Hidden in the grid below are eight, 7-letter words. Each word begins with the central S and you can move one letter in any direction to the next letter. All of the letters are used exactly once each. What are the words?
G
N
L
K
R
T
E
E
I
E
O
X
A
E
K
R
N
I
H
M
N
E
A
Y
S
E
A
P
R
E
P
P
A
W
O
N
E
A
G
U
E
O
R
N
E
S
A
D
E
Note: this puzzle is not interactive, and the letters cannot be clicked.
Hint
There are 3 P's, so there are 3 different ways to start the word.
Answer
960.
Reasoning
Given: P P P U U Z Z Z Z Z L L L L E S S.
The order of the Z's is important. For example, we could chose a red one and a green one, so the order they appear in the sign has to be taken into consideration.
There are:
3 different P's that could be chosen.
2 different U's that could be chosen.
5 different Z's that could be chosen.
4 different Z's that could be chosen, as one has already been chosen.
4 different L's that could be chosen.
1 E that could be chosen.
2 different S's that could be chosen.
So there are 3 x 2 x 5 x 4 x 4 x 1 x 2 = 960 different ways to make the sign.
Reasoning There are 62 squares of size 1 x 1. There are 41 squares of size 2 x 2. There are 18 squares of size 3 x 3. There are 6 squares of size 4 x 4. There is 1 square of size 5 x 5.
Giving a total of 62 + 41 + 18 + 6 + 1 = 128 squares.
