Find your way, one letter at a time.

The next word does not always look closer to the finish. Sometimes that is what makes it useful.

The rules

Turn the starting word into the target. Replace exactly one letter each move, leaving all other letters in their positions. Every intermediate word must be accepted by the game dictionary. You cannot swap, rearrange, add, or remove letters.

Type the whole word and press Enter or Add word. Uppercase and lowercase are treated alike. A rejected word does not cost a move. You may revisit a word, but the extra step counts.

A small example

CAT → COT → COG → DOG

This three-letter teaching example takes three moves, not four: we count the changes between words. First A becomes O, then T becomes G, then C becomes D. In the game you will use four or five letters, but the same rule applies.

Three ways to find a route

Notice the letters that differ

Compare the words position by position. Each differing position needs at least one change, so that count is a lower bound on the number of moves. It is not a promise: the dictionary may force you to take a longer way round.

Look for words with several neighbours

If a word offers only one useful change, try another branch. Vowel changes and common endings can open several possibilities. Keep the letters in place: changing an ending still has to happen one letter at a time.

Think backwards from the target

On paper or in your head, look for a word one letter away from the destination. It can be easier to connect your chain to that word than to the target directly. The input box still expects a move from the last word you actually played.

Detours are allowed

You may need to change a letter that already matches the target, then change it back later. Do not judge a move only by how many letters it shares with the destination. The available words determine which paths connect.

Undo removes the last step. Restart clears the unfinished chain after confirmation. Both preserve the hints you have used, and a completed Daily puzzle stays completed.

What a hint tells you

A hint reveals a valid next word on a shortest route from your current position. It never submits the word for you. Reopening the same hint does not count again, but asking from a new position does. A hint from a detour may lead back through a word you have already visited.

At the finish, you can compare your moves with the puzzle’s minimum and reveal one shortest solution. There may be several equally short answers. Sharing your result leaves out the words so other players can find their own route.

When a word is rejected

Check its length and the number of letters changed first. If both are right, the word may be missing from the bundled dictionary. UK and US spellings are included, but specialist vocabulary and newer words may not be. Send a dictionary suggestion with the word and the puzzle difficulty.