Everything teachers ask us most
Short answers to the questions that come up most often. For a walk-through with screenshots, see how to use Puzzle Me This.
Yes, completely. There is no account, no trial period and no limit on how many puzzles you make or print. The site is paid for by advertising.
No. Open the site and start typing. Students joining a class game choose a display name only — no email address, no password, nothing to reset in week three.
A web browser. It works on a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, a phone and an interactive whiteboard. There is nothing to install and no school IT approval needed beyond access to the website.
Not reliably. Puzzles are built in your browser, but finding words for a new theme may need the internet. Print the sheets you want in advance if your room has patchy wi-fi.
Easy gives 10 words, Medium 20 and Hard 30, with the grid sized to match. Pasting in your own list also allows up to 30.
Two things: which words are chosen, and which directions they are hidden in.
Choosing a lower grade than you teach is a perfectly good way to make a puzzle easier for a particular student.
Type it anyway. The suggestions are a starting point, not a limit — words are found for themes that are not in the library. If the result misses the mark, press Refresh words for a different set, or supply your own list.
Yes. Press Use my words and paste up to 30 words, one per line. Give the puzzle a title such as Week 4 spelling and it appears on the sheet. Definitions are looked up where they can be found. Your words are used for that puzzle only — they are not saved to the library or shared with anyone.
Shuffle keeps the same words and rearranges the grid. Refresh words swaps in a different set of words on the same theme — useful when a class needs a second sheet that is not a repeat of the first.
Yes, with the Definitions toggle in the top bar. On, it becomes a vocabulary exercise; off, it is a straight word hunt. Whatever the toggle says when you press the PDF button is what gets printed.
Words are screened before they reach a puzzle. If something still slips through, press Refresh words and email us so it can be added to the filter. There is also a stricter setting that blocks borderline everyday words; ask us if your school wants it switched on.
Yes, always. Press PDF + answers and you get two pages:
Yes. The answer sheet outlines each word as well as colouring it, so the solution still reads clearly on a mono printer. The puzzle page is black on white regardless of whether you are using light or dark mode.
Your browser is probably blocking the print window. Allow pop-ups for this site, or press Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on a Mac) instead. In the print dialog choose Save as PDF to keep a copy.
Choose a lower difficulty — fewer words means a smaller grid and larger letters. You can also use your browser's print scaling. If you need something specific for a student, email us and we will make it for you.
Make the puzzle you want, press Start in-class game, and share the short link that appears — something like puzzlemethis.online/58345. Students open it, choose a name, and wait. When you press Go everyone gets the puzzle at the same moment, and their score climbs on your screen as they find words.
Check that you have pressed Go. Until then they sit in the waiting room by design, so nobody gets a head start. Also check they typed the link exactly, including all five digits.
Up to 200 in a single room, which covers a class, a year level assembly or a library session.
No. Students see only the puzzle and the word list. Show answers, the PDF button, the theme field and every other control stays on your screen.
The first student to find every word is announced on every screen with balloons. Press New round to build another puzzle and send the same class back to the waiting room — nobody has to rejoin.
Yes. Click their name in the class list to look at their grid and see which words they have found.
For the race, yes — one device each, or shared between pairs. If devices are short, print the sheets instead and use the timer on the board.
Puzzles you generate are yours to print and hand out — class booklets, relief folders, newsletters, homework packs. Please do not republish the site's puzzles as your own product or resell them.
Yes, and it is off until you turn it on. It counts up by default; set a number of minutes and it counts down instead, which suits a warm-up or a beat-the-clock challenge.
Yes, with the button in the top bar, and your choice is remembered. Light mode is usually easier to read on a projector in a bright room. Students pick their own when they join a class game.
Only the display name a student types for a game, held while the room is open and deleted afterwards. No email addresses, no accounts, no student records. See the Privacy Policy for the full detail.
We work to WCAG 2.1 Level AA and are honest about where we fall short — a word search is a visual task, and keyboard-only selection inside the grid is still on our list. The accessibility page sets out what is in place, what is not, and how to tell us about a barrier.
Email gavenferg@gmail.com with what you were doing and what happened. Tell us the browser and device if you can — it usually pinpoints the problem straight away.