你的搜索算法是否会随着搜索的继续而不断减少单词列表?

例如，在上面的搜索中，你的单词只能以13个字母开头(有效地减少了一半的开头字母)。

当你添加更多的字母排列时，它会进一步减少可用的单词集，减少必要的搜索。

我会从这里开始。

我在Java上的尝试。读取文件和构建trie大约需要2秒，解决谜题大约需要50毫秒。我用了问题中链接的字典(里面有几个我不知道在英语中存在的单词，比如fae, ima)

0 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.util.Util  - Reading the dictionary
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.util.Util  - Finish reading the dictionary
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: FAM
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: FAME
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: FAMBLE
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: FAE
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: IMA
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: ELI
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: ELM
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: ELB
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AXIL
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AXILE
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AXLE
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AMI
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AMIL
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AMLI
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AME
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AMBLE
2234 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AMBO
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AES
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AWL
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AWE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AWEST
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AWA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: MIX
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: MIL
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: MILE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: MILO
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: MAX
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: MAE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: MAW
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: MEW
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: MEWL
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: MES
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: MESA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: MWA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: MWA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: LIE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: LIM
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: LIMA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: LIMAX
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: LIME
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: LIMES
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: LIMB
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: LIMBO
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: LIMBU
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: LEI
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: LEO
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: LOB
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: LOX
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: OIME
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: OIL
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: OLE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: OLM
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: EMIL
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: EMBOLE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: EMBOX
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: EAST
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WAF
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WAX
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WAME
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WAMBLE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WAE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WEA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WEAM
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WEM
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WEA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WES
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WEST
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WAE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WAS
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WASE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: WAST
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: BLEO
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: BLO
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: BOIL
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: BOLE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: BUT
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AES
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AWA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AWL
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AWE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AWEST
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: ASE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: ASEM
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: AST
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: SEA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: SEAX
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: SEAM
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: SEMI
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: SEMBLE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: SEW
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: SEA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: SWA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: SWAM
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: SWAMI
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: SWA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: SAW
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: SAWT
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: STU
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: STUB
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: TWA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: TWAE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: TWA
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: TWAE
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: TWAS
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: TUB
2250 [main] INFO gineer.bogglesolver.Solver  - Found: TUX

源代码由6个类组成。我将把它们贴在下面(如果这不是StackOverflow的正确做法，请告诉我)。

gineer.bogglesolver.Main

package gineer.bogglesolver;

import org.apache.log4j.BasicConfigurator;
import org.apache.log4j.Logger;

public class Main
{
    private final static Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(Main.class);

    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        BasicConfigurator.configure();

        Solver solver = new Solver(4,
                        "FXIE" +
                        "AMLO" +
                        "EWBX" +
                        "ASTU");
        solver.solve();

    }
}

gineer.bogglesolver.Solver

package gineer.bogglesolver;

import gineer.bogglesolver.trie.Trie;
import gineer.bogglesolver.util.Constants;
import gineer.bogglesolver.util.Util;
import org.apache.log4j.Logger;

public class Solver
{
    private char[] puzzle;
    private int maxSize;

    private boolean[] used;
    private StringBuilder stringSoFar;

    private boolean[][] matrix;
    private Trie trie;

    private final static Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(Solver.class);

    public Solver(int size, String puzzle)
    {
        trie = Util.getTrie(size);
        matrix = Util.connectivityMatrix(size);

        maxSize = size * size;
        stringSoFar = new StringBuilder(maxSize);
        used = new boolean[maxSize];

        if (puzzle.length() == maxSize)
        {
            this.puzzle = puzzle.toCharArray();
        }
        else
        {
            logger.error("The puzzle size does not match the size specified: " + puzzle.length());
            this.puzzle = puzzle.substring(0, maxSize).toCharArray();
        }
    }

    public void solve()
    {
        for (int i = 0; i < maxSize; i++)
        {
            traverseAt(i);
        }
    }

    private void traverseAt(int origin)
    {
        stringSoFar.append(puzzle[origin]);
        used[origin] = true;

        //Check if we have a valid word
        if ((stringSoFar.length() >= Constants.MINIMUM_WORD_LENGTH) && (trie.containKey(stringSoFar.toString())))
        {
            logger.info("Found: " + stringSoFar.toString());
        }

