Dovetail (Third Place Games)
Rate itEvery word starts misspelled: pair each one with a neighbour and trade one letter so both come out right.
Every day: Three daily boards (Easy 12 words, Medium 20, Hard 24), the same for every player on the US Eastern date: every five-letter word starts misspelled, and you pair each with a neighbour and trade one letter so both are real. One play per board. New puzzle: Midnight, US Eastern time.
Dovetail is a daily word puzzle from Third Place Games. Each board is a grid of five-letter words that all start misspelled, and you join each word to a neighbour by trading one letter between them so both become real words. Three boards come out each day, Easy, Medium and Hard, and each has exactly one way to pair every word.
About Dovetail (Third Place Games)
Dovetail is the word game among Third Place Games' small daily puzzles, beside the map puzzles Grade and Regrade and the stone-flipping Ponderings. Its board is a grid of wooden tiles, each holding a five-letter word, and every one of those words starts wrong.
To fix them you pick two neighbours, directly above, below, left or right, never diagonal, and choose one letter from each. The two letters swap places and you see both new spellings. If both are real words you can join the pair, and the two tiles lock together and cannot trade with anyone else. The goal is to pair the whole board, so a word whose neighbours are all taken is stranded and the board cannot be finished that way.
Each board has exactly one complete pairing. One corner word can pair with only one of its neighbours, which gives a certain way in, while the other corners and some middle words have decoys: neighbours that also trade into real words but are not the partner. Easy is 12 words in four rows of three with only the corner decoys, Medium is 20 words with more, and Hard is 24 words with the most decoys and a longer chain of deductions. Proper names, abbreviations and words with hyphens or apostrophes do not count.
The three daily boards follow the US Eastern date, the same for every player, and each can be played once. There is no time limit, previews are free, Undo breaks the last pair, and Hint first names a pair and then the letters that trade. A finished board can be shared as a grid showing which pairs you joined cleanly, after an undo or with a hint. The daily boards are free with no account, and a one-time US $1 unlock adds unlimited practice boards.
How to play Dovetail (Third Place Games)
- Open Dovetail on thirdplacegame.com and choose today's Easy, Medium or Hard board.
- Tap a word, then a neighbour directly above, below, left or right of it.
- Pick one letter from each word to trade; the preview shows both new spellings.
- If both are real words, join the pair; the two tiles lock together.
- Pair every word on the board without leaving any word stranded, then share your result.
Screenshots
Tips
- Find the corner word that has only one possible partner: that pair is certain and is the way into the board.
- Before joining a pair, check that none of its neighbours would be left with no free partner; a pair that strands a word is a decoy.
- Previews cost nothing, so try trades freely and only join when you are sure.
- Play Easy first: its 12 words have decoys only in the corners.
Questions
When do new Dovetail boards come out?
At midnight US Eastern time. There are three daily boards, Easy, Medium and Hard, the same for every player.
Can a word pair diagonally?
No. Partners must be directly above, below, left or right of each other.
Is Dovetail free?
Yes. The daily boards are free and need no account. A one-time US $1 unlock adds unlimited practice boards.
Is there a timer?
No. Dovetail has no time limit; your shared result shows clean joins, joins after an undo and hinted pairs.
Ratings and reviews
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