Barter (Mind Loft)
Trade two tiles at a time until six crossing words read true.
Every day: One letter-swap board a day, the same for every player: six interlocking words with their letters scrambled, solved by trading tiles within a budget of par plus five. New puzzle: Midnight US Eastern Time.
Barter is a free daily word puzzle from Mind Loft. Six words interlock in a small lattice, and every letter they need is already on the board in the wrong place. Swap two tiles at a time, read the colour hints, and finish within the day's trade budget.
About Barter (Mind Loft)
Barter is a swap puzzle built on a crossword-style lattice. Six words run along the rows and columns of tiles, and all of their letters are on the board from the start, just scrambled. Tap one tile and then another and they trade places.
After every trade the colours are read again. Solid blue means a letter is in its home square and it locks there. Faded blue means the letter belongs somewhere else in one of the words crossing that square, and grey means it belongs to a different word entirely. On your first ever play you get one free hint that makes a correct trade for you.
Each board's par is the proven minimum number of trades, and you get par plus five. Solving at par scores a perfect 10 and each extra trade costs two points; ties break on fewest trades over par, then time. If you run out of trades the run ends with the board as you left it. A new board comes out every day at midnight Eastern, and Sundays use a bigger 7x7 grid with eight words.
How to play Barter (Mind Loft)
- Open Barter and press Start.
- Tap a tile and then a second tile to swap them.
- Read the colours: solid blue is home and locked, faded blue belongs in a crossing word, grey belongs to another word.
- Keep trading until every word reads correctly, within the trade budget shown at the top.
Tips
- Read the faded tiles in both crossing words before you move anything.
- Look for trades that send two tiles home at once; par is built from those.
- Do not spend a trade testing a theory the colours can already settle.
Questions
What time does Barter reset?
A new Barter puzzle goes up every day at midnight US Eastern Time, the same for every player. Sundays step up to a 7x7 Sunday Edition with eight words.
Is Barter free?
Yes. Barter plays in the browser on Mind Loft with no app and no account. Signing up with a display name (no password) puts your result on the daily leaderboard; an email is optional.
Can I play earlier Barter puzzles?
Yes. Mind Loft keeps an archive of past Barter boards together with each day's standings.
What is par in Barter?
The proven fewest trades that solve the day's board. You get par plus five trades, and solving at par scores 10.
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