Letter Brew (TED Games)
Rate itTransform words letter by letter from clues, then brew them into the day's final word.
on ted.com
Letter Brew is TED's daily word potion. You transform three starting words one letter at a time, each step guided by a clue, then place the words you make into the right categories to work out the final word. A hint button helps when a step will not come.
About Letter Brew (TED Games)
Letter Brew is a daily word game from TED, on its TED Games site, which calls it a game of potion crafting, linguistic transformations and aha moments. It appeared in early 2025, and different guest puzzle writers set the puzzles, each one named on their day.
A day's puzzle comes in two parts. First come three short word ladders, which you can solve in any order and switch between. Each step shows a word and a clue, and the answer is one letter away: on one day the word BURN sat above the clue "The ___ of the Screw" (Henry James novella), with RUN and PERTAIN waiting in the smaller cauldrons below. You type each new word on the on-screen keyboard and press enter.
Once the three ladders are done, the words you made move on to a row of beakers. Each beaker is labelled with a transformation, and you pair each word with the right one. Together they lead to the day's final word. A light-bulb button gives hints, a help button explains the rules, and a score sums up the day.
The game is free in the browser, with no account needed to play, and TED offers a daily email with the puzzle. It suits players who like clued word ladders such as Raddle or Crossclimb and want a second stage that turns the answers into one more puzzle.
How to play Letter Brew (TED Games)
- Read the starting word and the clue under it.
- Change one letter to make the word the clue describes, and press enter.
- Keep transforming each of the day's three words, step by step.
- Place the finished words into the right categories.
- Use them to work out the final word; tap the light bulb for a hint.
Tips
- Read the clue before thinking about letters: the answer usually differs by just one letter from the word shown.
- Fill-in-the-blank clues, such as book titles, are often the quickest steps.
- Keep the category stage in mind: the words you make are clues to the final answer.
- Use hints sparingly, for the step that blocks the rest.
Questions
Who makes Letter Brew?
TED, on its TED Games site. Guest puzzle writers set the daily puzzles.
How does Letter Brew work?
You transform words letter by letter using a clue for each step, then sort the words into categories to find a final word.
Is there a new puzzle every day?
Yes. Puzzles are dated by the US Eastern date, and TED sends a daily email with the game.
Is it free?
Yes, in the browser.
Ratings and reviews
Games like Letter Brew (TED Games)
Wordsmyth
Transform one word into the next using the day's clues
Raddle
A daily word ladder solved with clues, from one word to another
Write and Rung (Lex.Games)
Climb a clued word ladder a letter at a time
Crossclimb
Answer clues, stack the answers into a ladder, then solve a final pair
Weaver
The classic daily word ladder, one letter at a time
ChangeWord
Turn one word into another a letter at a time, in three daily stages
Chainle
Link the day's start word to its end word, changing, adding or removing one letter a step.
CraftWord
Turn the start word into the goal word in as few steps as you can.