Letter Trap

About Letter Trap

Letter Trap gives everyone the same puzzle each day: a 5x5 grid of letters, a one-line hint such as Winner's circle?, and a hidden five-letter target word. Rather than guessing the answer outright, you have to trap each of its letters on the board.

You do that by spelling words through adjacent letters so that the path closes around a letter of the target. Trapped letters turn green and fill the row of blanks under the hint. Three hearts mark your three chances at the day's puzzle, and a reuse area lets you drag a word back in. The puzzles are numbered from the game's start in August 2025, and the app tracks streaks, wins by attempt and scores.

The game is made by Matt Dominianni and launched on the App Store in August 2025. The website plays the same daily puzzle and points phone players to the free iOS app, which the site calls the best way to play.

It suits people who like word searches and Boggle-style grids but want a puzzle where planning the shape of a word matters as much as finding it.

How to play Letter Trap

1. Open Letter Trap on the web or in the iOS app and read the day's hint.
2. Spell a word by linking adjacent letters in the 5x5 grid.
3. Shape your word so that it surrounds a letter from the secret word; trapped letters turn green.
4. Keep trapping until all five letters of the secret word are captured.
5. You have three chances (hearts) to solve the day's puzzle.

Screenshots

Tips

• Use the hint to guess the secret word early, then aim your words at its letters.
• Plan words that bend around a letter rather than pass through it.
• Short words can close a trap when long ones will not fit.
• Look at the corners and edges: letters there need fewer surrounding tiles.

Questions