Universal Word Search

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A themed word search on the day's subject.

on gocomics.com

Universal Word Search grid: letters with fruit words such as PRUNE, MANGO, APRICOT, NECTARINE and BERRY looped in blue, some running backwards or diagonally

Universal Word Search is Andrews McMeel's daily themed word search. Every word hidden in the grid relates to the day's theme and can run up, down, left, right or diagonally, forwards or backwards. It is one of the Puzzle Society games on GoComics, included with a subscription.

About Universal Word Search

Universal Word Search is one of the Puzzle Society games from Andrews McMeel Universal, the syndicate behind the Universal Crossword, and is played on the GoComics puzzle pages. Each day has its own theme, and every word in the list belongs to it: in the game's art the theme is fruit, with PRUNE, MANGO, APRICOT, NECTARINE, PEANUT and BERRY looped in the grid.

The Puzzle Society's instruction is to look in all directions. Words run up, down, left, right or diagonally, and many read backwards, as PEAR and BERRY do in the art. You find a word and drag across its letters to circle it, and the puzzle is done when the whole list is found.

It is a relaxed daily puzzle rather than a race, and the theme makes the list itself part of the fun. It suits word search fans who want a fresh themed grid each day.

Universal Word Search is included with a GoComics subscription. Its sibling WonderWord adds a hidden answer spelled by the letters left over.

How to play Universal Word Search

Open Universal Word Search on the GoComics puzzles page and sign in with a GoComics subscription.
Read the day's theme and the list of words to find.
Look for each word in the grid, in any direction: across, down, diagonally, forwards or backwards.
Drag across a word's letters to circle it, until every word on the list is found.

Tips

Scan for rare letters such as Q, X, Z or J in the list's words: they are easy to spot in the grid.
Check backwards and upward words when a word seems missing; many are hidden that way.
Look for double letters (the RR in BERRY) as a quick anchor.