Word ladder game: play Wordward free
Change one letter at a time to turn START into TARGET, with every rung a real word. Today’s daily word puzzle and three practice ladders run on this page, free, with no sign-up. This is a gameplay preview: the Wordward app for iPhone and Android looks and sounds better.
Get Wordward on iPhone and Android. The ranked Daily, its leaderboard, your streak and the share grid go with it.
Keep going in the Wordward app. The ranked Daily, your streak and three practice ladders a day are free there, with no ads. One $4.99 unlock or the StackForge Play Pass adds unlimited practice and every Daily back to #1.
Today’s ladder is the same one the Wordward app deals for its Daily. Replay it as often as you like.
This is a gameplay preview, and browser play is unranked practice. The Wordward app looks and sounds better, with its full visuals, animation, sound and haptics. The ranked Daily, its leaderboard and your streak live in the Wordward app, which is free to start.
Keep playing on your phone: scan to get Wordward
- iPhone
- Android
Point your phone camera at the code for your phone.
This game sends nothing about your play anywhere. Your best step counts stay in this browser.
How to play this word ladder puzzle
- Tap the letter in your current word that you want to change. It lights up.
- Tap the new letter on the keyboard. If the word is real, it becomes your next rung.
- Keep going, one letter per rung, until your word is the TARGET at the bottom of the ladder.
Letters already in their final place light up in the target row, so you can see how close you are. A word that is not in Wordward’s list, or one already on your ladder, is turned away with a note and costs nothing. With a keyboard, type a letter to play it, use the arrow keys or 1 to 4 to pick which letter to change, and Backspace to undo.
Undo takes back your last rung and Restart goes back to START. Both are free to use, but every rung you play still counts toward a PERFECT, exactly as in the app.
Change one letter: tips for the short path
- Count the letters that are already right. Par can never be less than the letters still wrong.
- Vowels are the usual detour. Swapping one opens doors that consonants cannot.
- Sometimes you must break a letter that was already right to get round a dead end. The tougher days are built on that.
- Work backward too: which words are one letter away from the target?
More technique is in the Wordward word ladder guide.
Par, hints and grades
Every ladder ships with par: the shortest path, proven by searching every route when the puzzle is made. Match it on your first pass with no hint for a PERFECT ⭐. Match it after backing up, or with a hint, and it is PAR. One over is GREAT, two over is GOOD.
Each ladder has one hint, the same as the app’s free tier and its Daily. The first press shows which letter to change and how many rungs are left at par; press again and it plays that rung for you at no extra cost.
A daily word puzzle, the same one as the app
The Daily is generated from the UTC date, so everyone who plays it gets the same START, TARGET and par, and it is the same ladder the app deals for its Daily. A fresh one arrives at 00:00 UTC. Difficulty follows the week: gentle Monday to Wednesday, steady Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and tough on Saturday.
The three practice ladders are new each UTC day too, three because that is what the app’s free tier gives you. Your best step count on each is remembered on this device only. The result you can copy shows which letter changed on each rung, never the words you played, so it will not spoil the ladder for anyone.
What the Wordward app adds
The app keeps the ranked side: today’s Daily on a leaderboard, your streak, the Daily archive, achievements, sound and haptics, and the emoji share grid made for group chats. It is free to start with no ads, with an optional $4.99 Full Game Unlock or the StackForge Play Pass ($2.99/mo or $14.99/yr) for unlimited practice and practice hints, every Daily back to #1 and all board themes.
Word ladder questions
What is a word ladder puzzle?
A word ladder starts at one word and ends at another. On each step, or rung, you change exactly one letter, and every rung has to be a real word. Wordward uses four-letter words, so COLD becomes WARM by way of CORD, CARD and WARD.
How do I change one letter?
Tap the letter in your current word that you want to change, then tap its replacement on the keyboard below the ladder. If the new word is in Wordward's list it becomes your next rung. If it is not a word, or it is already on your ladder, the page says so and nothing is spent.
What is par, and what is a PERFECT?
Par is the length of the shortest ladder, proven by a search of every path when the puzzle is made. Match par on your first pass, without undoing and without a hint, for a PERFECT. Match it after backing up or with a hint and it is PAR; one over is GREAT, two over is GOOD.
Is today's ladder the same one as in the app?
Yes. The Daily here is generated by the same engine from the same date as the Daily in the Wordward app, so the start, target and par are identical, and a new one arrives at 00:00 UTC. A browser solve is never ranked; the ranked Daily, its leaderboard and your streak live in the app.
Which words count?
The same words the app accepts: a list of more than 5,800 four-letter English words. Start and target words come from a smaller list of familiar words, so the ends of the ladder are always words you know.
Do I need an account or an install?
Neither. The puzzle runs in this page, you can replay it as often as you like, and nothing about your play is sent anywhere. Your best step counts are kept only in this browser.
Are there ads?
No. The browser puzzle is free with no ads, and so is the Wordward app's free tier: the daily ladder, three practice ladders a day and one hint per puzzle. An optional $4.99 Full Game Unlock or the StackForge Play Pass adds unlimited practice, the full Daily archive and more.