Everyone enjoys solving a really tricky puzzle, there are perhaps none so tricky and ultimately rewarding as word puzzles. There are many different kinds of word puzzles which people around the world enjoy taking on, and they are all super fun and also have a lot of great benefits. From keeping your mental faculties working properly to helping you to expand your vocabulary, regularly solving word puzzles can have a really positive impact on your life. 

In this article, we will explain some of the major benefits of solving word puzzles.

1. Make Learning More Fun

There have been so many pedagogical and psychological studies which have shown that everyone learns more easily and effectively when they are having a good time. Language learning is one of the most difficult disciplines and so any way to make it more interesting and exciting is always advantageous to students. Word puzzles are a great way to introduce students to new words or concepts. For young children especially, word searches, anagrams and simple crosswords are perfect for teaching without the students realizing they are in a lesson. 

2. Expand Your Vocabulary

When you are learning a new language, memorizing long lists of vocabulary is both difficult and boring. One of the best ways to expand your vocabulary in a more interesting way is to study new words through word puzzles. Completing a foreign language crossword is a great way to learn a new word and connect it to its meaning. As your grasp of the new language improves and you start to build your vocabulary you can level up to more difficult crosswords. Even in your own language, crossword puzzles are one of the best ways to expand your vocabulary and become more eloquent. There have been various scientific studies which have shown that finding words in a random jumble or word search creates an immediate memory of the words. With no reference points it can be difficult to remember the vocabulary of other languages but puzzles which require you to pick out the new words gets every part of your brain working so that the word is more likely to stick.

3. Keep Your Mind Sharp

As life expectancy has been increasing steadily over the last few decades, we have unfortunately also seen a rise in dementia and other aged related mental issues. Various studies have shown that regularly doing a word puzzle in your senior years helps to keep your mind sharp and may help to slow down the onset of dementia and other mental degeneration. Many older people like to do the weekly crossword puzzle in their newspaper as well as the Sudoku puzzle and other activities. Keeping the mind active slows mental stagnation and so it is always better to start young to prevent any debilitating conditions from developing.

4. Improve Your Scrabble Scores

Scrabble is an incredibly popular board game which has versions in many countries all over the world. The goal of Scrabble is to put out the best scoring word possible based on a set of random letters which each player pulls out of the bag. In order to win, you need to have a great vocabulary, and solving different kinds of word puzzles is one of the best ways to learn new words. Cryptic crosswords, particularly those in broadsheet papers, often introduce people to new, obscure words which can then help you to win more Scrabble matches. The best Scrabble players manage to make words when they seem to have the worst selection of letters and that is all down to their quick minds and extensive vocabulary.

5. Help Your Spelling

Being able to spell correctly is a very important skill which is necessary for so many things in life. Whether it is writing work emails or putting together a business plan, poor spelling can seriously affect other people’s perception of you so it is vital that even in adulthood, everyone keeps up with their spelling practice. This can be very tedious but solving different kinds of word puzzles is a great way to reinforce spelling knowledge without being bored and wasting a lot of precious time.

Solving word puzzles has so many excellent benefits. As well as being a lot of fun, they can also help to sharpen your mind and help to improve your spelling and vocabulary. With so many different kinds of word puzzles available, you are sure to find one which is both super fun and interesting. Whether you are a keen Scrabbler or love to challenge yourself with the crossword in your Sunday newspaper, there is so much fun to be had with words.

Where you can play puzzles and word games. 

There are a variety of games where you can play puzzles and word games, as well as sites that can help you improve your skills

• Phrazle is like Worlde, but you have to guess the phrase.

• Unscrambled Words helps you take given letters and figure out different word combinations, which is very useful for games like Scrabble.

• Im–a-puzzle is a jigsaw puzzle site, but you can play a trivia mode where you answer questions to unlock puzzle pieces.

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