Why the site exists
Many puzzle pages are difficult to read, awkward to print, or surrounded by controls that become part of the worksheet. ClearSearch was built around a narrower promise: readable grids, keyboard and touch support, A4 and US Letter layouts, optional answer sheets, and no watermark.
The site serves adults, seniors, families, teachers, and language learners, while recognising that those groups are not uniform. Large print and Easy directions are choices, not assumptions about a person's ability.
Who is responsible
Pages and curated puzzles are prepared and reviewed under the ClearSearch Puzzles name. The service is operated by Softcen.
See the operator and contact details. Corrections, accessibility barriers, and content concerns can be sent through that published contact.
How a curated puzzle is made
- A real audience or activity use is chosen before the title.
- A coherent list of ordinary or properly sourced words is drafted and checked.
- The generator normalises entries, removes duplicates, and places every accepted word using a stable seed.
- The answer data is verified against the generated grid.
- The online interaction and print layout are checked for the intended difficulty and format.
- Page-specific context, use ideas, and limitations are added and editorially reviewed.
Curated Easy puzzles use right and down directions. Standard puzzles add two downward diagonals. Public pages are not created for individual seeds, paper sizes, or minor keyword variations.
Automation and human review
Software generates the letter grid, filler letters, placements, answer data, and checksum. Automation makes a puzzle reproducible and prevents an accepted answer from being silently omitted. It does not decide whether a theme is useful, whether a word belongs, or whether a page provides enough context.
Those editorial decisions require human review. A generated grid is therefore treated as one component of a finished activity, not as a complete publishable page by itself.
Word sources and boundaries
Curated lists use familiar, theme-appropriate vocabulary and avoid protected fictional universes, lyrics, unnecessary brands, personal data, slurs, and graphic material. The Word Unscrambler uses a separately documented SCOWL-derived general-English list.
Read the word-list source and licence details. The site is not an official dictionary for any commercial word game and is not affiliated with one.
Accessibility and corrections
The interface targets WCAG 2.2 Level AA and supports touch, pointer, and keyboard play, reduced motion, high contrast, and large print. This is a design target rather than a claim of independent certification. Browser, printer, device, and assistive-technology combinations can behave differently.
Read the accessibility statement and report anything that prevents successful use.
Editorial method last reviewed: 8 August 2026.