🪜 Word Ladder
🔤 Word · 0 playsWord Ladder
Travel from one word to another, changing a single letter at each rung.
About Word Ladder
Lewis Carroll invented this in 1877 and called it Doublets. You move from a starting word to a target by altering one letter per step, with every rung along the way a real word in its own right. Each round supplies a fresh pair together with a par — the length of the shortest chain that exists — and reaching the target is a good deal easier than reaching it in par. The useful habit is to study the destination first, work out which letter must change last, and build towards that rung from both ends at once.
How to Play
Each rung alters a single letter of the word above it, and must land on a real word. Type the new word and confirm, then repeat until you arrive at the target. Matching the par is a perfect climb. The hint button suggests a rung, three times per round.
💡 Tips & Strategy
Change the vowel first. Most short words differ from their neighbours by a single vowel, so stepping CAT to COT to COG travels further than hunting for a consonant swap, and the vowel positions are where the ladder usually flexes.
Look at both ends at once. Work a step or two forward from the start and a step or two back from the target, then try to meet in the middle — the connection is far easier to spot from both sides than by pushing blindly forward.
When a position is stuck, change a different letter than the one you have been working on. Players tend to fixate on one column and conclude there is no path, when the route needs a detour through a letter they have been holding fixed.
Short common words are the highways of any ladder. Passing through words of very ordinary shape gives you the most onward options, while an unusual word narrows your next step to almost nothing.