Word Ladder Daily Practice - One New Ladder a Day, Unlimited Practice
A word ladder asks you to turn one word into another by changing a single letter at a time, with every rung a real word - COLD to WARM in four moves. The game below gives you a new four-letter daily ladder at midnight New York time, plus a Practice mode with as many fresh puzzles as you want, a hint button when you're stuck and undo for dead ends. Your streak and progress are saved in this browser.
How to play
- 1Change exactly one letter per move
Same length, same positions - no adding, removing or rearranging letters. GLAD can become GOAD or GLAD can become CLAD; it cannot become LAND.
- 2Every rung must be a real word
The game checks each entry against its dictionary. Proper nouns and abbreviations are rejected. You also can't reuse a word already in your ladder.
- 3Reach the target in as few moves as possible
The board shows the shortest known solution length. Matching it is the real win; finishing at all is the baseline. Hints count against you on the share card, undo doesn't.
Daily practice strategy
Ladders feel random until you start working from both ends.
Count the differences first
Compare start and target letter by letter. GLAD → MILD differs in three positions (G/M, L/I, A/L), so the floor is three moves; the game's "shortest 4" tells you no three-move path exists through real words.
Work backwards too
List the words one letter away from the target - MILD has MILE, MILK, MIND, WILD, MOLD. If you can reach any of them, you're one move from done. Meeting in the middle beats pushing forward blind.
Vowel swaps are the hinges
Changing the vowel (CARD → CORD → CURD) usually opens the most new words. When stuck on consonants, flip the vowel and look again.
Avoid dead-end words
Words like OBEY or AXIS have very few one-letter neighbors. Prefer rungs full of common letters - -AND, -OLD, -ARE, -ILL families connect to dozens of words.
Classic ladders to try in Practice
Lewis Carroll invented the word ladder ("Doublets") in 1877 - these are the famous ones. Tap Show to reveal a solution.
| Ladder | Shortest | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| COLD → WARM | 4 | COLD → CORD → CARD → WARD → WARM |
| HEAD → TAIL | 5 | HEAD → HEAL → TEAL → TELL → TALL → TAIL |
| FOUR → FIVE | 7 | FOUR → FOUL → FOOL → FOOT → FORT → FORE → FIRE → FIVE (Carroll's original) |
| WHEAT → BREAD | 7 | WHEAT → CHEAT → CHEAP → CHEEP → CREEP → CREED → BREED → BREAD (Carroll's 7-step original) |
| APE → MAN | 5 | APE → APT → OPT → OAT → MAT → MAN |
| LEAD → GOLD | 3 | LEAD → LOAD → GOAD → GOLD |
FAQ
When does the daily word ladder reset?
At midnight in New York (America/New_York), following US daylight saving changes. The date is printed above the board, and a shared daily link always opens that date's puzzle.
Is there a limit on practice puzzles?
No. Switch to Practice and press "New practice puzzle" as often as you like. Practice results are tracked separately from the daily.
Why was my word rejected?
Either it changes more than one letter, it repeats a word already in your ladder, or it isn't in the game's four-letter dictionary - slang, plurals of three-letter words and names are the usual culprits. Re-read the current word and change exactly one position.
Does the hint give away the whole answer?
No - it fills in one plausible next word, which you still have to submit. Hints are counted on your share text, so a clean solve means zero hints.
Are there longer word ladders?
This game is four-letter only, which keeps dailies solvable in a few minutes. Five-letter ladders (the Weaver style) have far fewer valid neighbors per word and get much harder; four letters is the sweet spot for daily practice.