ISO tips to get better

[Likeitlots]

Start with easier ones to build confidence, then work your way up. Look for patterns and common solutions, and don’t stress if you get stuck.

[oddcouple]

Question re puzzle layout: Do the puzzle layouts stay exactly the same each time you play it? For example, the categories is trees. Are the letters each time you come upon that puzzle exactly the same places? Is it possible to memorize positions of words if it is?

[Heidi rocks 4life]

Also another tip is to look from top to bottom searching for the beginning or ending letter. If you find it go in all directions and it really helps just a tip.

[Heidi rocks 4life]

You waste time looking for one word at a time. I try to focus on two words from the list at once. This saves seconds looking back and forth constantly. You observe the same areas of the puzzle for two words instead of only one word. It took a while to get used to it, but once I got the hang of it, I was able to finish puzzles reliably before the timer was out.

Sometimes if you picture the word in your head, it's easier to match the image in your brain with the word in the puzzle.

Get confident enough to be present as you're examining the puzzle. Try to be aware of the puzzle to find words you're not focusing on.

awesome tip thx

[Pinktommorow]

You waste time looking for one word at a time. I try to focus on two words from the list at once. This saves seconds looking back and forth constantly. You observe the same areas of the puzzle for two words instead of only one word. It took a while to get used to it, but once I got the hang of it, I was able to finish puzzles reliably before the timer was out.

Sometimes if you picture the word in your head, it's easier to match the image in your brain with the word in the puzzle.

Get confident enough to be present as you're examining the puzzle. Try to be aware of the puzzle to find words you're not focusing on.

[Xerox1919]

I don't know. Just practice, a lot. Get your mind and eyes used to moving around quickly and scanning an area efficiently. One mistake a lot of people make is trying to find the first letter of the word to start with. So don't do that. If you try to find something in the middle of the word you have twice as many chances to identify a neighboring letter, and also the letter you want won't be hiding against the edge. I usually go with either the first vowel in the word, or a letter that's repeated twice in a row. Also, don't bother trying to find the "rare letter" as a starting point, like a V or Z. Most of those are hard to find in the grid, and most puzzle-making programs are smart enough to duplicate those letters anyway when they know a word uses them. I find that I can identify a common O or E much faster than anything else.

But also, if you want to win the month trophies on here, scoring high on each puzzle doesn't matter much at all. The real secret is just playing constantly, for an absurd number of hours. Just brute force those total points.

[#ICANSOLVEPUZZLES]

do ppl who score high have tips to get better?