The Puzzle Yard

How to Play Daily Ladder

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How to play Daily Ladder

Daily Ladder gives you a four-letter start word and a four-letter target. Climb from one to the other by changing a single letter at a time, making a real word at every step.

Step by step

  1. Look at the start word at the bottom of the ladder and the target at the top.
  2. Pick the letter position you want to change, then type or tap the new letter.
  3. Submit the word. If it's a real four-letter word that differs by exactly one letter, it becomes the next rung.
  4. Keep climbing until your last move makes the target word.
  5. Stuck? Undo the last rung, restart from the start word, or ask for a hint.

Example: COLD to WARM in four moves

  1. cold
  2. cord
  3. card
  4. ward
  5. warm
  1. COLD → CORD: the third letter changes from L to R.
  2. CORD → CARD: the second letter changes from O to A.
  3. CARD → WARD: the first letter changes from C to W.
  4. WARD → WARM: the last letter changes from D to M, reaching the target.

Scoring and winning

  • Your score is the number of moves you used. Par is the shortest possible climb for that puzzle.
  • Any legal ladder that reaches the target finishes the puzzle, whether you're under par, on it or over it.
  • Par is usually 3–4 moves on easy days, 4–5 on medium days and 5–7 on hard days.
  • Hints you use are recorded with your result. They never end the game.
  • Finishing today's ladder on consecutive days builds your streak. Archive puzzles add to your totals but never change your daily streak, so you can catch up on missed days without gaming it.

Strategy tips

  • Compare the start and target letter by letter. Positions that already match rarely need to change.
  • Vowels are pivots. Swapping the vowel often opens up more words than swapping a consonant.
  • Work backwards too: think about which words sit one letter away from the target.
  • If you're two or three rungs over par, undo back to where the ladder drifted and try a different letter.

Common mistakes

  • Changing two letters at once. Each move changes exactly one letter, and letters never swap places.
  • Reusing a word. A word can only appear once in your ladder.
  • Using names, abbreviations or very obscure words. Rungs must be in the game's four-letter word list.

Frequently asked questions

What does a hint do?
The first hint tells you which letter position to change next. Ask again and it fills in a word that keeps you on a shortest route, which you then submit.
Does going over par count as a loss?
No. Reaching the target always finishes the puzzle. Par is just the best possible score.
What do Undo and Restart do?
Undo removes your last rung. Restart takes you back to the start word. Neither ends the game.
Can I use my keyboard?
Yes. Type letters to fill the draft word, press Enter to submit and Backspace to edit.

Missed a day? Browse the Daily Ladder archive.