How to Use MVP Word Search for Windows

 

Object of the Game

The object of MVP Word Search for Windows is to find all the words in the word list in the diagram of letters in the shortest time possible.  The words can be found in any of the eight directions (right, left, up, down, or the four diagonals). There is a timer in the last pane of the status bar (on the bottom of the screen).

Choosing a Word List to Play

To start playing a game, you must first choose a word list to create the puzzle from.  From the Word List menu, choose Select.  From the list box, either double click on the word list you would like to play, or select the word list and click on the OK button.  Another way to select a puzzle is to choose one directly from the Word List menu.  Choose the puzzle you want.  See the section Word List Menu to find out how to choose which puzzles appear in the menu.

Playing the Game

Once you have selected a word list, and a puzzle is generated, you are ready to play.  You must find all the words in the word list in the puzzle.  To circle one of the words in the puzzle, click the left mouse button on the first letter, and drag without releasing to the last letter.  The word is circled as you drag.  Once the word you have found is circled, release the mouse button.  If the word is one from the list, it is circled in the puzzle and grayed out from the list.  Continue to do this until all the words in the list are circled.  Once the puzzle is solved, you can choose another one from the Word List menu.

Printing Puzzles

If you have a default printer set up for Windows, you can print out a puzzle to play later, or give to others.  From the File menu, choose the puzzle you want to print.  The puzzle should appear on the screen when you do this.  Now choose Print Puzzle from the File menu and the puzzle will be printed.

Configuration options

Difficulty Levels

MVP Word Search for Windows provides three difficulty levels.  EASY does not place words diagonally.  MEDIUM (which is the default) places words in all eight directions (including diagonals).  The HARD level is for those that may not feel challenged by the MEDIUM level.  Don't get too confident if you think you found a word, because on the HARD level, words that look a lot like the word you are looking for may appear in the puzzle.

To set the difficulty level, choose Difficulty from the Options menu.  Click on the difficulty level you want, and click on the OK button.  You must select a new puzzle for the change to become effective.The difficulty level for the current puzzle is always displayed in the second pane of the status bar at the bottom of the screen.

Word List Editor

You can create your own word lists with MVP Word Search for Windows.  To do this, select Editor from the Word List menu.  This will bring up the editor, from which you can add a new word list, or edit or delete an existing word list.

To add a new word list, click on the Add button.  This will bring up the word list editor with no words in it.  Click on the title entry field, and enter a title for the word list.  The title can be up to 30 characters long, including spaces.  This name is only used for referencing the word list, and to display above the puzzle during play.  It will not appear in the puzzle itself.  To add words to the list, click on the entry field near the center of the window, and type a word.  The word must be between three and fourteen characters, including spaces.  The spaces will not appear in the puzzle, only in the word list for readability.  The word must be composed of characters (A-Z) and spaces, or digits (0-9) and spaces.  All words in the list must either be words or numbers.  You can not mix them in the same list.  Therefore, to create a list of numbers, all you need to do is make the first one a number, and then all the remaining ones will need to be numbers.  Another limitation is that substrings are not allowed.  For example, if the word PLANET is in the word list, you cannot add the word INTERPLANETARY.  When the user saw PLANET in INTERPLANETARY, they would try to circle it, and get angry when it was not considered a word.  Once you have a word typed, either press the ENTER key on the keyboard, or click on the Add button.  Continue to do this until you have added all the words you want in the list.  The maximum number of words allowed in a list is 36.  If you make a mistake, or decide you want to remove a word, highlight that word in the list by clicking on it with the left mouse button.  Then click on the Delete button, and the word will be removed from the list.  When you are finished with the word list, click on the OK button.  Clicking on Cancel will discard any changed you made.

To edit an existing word list, click the mouse on the word list to edit, and click on the Edit button.  You can also double click on the word list you want to edit.  Follow the same steps in the previous paragraph to add or delete words.  You can also modify the title by clicking the mouse in the title entry field, and editing the value. To delete a word list, click on the word list, and then click on the Delete button.  You will be prompted if you really want to delete the list.  Click on Yes, and the word list will be deleted, and removed from the menu (if it was installed in the menu).

Scrambling Word Lists

For those who would like a greater challenge, MVP Word Search for Windows allows you to scramble the word list.  This means that the words in the word list are scrambled, but the words in the puzzle are the same as the original word.  You can either try to unscramble the word, and look for it in the puzzle, or look through the puzzle for words that look like they belong to the current title (for example, if the title is US Presidents, look for the name of a president in the puzzle, and circle it).

To scramble the word list, choose Scrambled List from the Options menu.  This will scramble the words for the current puzzle, along with all subsequent puzzles.  To turn scrambling off, click on the same menu item again.  A check is displayed next to the menu item when scrambling is on.

SCRAM is displayed in the third pane of the status bar at the bottom of the screen when scrambling is turned off.  The pane is blank if scrambling is turned off.

Word List Menu

The Word List menu can contain up to ten word lists.  This provides a way to quickly access your favorite word lists.  You can choose which word lists (up to ten) to have in the menu.  Choose Word List Menu from the Options menu.  To add word lists to the menu, select one or more word lists in the "available word lists" list box (on the left).  Click on the right arrow button and the word lists will be added.  To remove word lists from the menu, select one or more word lists from the "word lists in menu" list box, and click on the left arrow button.  When you have the word lists that you want in the menu, click on the OK button.

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