Word Ladder

A–Z type a wordEnter climb the rungBackspace erase

How to play Word Ladder

Lewis Carroll invented this one in 1877 — he called it Doublets — and it has survived unchanged because the whole game fits in one sentence:

  1. Two words appear: the start at the top of the ladder, the target at the bottom.
  2. Type a word that changes exactly one letter of the word above it. No adding letters, no removing, no rearranging — and every rung must be a real word.
  3. Keep climbing until you land on the target.

That's it. COLD → CORD → CARD → WARD → WARM. The daily pair always has a route of four to seven rungs, both endpoints are words everyone knows, and the game saves after every rung — drop it mid-climb, come back whenever.

Par, and why it hides

Every ladder here ships with par: the provably shortest route, found by searching the entire word list. You won't see the number until you solve — the first climb is yours, pressure-free. After that the ladder stays open: climb back down a few rungs and see if you can find the route the search found.

Tips

  • Aim at the target's letters. Every rung that moves a letter into its target position is real progress; rungs that don't should be buying position for one that will.
  • Vowels are hinges. When no direct step works, swapping the vowel (CORD → CARD) opens a different family of words — most long ladders turn on a vowel change in the middle.
  • Work both ends. Stuck climbing down? Think one step up from the target instead: what words are one letter away from it? Meet in the middle.
  • Obscure words are legal. Endpoints are common; your rungs don't have to be. A crossword-grade word in the middle is often the shortest route's secret.
  • Climbing back is free. Click any earlier rung to return to it — a dead end costs nothing but the detour.

The daily ladder

One pair, every player, seeded from the date. Solve it, compare your count to par, and copy a spoiler-free result — rung count and par, never the words. Hints are unlimited and honest: use one and your share text says so.

Frequently asked questions

What are the rules of Word Ladder?

You are given two words of the same length. Starting from the first, change exactly one letter at a time — no adding, removing, or rearranging — and every step must be a real word. Reach the second word and the ladder is solved. COLD to WARM runs COLD, CORD, CARD, WARD, WARM: four rungs.

Who invented the word ladder puzzle?

Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland, in 1877 — he called it Doublets, from the challenge of turning one word of a pair into the other. It ran as a weekly puzzle in Vanity Fair, making it one of the oldest word games still played in its original form.

What does par mean in Word Ladder?

Par is the length of the shortest possible ladder between the two words, computed by exhaustively searching the whole word list. Solving at par means no shorter route exists. Here par is revealed after your first solve, so the first climb is pressure-free — then the ladder stays open if you want to hunt the shortest route.

Can I use obscure words as rungs in Word Ladder?

Yes. Any word in the validity list — over one hundred thousand words, including rare ones and both British and American spellings — is a legal rung. Only the two endpoint words are guaranteed to be common; the route between them is yours to find with whatever vocabulary you have.

Is there a daily Word Ladder puzzle?

Yes. Daily mode gives every player the same pair of words, chosen from the date, with a new ladder at local midnight. Both endpoints are always common words and the shortest route is always four to seven rungs. The share text gives your rung count and par, never the words.

What happens if I get stuck in Word Ladder?

Two outs, both free: click any earlier rung to climb back to it and try a different route, or take a hint, which fills in the next rung of a shortest path from where you stand. Hints are unlimited — using one just adds a small 'with hints' note to your share text.

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