15 Games Like Wordle — Best Daily Word Puzzles to Play

Wordle changed everything for word games. Josh Wardle built it as a gift for his partner, released it publicly in October 2021, and sold it to The New York Times in January 2022 — and it set off a wave of daily word puzzles. If you’ve solved today’s Wordle and want more, this list covers 15 games like Wordle you can play right now, free in your browser. Some have a daily puzzle; most also let you keep playing as long as you like.

Short answer: for more of the exact same game, play our unlimited Wordle. For a harder twist on it, try Quad Word, which runs four Wordle boards at once. If you want a different daily puzzle with the same “solve it, then share it” feel, Word Groups and Spelling Bee are the next stops.

1. Wordle (the original)

Our take on the 5-letter word-guessing game that started the daily-puzzle boom. 6 guesses. Green = correct + position. Yellow = correct letter wrong position. Grey = not in word. The NYT original gives everyone the same single puzzle each day; our version picks a random word and lets you start a new one whenever you like, with a win streak counter. Play Wordle.

Every guess has to be a real word from the game’s list, and the on-screen keyboard colors in as you go, so you can see at a glance which letters are left. There’s a Give up button if a word has you beaten, though it resets your streak.

2. Quad Word

Four Wordle puzzles, one keyboard, nine guesses. Every word you enter goes onto all four boards at once, with the same green, yellow and grey feedback on each. Solve all four words within nine guesses to win. Play Quad Word.

The Daily puzzle is the same for everyone and resets at midnight, and you can share your result afterwards. Practice mode gives you new puzzles whenever you want them. If you liked Quordle, this is that format.

3. Word Groups

Sixteen words, four hidden groups. Pick four words that share something, then submit. “One away” means three of your four are right. You can make four mistakes, and the groups get trickier by color, from easiest to trickiest. Play Word Groups.

There’s a new Daily puzzle every day, the same for everyone, plus a Practice mode with 64 puzzles. It plays like the NYT’s Connections; see Wordle vs Connections for how the two daily habits compare.

4. Spelling Bee

Our version of the NYT’s other huge word puzzle. 7 letters in a honeycomb hive; one center letter required in every word; minimum 4 letters; use all 7 for a pangram bonus. Ranks climb from Beginner to Genius (the NYT original adds a hidden “Queen Bee” for finding every word). Highly addictive. Play Spelling Bee.

5. Word Grid

Drag across touching letters in any of the eight directions to spell words of four or more letters, using each tile once per word. Find every listed word to solve the grid; rarer valid words count as bonus words. Choose Daily, a Big 5×5 grid or Practice, and use a hint if you stall. Play Word Grid.

6. Anagram

Scrambled letters; find as many valid words as you can in 2 minutes, with a bonus for using every letter. Like Spelling Bee but with no center-letter restriction and a clock. Play Anagram.

Words need at least three letters, longer words score more, and a full-length word scores double. When the clock runs out, the game shows you the words you missed.

7. Boggle

The 1972 Parker Brothers classic (now owned by Hasbro). 4×4 grid of letter dice; trace adjacent letters, diagonals included, to form words of 3+ letters; 3-minute timer. Pure pattern recognition under time pressure. Play Boggle.

8. Word Hunt

Click-and-drag through adjacent letters. 80-second timer here. A fast Boggle descendant, made famous as an iMessage game in the GamePigeon app. Play Word Hunt.

9. Word Search

Find hidden words in a letter grid. Horizontal, vertical, diagonal, forward or backward. A classroom staple since puzzle maker Norman E. Gibat popularized it in 1968. Play Word Search.

Each puzzle has a theme, such as Animals, Sports or Space.

10. Word Connect

Mobile-style word puzzle. Letters in a circle; tap to form target words. Each level has a curated word list. Popular mobile app format. Play Word Connect.

11. Hangman

The pencil-and-paper classic, documented since at least the late 1800s. Guess letters one at a time; 6 wrong guesses = game over. Play Hangman.

Pick a category (Animals, Countries, Fruits, Movies, Sports or Tech) for a clue to what you’re hunting. It’s the closest letter-by-letter cousin of Wordle: every guess tells you whether a letter is in the word and where.

12. Crossword

Arthur Wynne’s 1913 invention, with more than a century of newspaper puzzles behind it. Across and Down clues; letters intersect to verify. The pinnacle of word puzzling. Play Crossword.

Our version has three puzzles. Click a cell and type; Tab or a second click switches between Across and Down, and Check shows how you’re doing.

