How to Play Word Grid
What is Word Grid?
Word Grid is a timed word hunt. A grid of letter tiles is rolled from classic word dice, and you have one round on the clock to find as many words as you can. Each word is a path through the grid: start on any tile and step to a neighbouring tile — up, down, sideways or diagonally — using each tile at most once. When the clock stops, the full list of words on the grid is revealed, including the ones you missed.
Rules
- Words must be at least 3 letters long.
- Each step must move to one of the eight neighbouring tiles, and a tile can be used only once in a word.
- Every word counts once per round, even if there is another path that spells it.
- The Qu tile is a single tile that spells two letters, so it counts as two letters towards the word length.
- Any form in the dictionary is accepted: plurals and verb endings included. Names, abbreviations and hyphenated words are not.
- The dictionary is Australian English: colour, centre and organise are words; color, center and organize are not.
Scoring
Longer words are worth far more than short ones:
| Word length | Points |
|---|---|
| 3 letters | 1 |
| 4 letters | 1 |
| 5 letters | 2 |
| 6 letters | 3 |
| 7 letters | 5 |
| 8 or more letters | 11 |
Controls
- Drag across the tiles to trace a word and lift your finger or mouse to submit it. Drag back over the previous tile to undo a step.
- Tap tiles one at a time to build a word, then tap the last tile again to submit. Tap a tile that is not next to the last one, or press Clear, to start over.
- Type a word on a physical keyboard and press Enter to submit it. The matching path lights up on the grid as you type; Escape clears it. On a phone, open Type a word for an on-screen keyboard.
- Pause hides the grid and stops the clock. The grid is also hidden before you press Start, so the clock only runs while you can see the letters.
- Untimed practice lets you explore a grid with no clock; press End round to see the full word list.
Difficulty Levels
- Easy (Relaxed) — 4×4 grid, 2:00 on the clock.
- Medium (Classic) — 4×4 grid, 1:30 on the clock.
- Hard (Big grid) — 5×5 grid, 3:00 on the clock.
Tips
- Found a word? Try its plural, its past tense and its -ing form before moving on. Each is a separate word.
- Look for common endings like -ed, -er, -es and -ing and work backwards from them.
- Short words add up, but one seven-letter word is worth five three-letter words. Spend the last seconds hunting for a long one.
- Read the revealed list after each round; the words you missed are the best lesson.