Transform the start word at the top into the target word at the bottom. Each row must change exactly one letter from the row above, and every intermediate word must be a valid English word. Tap a cell to select it, then type a letter (or use the keypad).
The minimum-length ladder is rarely the only solution — any valid path counts. If stuck, use + ADD STEP to insert a row, or HINT to reveal one letter of a known short solution. The theme hints at how the start and target relate, which often suggests the path. Daily mode shares one puzzle worldwide; RANDOM draws from the full pair pool.
Drift is a daily word-ladder puzzle. Transform a starting word into an ending word by changing one letter at a time — every intermediate must itself be a real word. Word ladders were invented by Lewis Carroll in 1877 (he called them "doublets"); Drift gives you a fresh start-end pair every day.
Each step swaps one letter of your current word to form a new valid word. Continue until you reach the target. The daily seed has a known shortest length, but multiple paths can match it.
Start word and end word are given. Change one letter per step; every intermediate must be a valid word. Reach the target in as few steps as possible.
A puzzle invented by Lewis Carroll in 1877 ("doublets"). Connect two words by a sequence of single-letter changes where every word in the chain is real.
Often multiple paths exist. Drift accepts any valid chain; competing for the shortest is the canonical scoring.
No — classic word ladders preserve word length. Each step is a single-letter substitution, never an insertion or deletion.
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