Printable Number Search (Free PDF)

A number search works the same way as a word search but trains a different kind of attention: there are only ten symbols in the grid, so you cannot skim for an unusual letter and have to scan properly. Fourteen numbers are hidden in a 12x12 or 15x15 grid of digits, running across, down, diagonally and backwards, and the list to find is printed under the puzzle in spaced figures.

The hard part of generating one is the filler. With only ten digits, a random fill will usually spell one of the target numbers again somewhere else by accident, which would make the key wrong. This generator counts every occurrence of every target in all eight directions and keeps adjusting the filler digits until each number appears exactly once, then checks the finished grid once more before drawing it. Palindromic numbers are left out, since they read the same in two directions.

Four and five digit numbers are both offered: four digits is the friendlier puzzle for a child learning to read numerals aloud, five digits is a slower scan for an adult. The grid prints large enough that the digits stay distinct at arm's length, which matters for a 6 and an 8 under a highlighter. Page two shows the same grid with each number traced in a pale band and set in bold, so a parent can check a sheet at a glance instead of searching it again. There is nothing to type into.