How to play Word Ladder
Turn one word into another by changing a single letter at a time.
The rules, step by step
- You are given a start word and a target word.
- Change one letter of the start word to make a new real word. Type it in and press Enter.
- Keep going, changing only one letter each time and making a real word each step, until you reach the target word.
- There is a par: the fewest steps it can be done in. Try to match it.
- Press Undo to take back a step, or Hint to be shown the next word.
An example
Turn COLD into WARM.
COLD, CORD, CARD, WARD, WARM.
Each step changes one letter: COLD to CORD, CORD to CARD, CARD to WARD, WARD to WARM.
Tips
- Work from both ends. Think of words that are one step from the target, as well as from the start.
- Changing a vowel often opens up new words.
- There may be more than one route. Any route with real words counts.