Squaredle: How to Play, Word Rules & Daily Puzzle Modes

What is Squaredle?

Squaredle is a daily word-search game at squaredle.app. The letters are already on the board. Your task is to connect them into words of four or more letters and find every required word. You can change direction along a path, so words can wind through the grid.

Where Wordle asks you to guess one hidden word, Squaredle asks you to find many words in a visible set of letters. The word count tells you how much is left, and the board gains more clues as you progress.

How to play Squaredle

1. Start on any letter. Swipe or drag through a connected path to spell a word, then release to submit it.
2. Move to a neighboring square. Horizontal, vertical and diagonal moves are valid. You can turn between letters, but you cannot jump across a gap.
3. Use each square once per word. Two copies of the same letter on different squares are fine; circling back to a square you already used is not.
4. Find words with at least four letters. Accepted required words advance your score. Bonus words go into a separate count.
5. Check the word list. Tap the word count to see your found words and the lengths of words still missing. Find all the required words to complete the puzzle.

On a physical keyboard, type a word and press Enter. Use Backspace to remove a letter, Esc to cancel, and the Space bar to cycle between squares with the same letter. The grid still has to support a valid path.

Required words, bonus words and rejected words

Required words make up the puzzle’s completion target. Longer required words are worth more points, which helps unlock progress perks. Bonus words are valid words that the game sets aside, often because they are obscure, archaic, regional or slang. They appear beside the main word count with a plus sign and can matter to a leaderboard tie breaker, but they do not add to your main score.

The official word-list FAQ explains that Squaredle uses NWL2023, with a few additions for words beyond Scrabble’s length limit. Proper nouns, abbreviations and hyphenated words are not accepted. A dictionary definition elsewhere does not guarantee that a word is in Squaredle’s list.

What the tile numbers and fading letters mean

The stars on the progress bar mark when you unlock more information. First, a number in a square’s bottom-left corner shows how many remaining words start there. Next, the bottom-right number shows how many remaining words use that square anywhere along their path. A plus sign inside a square means the count is ten or more.

A square fades when no remaining required word needs it. You can set it aside while finishing the main puzzle, but it can still be part of a bonus word. Fading does not remove a letter from the board.

Word-list hints unlock as you progress, or twelve hours after the daily puzzle releases. They can put missing words in alphabetical order and reveal starting letters. The game also provides word reveals; the word list shows your available allowance. These tools live in the official puzzle.

Daily, Express, Classics and the paid archive

• Daily Squaredle: the main puzzle is free, with a new board each day at 3am US Pacific time. Boards vary in size and difficulty.
• Squaredle Express: a separate free daily puzzle on a 3×3 grid. Open it at squaredle.app/xp.
• Classics: the Archive & classics menu includes a small selection of re-released favorites you can play without a membership, such as the N Vwls Pzzl.
• Full archive and replays: these require Squaredle Squared, the paid membership. It also removes ads and includes premium puzzles, extra reveals and customization options.

Classics give you selected older boards; they do not make the full archive free. Check the official site’s membership panel for current pricing and the complete feature list.

A useful approach when you have a few words left

Start with familiar short words, then look for longer versions along the same path. Treat each possible ending as a new route to check: the letters still have to connect without reusing a square. Rotating the board can make a path easier to spot without changing the puzzle.

Once the tile counts appear, pick a square that still starts a word and work outward from it. Compare the paths you find with the missing lengths in the word list. If a square has faded, concentrate on the remaining squares until the required-word count is complete.

Games like Squaredle

Try Strands for another game about tracing words, or Spelling Bee if you enjoy finding many words from a limited letter set. Waffle and Squareword use intersecting words, with letter placement and deduction taking the place of Squaredle’s path search.