Downwords (Los Angeles Times)

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Dig a path down through letter blocks by finding the day's themed words.

on latimes.com

Downwords art: stone letter blocks and a wooden path leading down, with a rock singer character

Downwords is a daily word search shaped like a maze, made by Lil Snack and run on the Los Angeles Times games page. Each day has its own theme; you find the hidden words to open a path down the grid, pick up keys, unlock doors and reach the treasure at the bottom.

About Downwords (Los Angeles Times)

Downwords is a Lil Snack puzzle that the Los Angeles Times carries on its games page alongside its crosswords, word search and Wordflower. It takes the idea of a word search and turns it into a descent: the grid is a tall stack of stone letter blocks, and your character starts at the top.

Every puzzle has a theme, usually from pop culture or a simple subject such as animals or music. Finding a themed word clears its blocks and opens the way further down. Keys sit inside the maze, and the doors they open block the route to the treasure at the bottom, so the order in which you find words matters as well as finding them.

The puzzle is dated and the same for everyone on a given day; the Lil Snack site keeps an archive of earlier ones. It suits players who like word searches but want a bit of route planning, and it takes a few minutes.

How to play Downwords (Los Angeles Times)

Open Downwords on the Los Angeles Times games page and read the day's theme.
Look for words that fit the theme among the letter blocks below your character.
Select a word's letters to clear them and open a path downward.
Collect keys along the way and use them to unlock the doors that block the route.
Keep going down until you reach the treasure at the bottom, then share your result.

Screenshots

Downwords title card over a grid of letter blocks

Tips

Think of words that fit the theme before you scan the grid; it is quicker than reading every row.
Work out which words lie on the route to the nearest key, since doors further down need it.
If you are stuck, step back and say the theme out loud; the answers are ordinary words and names that fit it.