as your guests’ names or your family’s resolutions? Use the word search maker.
A few New Year’s facts for the puzzle table
“Auld Lang Syne” is a Scots poem by Robert Burns from 1788; the title means roughly “old long since”, or days gone by. The Times Square ball has dropped at midnight in New York since the 1907–08 celebration. In Scotland the New Year celebration is called Hogmanay, which is why it’s hidden in the hard puzzle.