How to play
Find a word, turn it around, take it somewhere new. Each edition has three stages, in this order.
- Find: a word search on one theme, ten words in a ten-by-ten grid.
- Turn: ten anagrams of five to eight letters.
- Climb: a word ladder from one word to another. Optional.
Word Search
Words can run backwards
In the edition grid and on Hard, words run in all eight directions. Here TIDE reads right to left along the second row. Drag either way along it, or tap the T and then the E: both select the same word.
Every listed word is there exactly once
SHELL runs down the first column. Before a grid is published we scan every row, column and diagonal in both directions, so a listed word never turns up a second time somewhere else. A word read forwards or backwards over the same letters is the same find.
Anagrams
Any word that uses every letter counts
The letters E I L N S T make LISTEN, SILENT, ENLIST, INLETS and more. Whichever real word you find with all six letters scores the same: 10 points a letter. After you solve one, the round shows the other answers too.
Use every letter, repeats included
A word must use every tile, so BALLOON needs both Ls and both Os. A hint places the next letter for you, marked in coral and underlined; hint letters score nothing. Skipping a word scores nothing and shows the answer.
Word Ladder
Change one letter per step
COLD to WARM takes 4 steps: COLD, CORD, CARD, WARD, WARM. Each step changes exactly one letter in place; adding or removing a letter is not allowed. Par is the shortest ladder over every word we accept, worked out by a breadth-first search, so no route can beat it.
Any real route counts, and loops fall away
You can take any route of real words, including less familiar ones; a longer ladder still finishes, it just misses par. If you step back onto a word already in your ladder, the loop between them is struck out. The hint always starts from your current word and points to a shortest way on.
Try it: two scrambles with more than one answer
This is the real Anagrams game with a two-word round. Find any answer, then look at the others it shows you.
Questions
What is in an edition?
A themed word search (Find), a round of ten anagrams (Turn) and a word ladder (Climb), with a short note from the editors. Finishing Find and Turn completes the edition; the ladder is a bonus.
When does a new edition appear?
Every day at 00:00 UTC. The page shows when that is in your own time.
How does the streak work?
A day counts when you finish that day's Find and Turn on the day. If you started before midnight UTC, you have two more hours to finish. Archive editions and practice never change your streak.
Do hints cost anything?
Word Search hints show where a word starts and are counted in your result. Anagram hint letters score nothing. Ladder hints are counted. Nothing else changes.
Is there a timer?
No. Scores never depend on time.
Read the word policy for which words we accept and why.