How to play

How to play WordPebble

Fill every block with a letter so each row (across) and each column (down) spells a real word. Every letter in the tray is used exactly once.

1. Read the clue

A board with one empty block selected; the clue bar reads 2 across, 3 letters: The number of wheels on a bicycle.

Tap any block. Its word lights up and the clue bar under the board shows the clue, the word's number and direction, and how many letters it needs.

Tap the same block again to switch between its across and down word. Use the arrows on the clue bar to step through every clue, or tap the clue to see the full list.

2. Place the letters

A letter N picked up from the tray, with one letter already placed on the board.

Drag a letter from the tray onto a block, or tap a letter and then tap a block. You can also tap an empty block first and then the letter you want there.

Drop a letter on a block that already holds one and the two swap places. Drag a placed letter back to the tray to take it off the board.

3. Reveal the words

A finished board folded into the word PERFECT with three stars; below it the words made and their clues.

When a row or column spells a real word, it gets a gold ✓. A full row or column that isn't a word gets a ✕, and the message under the board names it so you can swap letters.

When every word checks, the board turns gold and folds away, and you see the words you made with their clues.

A worked example

This is the board from the tutorial. The clue for the top row is “Pet that purrs”, three letters, and the tray holds these letters:

ETANCRAET

A pet that purrs is a CAT, so C, A and T go along the top. The first column has the same clue, so CAT also reads down. The C in the corner is shared: one letter, two words.

The middle row's clue is “We ___ here”: ARE, which starts with the A that's already there. The bottom row is “Five plus five”: TEN. Now every row and column is a word, and the board is solved.

When you're stuck

Hint opens four kinds of help. Which letters? lights up the tray letters that finish one word, without saying where. Show a letter reveals one block. Show a word reveals a whole word and can place it. Check my letters finds a letter in the wrong place.
Select a block or a letter first to aim the hint at it.
Undo takes back your last move, as many times as you like. Reset sends every letter back to the tray. Shuffle mixes up the tray.

Boards, levels and words

Puzzles 1–80 are 3×3 boards. Then the boards grow: 4×4, 5×5, 6×6, 7×7 and finally 8×8 from puzzle 831.
The first few boards of each size start with some letters locked in place (marked with a dot). You can turn these off in Settings to solve every board from scratch.
Each level opens when you've solved the one before it. After puzzle 1,000, the game keeps going with randomly generated boards.
Any real word that fits counts, even if it isn't the one the clue describes. The game accepts 79,494 words of 3 to 8 letters, including plurals and verb forms.

Keyboard controls

Tab moves between the board, the tray and the buttons.
Arrow keys move around the board and the tray.
Enter or Space picks up a letter and puts it down.
Esc cancels a selection or opens the pause menu.

New to word puzzles? Read our beginner's guide to solving word clues, or just start: the in-game tutorial walks you through everything.

Play WordPebble