About Ladder

Ladder is a daily word ladder — a puzzle form invented by Lewis Carroll in 1877, who called them doublets. You climb from one word to another, changing a single letter at each rung, and every rung has to be a real word.

Each day there's one puzzle, the same for everyone: a start word and a target word, with a par between 3 and 5 steps. Gentle days share a letter with the target; on the hardest days every letter changes and the direct route is blocked. Take as many steps as you like — par is the challenge, not the requirement. When you're done (or if you give up), we'll show you a shortest route.

The colours

Green letters already match the target's letter in that position. Violet marks the letter you changed on each rung. Watch the green spread as you climb.

The word list

Around 1,800 common four-letter words. Daily start and target words are drawn from the most familiar of them, and the advertised par is computed against the full list — so a three-step route always exists, and no obscure word can beat it.

Part of Play Dailies — one quick puzzle ritual, every midnight.