Word Ladder
Past dailiesTurn the start word into the goal word by changing one letter at a time. Every step has to be a real word. Can you match par?
How to play Word Ladder
How to play
Tap a letter of your current word to choose it, then tap a new letter on the keyboard. If the result is a real word, it becomes the next rung of your ladder. On a computer you can just type: the arrow keys move between letters.
Par
Par is the fewest steps the ladder can possibly take, worked out over every word we accept. Reach the goal in par and you have a perfect ladder. Longer ladders count too.
Tips
Look at which letters the start and goal already share and keep them. Vowels are the usual stepping stones: when you are stuck, try changing the vowel first. If you step back onto an earlier word, the loop is simply removed.
Levels and daily
Pick three, four or five letter words, or the long ladder for four letter words that need six steps or more. The daily ladder is the same for everyone.
Questions
Who invented word ladders?
Lewis Carroll. He published them in 1877 as a puzzle called Doublets, where you link two words such as HEAD and TAIL by changing one letter at a time. They are also called word golf, laddergrams or word links.
Is par really the shortest possible ladder?
Yes. Every puzzle is checked with a breadth-first search over the full list of accepted words, so no ladder can be shorter than par. The start and goal are always everyday words.
Which words are allowed?
Any real English word of the right length from our accepted list, including plurals and less common words. Names, abbreviations and offensive words are not allowed. British and American spellings both count.
How does the hint work?
It searches from your current word for the shortest way to the goal and tells you which letter to change next, preferring the most familiar word when there is a choice. It also says how many steps are left from there.
Where do the words come from?
Word lists: SCOWL and ENABLE. Start and goal words come from the common part of SCOWL, and we leave out words that are offensive or upsetting.