Smartle
Rate itSwap 25 letters around a 5x5 board until every row is a five-letter word.
on arkadium.com
Smartle is a daily word puzzle from Arkadium. Each day everyone gets the same 25 letters on a 5x5 board, and you drag tiles to swap them until all five rows spell real five-letter words. Only the rows are checked, so more than one arrangement can solve it, and a timer and swap counter track how you did.
About Smartle
Smartle is a daily word puzzle published by Arkadium on its free games site, and it also runs as a members only game on AARP Games, which uses Arkadium's games. The page opens on the day's board with a start card that asks you to solve today's unique puzzle before midnight.
The board is a 5x5 grid of letter tiles. You drag one tile onto another to swap them, and when a row spells a valid five-letter word its tiles turn green and you earn a star. Five stars solve the puzzle. Only the rows are checked, so the grid can often be finished in more than one way, but you may need to break a word you already made to free the letters another row needs.
A timer and a swap counter run while you play, and the game keeps a winning streak and a leaderboard. A lightbulb button gives a limited number of hints, and it turns orange when the letters as placed can no longer lead to a solution. Beside the daily there is a Sprint mode: five puzzles in ten minutes, with breaks in between.
Compared with Waffle or Swapple, which ask you to rebuild one fixed answer in a set number of swaps, Smartle accepts any set of real words and has no swap limit, so it plays more like an open anagram puzzle. It suits players who like making words from a fixed pool of letters and want a puzzle with a few minutes of thinking in it.
The Arkadium page is free to play with no sign-up and shows banner ads around the board; Arkadium Plus removes them. The AARP Games copy needs an AARP membership.
How to play Smartle
- Open Smartle on Arkadium and press Start on the Daily card.
- Look over the 25 letters on the 5x5 board.
- Drag a tile onto another tile to swap the two.
- Make a valid five-letter word in a row; its tiles turn green and you earn a star.
- Keep swapping until all five rows are words; break a solved row if its letters are needed elsewhere.
- Use the lightbulb for a hint if you are stuck, and watch it turn orange when the grid as it stands cannot be solved.
Screenshots
Tips
- Place the hard letters such as J, Q, X, Y and V first and build their rows around them.
- Count the vowels and give every row at least one before you settle on any word.
- Keep flexible letters like E, S, T and R loose until the last rows.
- One swap can fix two rows at once, so look for a pair of tiles that both rows want.
- If the lightbulb turns orange, stop and break the word that uses the letters the other rows need.
Questions
Is Smartle free?
Yes on Arkadium: the daily plays free in the browser with no sign-up, with banner ads that Arkadium Plus removes. The copy on AARP Games is for AARP members only.
Is there only one solution?
No. The puzzle is solved once all five rows hold valid five-letter words, so more than one arrangement can work.
When does a new Smartle come out?
Once a day. The game asks you to solve today's puzzle before midnight, without naming a time zone.
Is there more than the daily?
Yes. Sprint mode gives you five puzzles to solve in ten minutes, with breaks in between.
Ratings and reviews
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