# Free word search and maze maker

Type your words and pick a level: the maker hides them in a grid of 8 to 15 letters a side, or draws a maze with exactly one way through. A solver checks every puzzle before you see it, and it prints or saves as SVG, with or without the answers, in English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese (Brazil), Italian and Dutch.

Last reviewed 30 October 2026. Web page: https://chapbook.ink/tools/word-search-and-maze-maker/

## The four levels

The levels are the age bands of a Chapbook activity pack, so a sheet made here is the one a pack for that reader prints.

| Level | Word search | Words | They run | Maze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easiest, ages 3–5 | 8 × 8 letters | 6 | across and down | 5 × 6 cells |
| Easy, ages 6–8 | 10 × 10 letters | 8 | across, down and diagonally | 9 × 11 cells |
| Harder, ages 9–12 | 12 × 12 letters | 10 | across, down, diagonally and backwards | 13 × 16 cells |
| Hardest, for adults | 15 × 15 letters | 14 | every way, backwards too | 20 × 24 cells |

## How a puzzle is made

- **Word search:** the longest words go in first, each where it crosses others if it can; the rest of the grid is filled from A to Z and the words' own letters, so no letter gives a word away. A word inside another (CAT in CATS) is left out, because it would be found twice.

- **Maze:** a seeded walk carves a perfect maze, with exactly one way between any two cells, a way in at the top and a way out at the bottom.

- **Checked:** a solver reads every word search back and must find each word exactly once, in any of the eight directions, where the answer key says; a maze must have exactly one way through, and the key must be it. A puzzle that fails is never shown.

- **Languages:** 4 levels in every language a Chapbook book can be written in; the grid keeps the language's own letters (Ñ in Spanish, Ä in German) and the instruction is printed in it.

It runs in your browser, on the same code Chapbook's activity packs use, and uploads nothing. It prints, or saves as SVG, with or without the answers.

## How it works

The maker runs the code Chapbook's activity packs use. A word search places the longest words first, crossing where it can, and fills the rest of the grid from A to Z and the words' own letters, so no letter gives a word away. A maze is carved by a seeded walk, which makes long winding corridors a child can follow with a pencil. New layout draws again from the same words.

Every puzzle is checked before you see it: each word must read exactly once in the grid, in any of the eight directions, and each maze must have one way through. The answer key comes from the same check.

## What it leaves out

Matching pages and crosswords, whose clues come from Chapbook's assistant, are made only in the app, as part of a pack. The maker makes one sheet at a time; a pack lays out a whole set, with its answers at the back.

## A brief to start from

> A free printable activity pack for a children's dental clinic: coloring pages of healthy habits, two word searches and a maze about brushing, for ages 6 to 8, given away to families from a book page.

Open it in Chapbook: https://chapbook.ink/start/?type=activity_pack&topic=A+free+printable+activity+pack+for+a+children%27s+dental+clinic%3A+coloring+pages+of+healthy+habits%2C+two+word+searches+and+a+maze+about+brushing%2C+for+ages+6+to+8%2C+given+away+to+families+from+a+book+page.&ref=tools-word-search-and-maze-maker

## Questions

### How many words can a word search hide?

6 in the easiest grid, for ages 3 to 5, running across and down, up to 14 in the hardest, for adults, running every way. Words that do not fit, or that sit inside another word, are left out and named.

### Is every puzzle solvable?

Yes. A solver reads each word search back and must find every word exactly once, where the answer key says, and each maze must have exactly one way through. A puzzle that fails is never shown.

### Can I make a word search in Spanish or German?

Yes, in English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese (Brazil), Italian and Dutch. The grid keeps the language's own letters, such as Ñ in Spanish and Ä in German, and prints the instruction in that language.

### Does the maker upload anything?

No. It makes the puzzle in your browser and prints or saves it from there. It costs nothing and asks for no account.

### What does Chapbook add?

A whole printable pack from one sentence: coloring pages, worksheets, word searches, mazes, matching pages and crosswords, the answers at the back, given away from a book page that collects the emails of the grown-ups who ask for it.