Word Ladder

Bridge two words by changing a single letter at a time — and every rung along the way must be a real word.

How to play

You're given a start word and a target word of the same length. Build a chain of words from one to the other, where each step differs from the one above it by exactly one letter and is itself a valid dictionary word.

• Each new word must change exactly one letter — no more, no less
• Every rung has to be a real word
• Reach the target word to win; fewer moves beats the optimal par

Controls

• Desktop: type the next word and press Enter, or click a letter tile to cycle it up the alphabet (Shift-click cycles down). Buttons for Hint, Undo and Reset.
• Phone & tablet: tap the input to type, or tap a letter tile to change it; tap Add to submit.

Game modes

• Easy, Medium and Hard difficulty for shorter or longer ladders
• Daily puzzle — the same start and target for everyone that day
• Practice — endless fresh puzzles on demand

Tips & strategy

• Compare the start and target letter by letter and change the easy matches first
• If you hit a dead end, Undo and try changing a different position — there's often more than one route
• Hints reveal the next word on the shortest path but cost score, so save them for when you're truly stuck

About Word Ladder

Word Ladder is a modern take on the classic letter-chain word puzzle, a traditional pen-and-paper game. This is an original, free browser version with daily challenges, difficulty levels and an optimal-move par to beat.

A free, original browser game on PlayPendium — no download, no install. Browse all games →