How to Play Daily Squares
Play today's puzzleHow to play Daily Squares
Daily Squares is a word search. Each day's 10 × 10 grid hides twelve words of three letters or more. Find every word on the list to clear the board.
Step by step
- Read the word list. It sits beside the grid on wider screens and below it on phones.
- Press on the first letter of a word and drag in a straight line to its last letter. Words run across, down, diagonally, and in any of those directions backwards.
- Prefer tapping? Tap the first letter, then tap the last letter. The path between them is selected for you.
- Let go. A correct word stays highlighted and is ticked off the list; anything else is cleared, with no penalty.
- Find all twelve words to finish the puzzle.
Example: four words in a small grid
CATSROADBIWLTENX
- CATS runs left to right along the top row.
- ROAD runs left to right along the second row.
- COW runs diagonally from the top-left corner: C, then O, then W.
- NET is backwards: start on the N in the bottom row and drag left through E to T.
Scoring and winning
- There are no points. The puzzle is complete when every word on the list has been found.
- The clock starts the first time you touch the grid and stops the moment the last word is found. Your finishing time is recorded with your result.
- Finishing today's puzzle on consecutive days builds your streak. Missing a day starts it again from one.
- Archive puzzles add to your totals but never change your daily streak, so you can catch up on missed days without gaming it.
- A new puzzle arrives every day at midnight Sydney time.
Strategy tips
- Scan for letters that are rare in the grid, such as J, Q, X, Z or K. A word containing one has only a few possible starting points.
- Look for the last letter as well as the first. If a word starts with a common letter, its final letter may be easier to spot.
- Check diagonals and reversed words deliberately. Most players search left to right first and leave these until last.
- Words can cross and share letters, so a found word is a useful landmark for nearby ones.
Common mistakes
- Bending the path. Selections only travel in straight lines; you can't turn a corner mid-word.
- Stopping one letter short or long. A selection must start and end exactly on the word's first and last letters.
- Finding a word that isn't on the list. Real words appear by chance in any grid; only listed words count.
Frequently asked questions
- Does a wrong selection cost me anything?
- No. It simply clears. Only the clock keeps running.
- Are there hints?
- Not in Daily Squares. Every word is on the list, so the list is your guide.
- If I close the page, do I lose my progress?
- No. Words you've found and your time are saved on this device and restored when you come back the same day.
- Can I replay an old puzzle?
- Yes. Past grids are in the Daily Squares archive, and finished archive puzzles can be played again.
Missed a day? Browse the Daily Squares archive.