How to play Word Wheel
Play Word Wheel
The rules
- The wheel has 9 letters: one in the centre and 8 around it. A letter can be on the wheel more than once.
- Make words of 4 letters or more. Every word must use the centre letter.
- Use each letter only as often as it is on the wheel.
- Longer words score more. A word that uses all nine letters earns a bonus.
- You have 3 minutes. Beat par before the time runs out, or find every word.
How to play here
- Tap letters on the wheel to spell a word, then press Enter. Delete removes the last letter.
- Shuffle turns the outer letters into a new order, to help you see new words.
- Keyboard: type the letters, Backspace deletes, Enter submits, Space shuffles.
- Found words appear under the wheel in alphabetical order. When the time is up, the words you missed are listed too.
- A hint gives the length and first letter of a word, then more of it.
Difficulty levels
| Level |
Words in the list |
Par |
| Easy |
40 to 90 |
The 10 most common words |
| Medium |
30 to 70 |
The 14 most common words |
| Hard |
22 to 50 |
The 18 most common words |
| Expert |
15 to 35 |
The 22 most common words |
Tips
- Look for the nine-letter word first: it is worth 16 points.
- Add endings to words you found: -s, -ed, -er and -ing often make new words.
- Shuffle when you are stuck: letters in a new order show new words.
FAQ
- Which words count?
- English words of 4 to 9 letters from our word list that use the centre letter. The list holds common words and also some rarer ones. Each puzzle carries its own list; a word that is not on it does not score.
- How is the score counted?
- A word scores its length minus 3: a 4-letter word scores 1 and a 9-letter word scores 6. A word that uses all nine letters earns 10 more.
- What is par?
- Par is the score of the most common words in the list: the 10 most common at easy, up to 22 at expert, never more than half the list. The end panel tells you if you beat it.
- Is there a new puzzle every day?
- Yes. A new wheel is picked every day at each of the four levels: easy, medium, hard and expert. The pick is random, so a wheel can come back: easy has about 370 wheels and can repeat one within a few weeks, the other levels have thousands. Earlier puzzles are in the archive.
- Do I need an account to play?
- No. You play right in your browser, with no sign-up and no cookies. Your progress is saved in your browser.
