HOW TO WORK OUR FREE PUZZLES - (The Instruction Sheet included with each packet)
Here’s What You Need to Know About Working The World’s 1st and only Talking Puzzles:
Your packet includes 16 sheets: 1 instruction sheet plus 3 sheets for each of the 5 puzzles (a puzzle grid, a clues sheet and an answer key). All of the 5 Answer keys will be at the end of the packet (in case you don't want to see the answers ahead of time), and you can print off individual pages as you choose and don’t necessarily need to print the entire packet.
You have never worked puzzles like these before, so please read all of the instructions 1st
Our TALKING puzzles generally contain 50 – 116 words/clues which may be single words or phrases, usually in the form of a story or narrative. It is our ‘rule of thumb’ to fill 98-100% of the 324 spaces in our 18 x 18 puzzles (with words from the clues sheet), and we usually squeeze narratives containing between 360-380 characters into those 324 spaces.
This is not an easy task to design, and many hours are put into each puzzle to create as much fun, interesting, educational and challenging content as possible. In some of the puzzles there may be a few “extra” words in the clue list that may not pertain to the theme, and you can choose to do that portion of the puzzle, or not.
Instructions: USING OUR UNIQUE ANSWER KEYS / COORDINATED GRIDS
Because these word-search puzzles contain so many correct clues, it can be very confusing to try to circle all of them in an answer key, so we have designed a special key. You’ll notice that all of our puzzle grids have numbers down the left side and across the top (co-ordinates). On your Clue sheet, however, you will see there are no co-ordinates, as that would give away the location (answers). The Answer sheets, however, have all the same clues listed with their co-ordinates (answers) so you can find the correct word or clue on the puzzle, when you need to. The ‘row’ numbers go down the left side of the puzzle, while the ‘column’ numbers go across the top from west to east. The first number listed will always be the row #. The second number will always be the column # ( i.e. 3-14 indicates row 3, column 14). That coordinate is where you will find the first letter of the clue, followed by the direction the clue goes – i.e., E, W, N, S, NW, NE, SE, and SW. Example: If a clue on the answer sheet says “Goat 5-9 NE” it means where row 5 (down the side), meets column 9 (across the top), you'll find the letter “G” and the remaining letters, ‘oat’ will go toward the North-East. So, like co-ordinates on a map, the first letter of your clue will be found where the Row # intersects with the Column #.
THE SCRAMBLED WORD FEATURE
Our unique and challenging Puzzles are not only word searches and narratives but most of them also contain hidden words to be unscrambled. You’ll see that most of our puzzle grids have 7, 8 or 9 ‘empty’ spaces. As you progress, these spaces will fill in, and when you have all the missing letters, you can unscramble them to form a 7, 8 or 9 letter word that is related to the theme of the puzzle in some way.
In a few puzzles, which we call 'Outside the Box' puzzles (labeled OB puzzles), one or even all of the missing letters are not part of the puzzle grid, but are actually located outside the grid. I.E. a word like ' house' may be missing either the 'h' or the 'e' because that letter is invisible, outside the box. The OB puzzles are more difficult, so depending on your age, ability, and desire, you can choose to solve this part of the puzzle, or not. Some puzzles may have a hidden word PLUS a letter or two outside the box, which are not part of the hidden word. You'll see . . .
Here are a few helpful tips:
TIP # 1: We strongly suggest you read through the whole puzzle narrative before starting the puzzle as it will make solving the puzzle a lot easier (you'll see what we mean).
TIP # 2: Some puzzlers find it helpful to write the navigational directions NW, N, NE, E, etc. on the edges of the grid before starting the puzzle.
TIP # 3: Many letters on the grid are used multiple times (possibly even up to 8 times) so it can get very messy and difficult to find additional words. Thus, if you write the answers on the clue sheet, you eliminate the need to circle or highlight words (and save money on highlighters).
TIP # 4: There may be duplicates of some words, such as ‘the,’ or ‘when’ in any puzzle. Any one of the duplicates are acceptable answers, as long as you don't use the same coordinates more than once, and you may need several of the same word (with different coordinates) to complete a puzzle. This is part of what makes these puzzles more challenging. BEWARE, however, of ‘words’ or ‘phrases’ on the puzzle that APPEAR to be the same, but are not. I.E., one clue might be ‘the house,’ another might be ‘by the house,’ while still another might be ‘house’ or ‘houses’. Be sure you have the ENTIRE clue before writing the coordinates on the clue sheet. Always write the ROW number first, then the COLUMN number, to pinpoint the first letter of the word, plus the DIRECTION. In the finished puzzle grid, short words like 'in' and 'to' will often have been created all by themselves. If you find one of these and use it in place of the coordinates we have listed for a clue, that's no problem. You are the only one checking your answers and there may be several possible sets of coordinates for a word like 'in'.
TIP # 5: If you peek at the answer sheet before starting the puzzle you will immediately see the 'hidden word, and lose the challenge of solving that portion of the puzzle, so we suggest you print only the puzzle grid and clue sheets, read the narrative on the clue sheet, solve the puzzle as best you can, then look at the 'answer key'.
