Best Free Word Ladder Game
Change one letter at a time, a real word each step, to reach the target.
Level 1
press P to pause
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How to play
- See the two words. You get a start word and a target word of the same length, plus the best-possible number of steps.
- Change one letter. Type the next word - it must differ from the word above it by exactly one letter and be a real word in the list.
- Reach the target. Keep laddering until you hit the target word, trying to match or beat the optimal step count.
About Word Ladder
Word Ladder is the classic word-chain puzzle invented by Lewis Carroll. You are given a start word and a target word of the same length, and your job is to transform one into the other by changing a single letter at a time - and every step along the way must be a real word. Build the shortest chain you can; the game works out the optimal number of steps in advance so you can see how close you came, and a hint can nudge you onto the best path. Pick a difficulty to set the word length and distance. No signup, no download, nothing uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
Turn the start word into the target word by changing one letter at a time. Each intermediate step must itself be a valid word of the same length - for example CAT → COT → COG. Reach the target to win.
A step must keep the same word length, change exactly one letter from the previous word, be a real word in the built-in list, and not repeat a word you have already used in the chain.
It is the optimal solution - the fewest steps possible between the two words. The game computes it in advance by searching the word list, so you always know the target to beat.
The hint suggests a valid next word that moves you along the shortest path toward the target, so you can get unstuck without giving the whole answer away.
It sets the word length and how far apart the start and target are - easy uses short three-letter words a few steps apart, while harder levels use longer words and longer ladders.
It is completely free with no signup or download. The puzzle, dictionary and optimal-path solver all run in your browser - nothing is uploaded or stored.
Yes. It runs in your browser, so Word Ladder works on phones and tablets as well as desktop - there is no app to install.
No. Word Ladder works with no signup at all; an optional free account only exists to unlock higher usage limits.
Usually just a few seconds for a typical file - Word Ladder starts working the moment you give it your input.
All modern browsers - Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge. Word Ladder needs nothing installed beyond the browser you already use.