        //Find where to go next
        for (int destination = 0; destination < maxSize; destination++)
        {
            if (matrix[origin][destination] && !used[destination] && trie.containPrefix(stringSoFar.toString() + puzzle[destination]))
            {
                traverseAt(destination);
            }
        }

        used[origin] = false;
        stringSoFar.deleteCharAt(stringSoFar.length() - 1);
    }

}

gineer.bogglesolver.trie.Node

package gineer.bogglesolver.trie;

import gineer.bogglesolver.util.Constants;

class Node
{
    Node[] children;
    boolean isKey;

    public Node()
    {
        isKey = false;
        children = new Node[Constants.NUMBER_LETTERS_IN_ALPHABET];
    }

    public Node(boolean key)
    {
        isKey = key;
        children = new Node[Constants.NUMBER_LETTERS_IN_ALPHABET];
    }

    /**
     Method to insert a string to Node and its children

     @param key the string to insert (the string is assumed to be uppercase)
     @return true if the node or one of its children is changed, false otherwise
     */
    public boolean insert(String key)
    {
        //If the key is empty, this node is a key
        if (key.length() == 0)
        {
            if (isKey)
                return false;
            else
            {
                isKey = true;
                return true;
            }
        }
        else
        {//otherwise, insert in one of its child

            int childNodePosition = key.charAt(0) - Constants.LETTER_A;
            if (children[childNodePosition] == null)
            {
                children[childNodePosition] = new Node();
                children[childNodePosition].insert(key.substring(1));
                return true;
            }
            else
            {
                return children[childNodePosition].insert(key.substring(1));
            }
        }
    }

    /**
     Returns whether key is a valid prefix for certain key in this trie.
     For example: if key "hello" is in this trie, tests with all prefixes "hel", "hell", "hello" return true

     @param prefix the prefix to check
     @return true if the prefix is valid, false otherwise
     */
    public boolean containPrefix(String prefix)
    {
        //If the prefix is empty, return true
        if (prefix.length() == 0)
        {
            return true;
        }
        else
        {//otherwise, check in one of its child
            int childNodePosition = prefix.charAt(0) - Constants.LETTER_A;
            return children[childNodePosition] != null && children[childNodePosition].containPrefix(prefix.substring(1));
        }
    }

    /**
     Returns whether key is a valid key in this trie.
     For example: if key "hello" is in this trie, tests with all prefixes "hel", "hell" return false

     @param key the key to check
     @return true if the key is valid, false otherwise
     */
    public boolean containKey(String key)
    {
        //If the prefix is empty, return true
        if (key.length() == 0)
        {
            return isKey;
        }
        else
        {//otherwise, check in one of its child
            int childNodePosition = key.charAt(0) - Constants.LETTER_A;
            return children[childNodePosition] != null && children[childNodePosition].containKey(key.substring(1));
        }
    }

    public boolean isKey()
    {
        return isKey;
    }

    public void setKey(boolean key)
    {
        isKey = key;
    }
}

gineer.bogglesolver.trie.Trie

package gineer.bogglesolver.trie;

public class Trie
{
    Node root;

    public Trie()
    {
        this.root = new Node();
    }

    /**
     Method to insert a string to Node and its children

     @param key the string to insert (the string is assumed to be uppercase)
     @return true if the node or one of its children is changed, false otherwise
     */
    public boolean insert(String key)
    {
        return root.insert(key.toUpperCase());
    }

    /**
     Returns whether key is a valid prefix for certain key in this trie.
     For example: if key "hello" is in this trie, tests with all prefixes "hel", "hell", "hello" return true

     @param prefix the prefix to check
     @return true if the prefix is valid, false otherwise
     */
    public boolean containPrefix(String prefix)
    {
        return root.containPrefix(prefix.toUpperCase());
    }

    /**
     Returns whether key is a valid key in this trie.
     For example: if key "hello" is in this trie, tests with all prefixes "hel", "hell" return false

     @param key the key to check
     @return true if the key is valid, false otherwise
     */
    public boolean containKey(String key)
    {
        return root.containKey(key.toUpperCase());
    }


}

gineer.bogglesolver.util.Constants

package gineer.bogglesolver.util;

public class Constants
{

    public static final int NUMBER_LETTERS_IN_ALPHABET = 26;
    public static final char LETTER_A = 'A';
    public static final int MINIMUM_WORD_LENGTH = 3;
    public static final int DEFAULT_PUZZLE_SIZE = 4;
}

gineer.bogglesolver.util.Util

package gineer.bogglesolver.util;

import gineer.bogglesolver.trie.Trie;
import org.apache.log4j.Logger;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.util.Scanner;

public class Util
{
    private final static Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(Util.class);
    private static Trie trie;
    private static int size = Constants.DEFAULT_PUZZLE_SIZE;

    /**
     Returns the trie built from the dictionary.  The size is used to eliminate words that are too long.

