Pathfinder

A Pathfinder (aka Word Snake) challenges the solver to find a given list of words on a continuous path through a grid of letters, starting from the highlighted position and moving one letter at a time, horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally. Typically, the words to be found in the grid will have a theme and be listed in alphabetical order. However, for an extra level of challenge, the word list can be omitted, but this requires a suitable theme with a finite number of possibilities, such as ‘American states’ rather than the open-ended ‘things you might find in a shop’

We can add an extra element of fun, or use the puzzle for a competition, by adding a word to be found in the list that doesn’t appear in the grid. 

A popular Pathfinder variation that we compile for print uses a trail of unthemed words that are given crossword-style clues. The words on these trails may overlap by one or more letters, to give solvers a little extra help.