Website: WordPuzzlesOutsideTheBox.com Contact Us:TalkingPuzzles@gmail.com © Copyright March 2021 All Rights Reserved
Here’s What You Need to Know About Working The World’s 1st and only Talking Puzzles:
Your packet includes 16 sheets: 1 instruction sheet plus 3 sheets for each of the 5 puzzles (a puzzle grid, a clues sheet and an answer key). All of the 5 Answer keys will be at the end of the packet (in case you don't want to see the answers ahead of time), and you can print off individual pages as you choose and don’t necessarily need to print the entire packet.
You have never worked puzzles like these before, so please read all of the instructions 1st
Our TALKING puzzles generally contain 50 – 116 words/clues which may be single words or phrases, usually in the form of a story or narrative. It is our ‘rule of thumb’ to fill 98-100% of the 324 spaces in our 18 x 18 puzzles (with words from the clues sheet), and we usually squeeze narratives containing between 360-380 characters into those 324 spaces.
This is not an easy task to design, and many hours are put into each puzzle to create as much fun, interesting, educational and challenging content as possible. In some of the puzzles there may be a few “extra” words in the clue list that may not pertain to the theme, and you can choose to do that portion of the puzzle, or not.
Instructions: USING OUR UNIQUE ANSWER KEYS / COORDINATED GRIDS
Because these word-search puzzles contain so many correct clues, it can be very confusing to try to circle all of them in an answer key, so we have designed a special key. You’ll notice that all of our puzzle grids have numbers down the left side and across the top (co-ordinates). On your Clue sheet, however, you will see there are no co-ordinates, as that would give away the location (answers). The Answer sheets, however, have all the same clues listed with their co-ordinates (answers) so you can find the correct word or clue on the puzzle, when you need to. The ‘row’ numbers go down the left side of the puzzle, while the ‘column’ numbers go across the top from west to east. The first number listed will always be the row #. The second number will always be the column # ( i.e. 3-14 indicates row 3, column 14). That coordinate is where you will find the first letter of the clue, followed by the direction the clue goes – i.e., E, W, N, S, NW, NE, SE, and SW. Example: If a clue on the answer sheet says “Goat 5-9 NE” it means where row 5 (down the side), meets column 9 (across the top), you'll find the letter “G” and the remaining letters, ‘oat’ will go toward the North-East. So, like co-ordinates on a map, the first letter of your clue will be found where the Row # intersects with the Column #.
THE SCRAMBLED WORD FEATURE
Our unique and challenging Puzzles are not only word searches and narratives but most of them also contain hidden words to be unscrambled. You’ll see that most of our puzzle grids have 7, 8 or 9 ‘empty’ spaces. As you progress, these spaces will fill in, and when you have all the missing letters, you can unscramble them to form a 7, 8 or 9 letter word that is related to the theme of the puzzle in some way.
In a few puzzles, which we call 'Outside the Box' puzzles (labeled OB puzzles), one or even all of the missing letters are not part of the puzzle grid, but are actually located outside the grid. I.E. a word like ' house' may be missing either the 'h' or the 'e' because that letter is invisible, outside the box. The OB puzzles are more difficult, so depending on your age, ability, and desire, you can choose to solve this part of the puzzle, or not. Some puzzles may have a hidden word PLUS a letter or two outside the box, which are not part of the hidden word. You'll see . . .
Here are a few helpful tips:
TIP # 1: We strongly suggest you read through the whole puzzle narrative before starting the puzzle as it will make solving the puzzle a lot easier (you'll see what we mean).
TIP # 2: Some puzzlers find it helpful to write the navigational directions NW, N, NE, E, etc. on the edges of the grid before starting the puzzle.
TIP # 3: Many letters on the grid are used multiple times (possibly even up to 8 times) so it can get very messy and difficult to find additional words. Thus, if you write the answers on the clue sheet, you eliminate the need to circle or highlight words (and save money on highlighters).
TIP # 4: There may be duplicates of some words, such as ‘the,’ or ‘when’ in any puzzle. Any one of the duplicates are acceptable answers, as long as you don't use the same coordinates more than once, and you may need several of the same word (with different coordinates) to complete a puzzle. This is part of what makes these puzzles more challenging. BEWARE, however, of ‘words’ or ‘phrases’ on the puzzle that APPEAR to be the same, but are not. I.E., one clue might be ‘the house,’ another might be ‘by the house,’ while still another might be ‘house’ or ‘houses’. Be sure you have the ENTIRE clue before writing the coordinates on the clue sheet. Always write the ROW number first, then the COLUMN number, to pinpoint the first letter of the word, plus the DIRECTION. In the finished puzzle grid, short words like 'in' and 'to' will often have been created all by themselves. If you find one of these and use it in place of the coordinates we have listed for a clue, that's no problem. You are the only one checking your answers and there may be several possible sets of coordinates for a word like 'in'.
TIP # 5: If you peek at the answer sheet before starting the puzzle you will immediately see the 'hidden word, and lose the challenge of solving that portion of the puzzle, so we suggest you print only the puzzle grid and clue sheets, read the narrative on the clue sheet, solve the puzzle as best you can, then look at the 'answer key'.
Website: WordPuzzlesOutsideTheBox.com Contact Us:TalkingPuzzles@gmail.com © Copyright March 2021 All Rights Reserved
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