     @param size the size of puzzle.  The maximum lenght of words in the returned trie is (size * size)
     @return the trie that can be used for puzzle of that size
     */
    public static Trie getTrie(int size)
    {
        if ((trie != null) && size == Util.size)
            return trie;

        trie = new Trie();
        Util.size = size;

        logger.info("Reading the dictionary");
        final File file = new File("dictionary.txt");
        try
        {
            Scanner scanner = new Scanner(file);
            final int maxSize = size * size;
            while (scanner.hasNext())
            {
                String line = scanner.nextLine().replaceAll("[^\\p{Alpha}]", "");

                if (line.length() <= maxSize)
                    trie.insert(line);
            }
        }
        catch (FileNotFoundException e)
        {
            logger.error("Cannot open file", e);
        }

        logger.info("Finish reading the dictionary");
        return trie;
    }

    static boolean[] connectivityRow(int x, int y, int size)
    {
        boolean[] squares = new boolean[size * size];
        for (int offsetX = -1; offsetX <= 1; offsetX++)
        {
            for (int offsetY = -1; offsetY <= 1; offsetY++)
            {
                final int calX = x + offsetX;
                final int calY = y + offsetY;
                if ((calX >= 0) && (calX < size) && (calY >= 0) && (calY < size))
                    squares[calY * size + calX] = true;
            }
        }

        squares[y * size + x] = false;//the current x, y is false

        return squares;
    }

    /**
     Returns the matrix of connectivity between two points.  Point i can go to point j iff matrix[i][j] is true
     Square (x, y) is equivalent to point (size * y + x).  For example, square (1,1) is point 5 in a puzzle of size 4

     @param size the size of the puzzle
     @return the connectivity matrix
     */
    public static boolean[][] connectivityMatrix(int size)
    {
        boolean[][] matrix = new boolean[size * size][];
        for (int x = 0; x < size; x++)
        {
            for (int y = 0; y < size; y++)
            {
                matrix[y * size + x] = connectivityRow(x, y, size);
            }
        }
        return matrix;
    }
}

首先，阅读c#语言设计师如何解决一个相关问题: http://blogs.msdn.com/ericlippert/archive/2009/02/04/a-nasality-talisman-for-the-sultana-analyst.aspx。

像他一样，您可以从字典开始，并通过从字母排序的字母数组到可以根据这些字母拼写的单词列表创建字典来规范化单词。

接下来，开始从黑板上创建可能的单词并查找它们。我怀疑这将让你走得很远，但肯定有更多的技巧可以加快速度。

如何简单的排序和使用字典中的二进制搜索?

在0.35秒内返回整个列表，并可以进一步优化(例如删除含有未使用字母的单词等)。

from bisect import bisect_left

f = open("dict.txt")
D.extend([line.strip() for line in f.readlines()])
D = sorted(D)

def neibs(M,x,y):
    n = len(M)
    for i in xrange(-1,2):
        for j in xrange(-1,2):
            if (i == 0 and j == 0) or (x + i < 0 or x + i >= n or y + j < 0 or y + j >= n):
                continue
            yield (x + i, y + j)

def findWords(M,D,x,y,prefix):
    prefix = prefix + M[x][y]

    # find word in dict by binary search
    found = bisect_left(D,prefix)

    # if found then yield
    if D[found] == prefix: 
        yield prefix

    # if what we found is not even a prefix then return
    # (there is no point in going further)
    if len(D[found]) < len(prefix) or D[found][:len(prefix)] != prefix:
        return

    # recourse
    for neib in neibs(M,x,y):
        for word in findWords(M,D,neib[0], neib[1], prefix):
            yield word

def solve(M,D):
    # check each starting point
    for x in xrange(0,len(M)):
        for y in xrange(0,len(M)):
            for word in findWords(M,D,x,y,""):
                yield word

grid = "fxie amlo ewbx astu".split()
print [x for x in solve(grid,D)]

