Word ladder
COLD to WARM, one letter at a time, every rung a word. Which word is the next rung on a shortest ladder? Ladders grow longer.
How it plays
Change one letter at a time; every step must be a word. You are shown the ends and asked for the next rung on a shortest ladder — the other options are words that lead away or round the long way.
Shortest ladders are found by searching every word in the game's list, so the right rung is a fact about that list. Levels lengthen the ladder.
Keys
Space starts and skips ahead · 1–9 pick · Enter submits · Esc stops. On a phone, tap.
What it trains
This practises searching letter changes ahead. It is practice at this, nothing more.
Learn
How to get better at word ladder: the method, the techniques, what each new level asks of you, and the traps the wrong answers are made of.
Your approach to each question
- Compare the two ends letter by letter and count the places that differ.
- If the steps equal that count, every rung must change a letter to the target’s letter in that place. Pick the option that does — then check the next rung exists.
- If the steps are more than that count, the ladder takes a detour: some letter becomes a stepping-stone letter before it reaches its target. Look for the option that opens that route.
- Work backwards too: think of words one step from the end word, and ask which option leads towards one of them.
Techniques and tricks
Count the differing letters
The number of places where the two ends differ is the fewest steps any ladder can take. When the steps match it, each rung fixes one letter.
e.g. BLOW → FLEW differs in two places, in two steps: FLOW (B → F) is the rung, then FLEW.
Meet in the middle
Think of words one change from the end word, then look for an option that is one step from one of those.
e.g. LOST → ROSE in two: LOSE is one step from ROSE, and one step from LOST.
Plan the detour
When the ladder is longer than the letter difference, find which letter needs a stepping stone, often a vowel or an R that lets the next words exist.
e.g. COLD → PAST in five, though all four letters differ: COLD → CORD → CARD → CART → CAST → PAST. The R is the stepping stone.
Look two rungs ahead
Every option is a word one letter from the start, so the first rung alone tells you nothing. For each option, find the word after it that gets closer.
e.g. CROW → FLEW in four: GROW leads to GLOW, FLOW, FLEW. CREW already ends in EW, but is five steps from FLEW.
As the levels climb
- Ladders start at two steps. Here the two ends differ in exactly two places, so the rung that sets one letter to the target is right.
- At three and four steps a ladder is often still letter for letter, but sometimes needs a detour — count the differing letters each time to know which kind you face.
- At five and six steps, the top, a detour is certain: four-letter words differ in at most four places. Plan from both ends and look two rungs ahead.
- The clock is twelve seconds plus three a step, so longer ladders give you time to plan; use it to walk the whole ladder in your head.
Traps to avoid
- The greedy rung. An option that already matches the target in one more place can lead nowhere. REST → WEAK in four: WEST looks closer, but is four steps away; BEST is the rung (BEST → BEAT → BEAK → WEAK).
- The long way round. Some options are on a ladder, just not a shortest one: from CORD to PAST in four, CORE is still four steps from PAST after you take it.
- Judging by the first rung. Every option is a real word one letter from the start, so all look fine. The difference is only in what comes after.
How to practise
- Lower “Options shown” to 2 while you learn to plan detours; raise it to 5 to face more dead ends at once.
- Before you choose, say a whole ladder to the end. If you cannot finish it, the option you started with is suspect.
- After a miss, read the ladder in the working and the step counts for each wrong option: they show how far off the tempting rung was.
Levels
It is untimed unless you turn the clock on. There are 5 levels with the default settings, and the counter stops at the real top. Your level is judged on your last ten answers, every ten: 90% moves you up, below 80% moves you down, which holds most people near four in five right.
All of it is in the settings beside Start — how many answers a judgement looks at and how often it recalibrates, the thresholds, the time, which questions, how many options, and whether you see each verdict at once or review them together at the judgement. You can also jump to any level.
More words
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A string of letters hides one word — a bird, a tool, a country. Which of the options is in there? The strings grow longer without end.