Rung (Mind Loft)
Rate itClimb from one five-letter word to another, changing one letter a rung.
on mindloftdaily.com

Rung is a free daily word ladder from Mind Loft. You start on one five-letter word and must reach a target word by changing one letter at a time, with every step a real word. Each ladder shows a par and the proven shortest route, and there is no undo.
About Rung (Mind Loft)
Rung is the word ladder on Mind Loft, a free site of daily browser games. The puzzle goes back to Lewis Carroll: two words of the same length, and a chain between them where each step changes a single letter and every rung is a word in its own right. Rung always uses five-letter words. On 22 October 2026 the climb ran from BRIDE to REACH.
Every ladder is generated by machine and solved exactly, then checked by a second search written separately, so the perfect figure is the true shortest route. Par sits a little above it and is what a clean climb usually comes in at. On most days there is only one shortest ladder, so matching perfect means finding that exact chain. That day, par was 14 and perfect was 10.
You type each new word and press Climb. There is no undo, only a restart, and a Hint button and Give up option sit under the board. The header counts your rungs and time, and the empty rungs between you and the goal show how far perfect still is. It plays the same way on a phone, with the ladder filling the screen.
Weekday ladders run 10 to 12 rungs, and Sunday climbs go a good deal further. A new ladder goes up at midnight US Eastern Time. It suits players of Weaver or other daily word ladders who want a scored target to aim for.
How to play Rung (Mind Loft)
- Open mindloftdaily.com/rung and press Start to see the start word at the bottom of the ladder and the goal word at the top.
- Type a five-letter word that differs from the current word by exactly one letter, then press Climb.
- Keep changing one letter at a time, each step a real word, until you reach the target.
- Aim for par or better; perfect is the shortest route there is.
- There is no undo, so use Restart if the climb goes wrong.
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Tips
- Look at which letters the start and target already share in the same positions and keep them.
- Vowels are the hardest letters to swap; plan when to change them.
- Sometimes a step away from the target opens a shorter route; do not change only letters that match the target.
- Plan two or three rungs ahead before typing, since there is no undo.
Questions
What are par and perfect in Rung?
Perfect is the proven shortest ladder for the day. Par is a little above it, about what a clean climb takes.
Can I undo a rung?
No. You can only restart the whole climb.
Is Rung free?
Yes. Rung runs in the browser on mindloftdaily.com at no cost. There is no app and no account to make; entering a display name only puts your result on the daily leaderboard.
When does a new Rung come out?
Every day at midnight US Eastern Time, with the same ladder for every player. Sunday climbs run a good deal longer than weekday ones.
Can I play old Rung ladders?
Yes. Mind Loft keeps past days in its puzzle archive, together with each day's standings.
Ratings and reviews
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