我也用Java解决了这个问题。我的实现有269行，非常容易使用。首先，您需要创建Boggler类的一个新实例，然后用网格作为参数调用solve函数。在我的电脑上加载5万个单词的字典大约需要100毫秒，它在大约10-20毫秒内找到单词。找到的单词存储在一个数组列表中，即foundWords。

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.net.URISyntaxException;
import java.net.URL;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Comparator;

public class Boggler {
    private ArrayList<String> words = new ArrayList<String>();      
    private ArrayList<String> roundWords = new ArrayList<String>(); 
    private ArrayList<Word> foundWords = new ArrayList<Word>();     
    private char[][] letterGrid = new char[4][4];                   
    private String letters;                                         

    public Boggler() throws FileNotFoundException, IOException, URISyntaxException {
        long startTime = System.currentTimeMillis();

        URL path = GUI.class.getResource("words.txt");
        BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(new FileInputStream(new File(path.toURI()).getAbsolutePath()), "iso-8859-1"));
        String line;
        while((line = br.readLine()) != null) {
            if(line.length() < 3 || line.length() > 10) {
                continue;
            }

            this.words.add(line);
        }
    }

    public ArrayList<Word> getWords() {
        return this.foundWords;
    }

    public void solve(String letters) {
        this.letters = "";
        this.foundWords = new ArrayList<Word>();

        for(int i = 0; i < letters.length(); i++) {
            if(!this.letters.contains(letters.substring(i, i + 1))) {
                this.letters += letters.substring(i, i + 1);
            }
        }

        for(int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
            for(int j = 0; j < 4; j++) {
                this.letterGrid[i][j] = letters.charAt(i * 4 + j);
            }
        }

        System.out.println(Arrays.deepToString(this.letterGrid));               

        this.roundWords = new ArrayList<String>();      
        String pattern = "[" + this.letters + "]+";     

        for(int i = 0; i < this.words.size(); i++) {

            if(this.words.get(i).matches(pattern)) {
                this.roundWords.add(this.words.get(i));
            }
        }

        for(int i = 0; i < this.roundWords.size(); i++) {
            Word word = checkForWord(this.roundWords.get(i));

            if(word != null) {
                System.out.println(word);
                this.foundWords.add(word);
            }
        }       
    }

    private Word checkForWord(String word) {
        char initial = word.charAt(0);
        ArrayList<LetterCoord> startPoints = new ArrayList<LetterCoord>();

        int x = 0;  
        int y = 0;
        for(char[] row: this.letterGrid) {
            x = 0;

            for(char letter: row) {
                if(initial == letter) {
                    startPoints.add(new LetterCoord(x, y));
                }

                x++;
            }

            y++;
        }

        ArrayList<LetterCoord> letterCoords = null;
        for(int initialTry = 0; initialTry < startPoints.size(); initialTry++) {
            letterCoords = new ArrayList<LetterCoord>();    

            x = startPoints.get(initialTry).getX(); 
            y = startPoints.get(initialTry).getY();

            LetterCoord initialCoord = new LetterCoord(x, y);
            letterCoords.add(initialCoord);

            letterLoop: for(int letterIndex = 1; letterIndex < word.length(); letterIndex++) {
                LetterCoord lastCoord = letterCoords.get(letterCoords.size() - 1);  
                char currentChar = word.charAt(letterIndex);                        

                ArrayList<LetterCoord> letterLocations = getNeighbours(currentChar, lastCoord.getX(), lastCoord.getY());

                if(letterLocations == null) {
                    return null;    
                }       

                for(int foundIndex = 0; foundIndex < letterLocations.size(); foundIndex++) {
                    if(letterIndex != word.length() - 1 && true == false) {
                        char nextChar = word.charAt(letterIndex + 1);
                        int lastX = letterCoords.get(letterCoords.size() - 1).getX();
                        int lastY = letterCoords.get(letterCoords.size() - 1).getY();

                        ArrayList<LetterCoord> possibleIndex = getNeighbours(nextChar, lastX, lastY);
                        if(possibleIndex != null) {
                            if(!letterCoords.contains(letterLocations.get(foundIndex))) {
                                letterCoords.add(letterLocations.get(foundIndex));
                            }
                            continue letterLoop;
                        } else {
                            return null;
                        }
                    } else {
                        if(!letterCoords.contains(letterLocations.get(foundIndex))) {
                            letterCoords.add(letterLocations.get(foundIndex));