13. Word Scramble (Jumble)

In the spirit of Jumble, the newspaper puzzle that dates to 1954. Unscramble jumbled letters into a valid word against a 2-minute clock. Quick and satisfying. Play Word Scramble.

14. Word Ladder

Lewis Carroll’s invention, published as “Doublets” in 1879. Transform one word into another by changing one letter at a time, with each intermediate step a valid word. COLD → CORD → CORE → CARE → WARE → WARM. Play Word Ladder.

The goal is the shortest ladder from start to target, and Hint and Undo buttons help when you dead-end.

15. Mastermind

The 1970 code-breaking board game (invented by Mordecai Meirowitz) that works a lot like Wordle — but with colored pegs instead of letters. Black pegs mean right color, right spot; white pegs mean right color, wrong spot. It’s a clear Wordle ancestor. Play Mastermind.

Choose Easy (6 colors, 10 tries), Medium (6 colors, 8 tries) or Hard (8 colors, 8 tries), and decide whether duplicate colors are allowed.

Wordle alternatives compared

Game	Daily puzzle?	Limit	Feedback
Wordle	No, unlimited random words	6 guesses	Green, yellow, grey letters
Quad Word	Daily plus Practice	9 guesses for 4 words	Green, yellow, grey on four boards
Word Groups	Daily plus 64 practice puzzles	4 mistakes	“One away” hints
Spelling Bee	New puzzle any time	None	Rank from Beginner to Genius
Word Grid	Daily, Big 5×5 and Practice	None (hints available)	Listed and bonus words
Mastermind	No	8 or 10 tries	Black and white pegs

How to choose your next daily word puzzle

Start with what you like about Wordle. If it’s the deduction, the slow narrowing-down from a handful of clues, play Quad Word, Mastermind or Hangman. If it’s the once-a-day ritual and sharing a result, the Daily modes in Quad Word, Word Groups and Word Grid give you that. If you mostly enjoy hunting for words, Spelling Bee, Anagram, Boggle and Word Hunt are about vocabulary rather than deduction.

Short on time? Our list of quick games has more.

Why Wordle works (and why these alternatives work too)

• Single daily puzzle. The original is anti-binge by design: one puzzle, then you wait. (The unlimited versions above are for when one isn’t enough.)
• Shareable result. The colored grid spoils nothing. Drove viral social sharing.
• Quick to play. 2-5 minutes per puzzle.
• Mathematical depth. Information-theory analysis applies; serious solvers exist.
• Low barrier. No skill prerequisites beyond English vocabulary.

Wordle strategy that carries over

• Open with common letters. A first guess full of frequent letters such as E, A, R, S and T tells you the most. Our guide to the best Wordle starting words goes deeper.
• Don’t waste guesses on grey letters. Each new guess should test letters you haven’t ruled out yet, even if it can’t be the answer.
• In Quad Word, spread your early guesses. Because every guess lands on all four boards, broad letter-testing guesses early pay off four times over.

Truly stuck on a five-letter puzzle? Our 5 Letter Word Finder lists every word that fits your green, yellow and grey clues.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Wordle so popular?

Single daily puzzle + shareable colored grid + low barrier + mathematical depth. The perfect viral combination. We dig into it in why is Wordle so popular.

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

Grant Sanderson’s 3Blue1Brown information-theory analysis first highlighted CRANE, then a corrected version ranked SALET at the top. CRANE, SLATE and TRACE are all strong, common openers.

Can I play more than one Wordle a day?

Yes. Our Wordle picks a random word every game, so press New word and play again as often as you like. Quad Word and Word Groups also have Practice modes alongside their Daily puzzles.

Is there a game like Wordle with several words at once?

Quad Word. You solve four five-letter words at the same time, with every guess applied to all four boards and nine guesses in total. It’s the same format as Quordle.

Are these all free?

Yes — all 15 are browser-playable and free on dinogame.gg, with no install.

What’s Mastermind’s connection to Wordle?

A very similar mechanic — code-breaking with feedback on right-place and wrong-place guesses. Wordle adds a dictionary: every guess has to be a real word. The Mastermind article on Wikipedia covers the board game’s history.

For more word games, browse our full games library, or read our roundup of the best browser games overall. And if you need a break from letters altogether, the Chrome Dino game is one keypress away.

Related: 10 Games Like Crossword Puzzles — Free Word Games Online · The Evolution of Daily Word Games (Wordle and After) · Wordle vs Quordle: Which Daily Word Game Is Harder?