                            continue letterLoop;
                        }
                    }
                }
            }

            if(letterCoords != null) {
                if(letterCoords.size() == word.length()) {
                    Word w = new Word(word);
                    w.addList(letterCoords);
                    return w;
                } else {
                    return null;
                }
            }
        }

        if(letterCoords != null) {
            Word foundWord = new Word(word);
            foundWord.addList(letterCoords);

            return foundWord;
        }

        return null;
    }

    public ArrayList<LetterCoord> getNeighbours(char letterToSearch, int x, int y) {
        ArrayList<LetterCoord> neighbours = new ArrayList<LetterCoord>();

        for(int _y = y - 1; _y <= y + 1; _y++) {
            for(int _x = x - 1; _x <= x + 1; _x++) {
                if(_x < 0 || _y < 0 || (_x == x && _y == y) || _y > 3 || _x > 3) {
                    continue;
                }

                if(this.letterGrid[_y][_x] == letterToSearch && !neighbours.contains(new LetterCoord(_x, _y))) {
                    neighbours.add(new LetterCoord(_x, _y));
                }
            }
        }

        if(neighbours.isEmpty()) {
            return null;
        } else {
            return neighbours;
        }
    }
}

class Word {
    private String word;    
    private ArrayList<LetterCoord> letterCoords = new ArrayList<LetterCoord>();

    public Word(String word) {
        this.word = word;
    }

    public boolean addCoords(int x, int y) {
        LetterCoord lc = new LetterCoord(x, y);

        if(!this.letterCoords.contains(lc)) {
            this.letterCoords.add(lc);

            return true;
        }

        return false;
    }

    public void addList(ArrayList<LetterCoord> letterCoords) {
        this.letterCoords = letterCoords;
    } 

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        String outputString = this.word + " ";
        for(int i = 0; i < letterCoords.size(); i++) {
            outputString += "(" + letterCoords.get(i).getX() + ", " + letterCoords.get(i).getY() + ") ";
        }

        return outputString;
    }

    public String getWord() {
        return this.word;
    }

    public ArrayList<LetterCoord> getList() {
        return this.letterCoords;
    }
}

class LetterCoord extends ArrayList {
    private int x;          
    private int y;          

    public LetterCoord(int x, int y) {
        this.x = x;
        this.y = y;
    }

    public int getX() {
        return this.x;
    }

    public int getY() {
        return this.y;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean equals(Object o) {
        if(!(o instanceof LetterCoord)) {
            return false;
        }

        LetterCoord lc = (LetterCoord) o;

        if(this.x == lc.getX() &&
                this.y == lc.getY()) {
            return true;
        }

        return false;
    }

    @Override
    public int hashCode() {
        int hash = 7;
        hash = 29 * hash + this.x;
        hash = 24 * hash + this.y;
        return hash;
    }
}

我意识到这个问题的时间来了又去了，但由于我自己正在研究一个求解器，并在谷歌搜索时偶然发现了这个，我想我应该发布一个参考，因为它似乎与其他一些问题有点不同。

我选择在游戏棋盘上使用平面数组，并从棋盘上的每个字母进行递归搜索，从有效邻居遍历到有效邻居，如果索引中的有效前缀是当前字母列表，则扩展搜索。而遍历当前单词的概念是进入板的索引列表，而不是组成单词的字母。在检查索引时，将索引转换为字母并完成检查。

索引是一个蛮力字典，有点像trie，但允许对索引进行python查询。如果单词'cat'和'cater'在列表中，你会在字典中看到:

   d = { 'c': ['cat','cater'],
     'ca': ['cat','cater'],
     'cat': ['cat','cater'],
     'cate': ['cater'],
     'cater': ['cater'],
   }

因此，如果current_word是'ca'，您就知道它是一个有效的前缀，因为'ca'在d中返回True(因此继续遍历板)。如果current_word是'cat'，那么你知道它是一个有效的单词，因为它是一个有效的前缀，并且d['cat']中的'cat'也返回True。

如果感觉这允许一些可读的代码，似乎不是太慢。像其他人一样，这个系统的费用是读取/构建索引。解这个板子相当麻烦。

代码在http://gist.github.com/268079。它是故意垂直和幼稚的，有很多明确的有效性检查，因为我想理解问题，而不是用一堆魔法或晦涩难懂的东西把它弄得乱七八糟。