Smush
Make words from nine letters, each usable five times, with the gold centre letter in every word.
Every day: A new authored board of letters each day, the same for everyone, with a gold centre letter and at least one word that uses every letter. New puzzle: Midnight in your own time zone (the board is picked by your device's date).
Smush is a daily word game on Hank Green's site. Each day's board has eight letter tiles around a gold centre letter, and you spend each letter's five uses on words for points.
About Smush
Smush is a free browser word game published on hankgreen.com, where Hank Green also hosts the daily game 4x3. There is one board a day for everyone, and your scores and streak are kept on your own device.
The board is a three by three square: eight letter tiles around a gold centre letter. Every word must include the gold letter, which never runs out. The other letters each have five uses, and a letter can appear more than once in the same word. When a letter's last use is spent it is smushed and gone for the rest of the day.
Points come from letter values, and two things double a word: using the spicy letter (marked with a chilli, it moves after every play) and smushing a letter with that word. Every board also hides at least one word that uses every letter, worth extra, and more again if it is your first word. A running count shows how many words are still possible.
The twist compared with Spelling Bee style games is that letters wear out, so the order of your words matters as much as finding them. It suits word game players who like a bit of planning and a score to beat.
How to play Smush
- Open Smush in a browser to get today's board.
- Tap letters to build a word that includes the gold centre letter.
- Submit the word to score it and use up one life of each letter in it.
- Watch the spicy letter and each letter's remaining uses to plan bigger scores.
- Keep going until no more words are possible, then share your result.
Tips
- Look for the word that uses every letter early, since it scores more if you play it first.
- Save a letter's last use for a word that also uses the spicy letter, so both doubles can land together.
- Do not burn rare letters on short words when they could anchor longer ones later.
Questions
Is Smush the same for everyone?
Yes. Each date has one authored board, and the game shows community averages for it.
How many times can I use a letter?
Five times, including repeats inside one word. The gold centre letter has no limit but must be in every word.
Who makes Smush?
It is published on Hank Green's website, and he has posted videos playing it.
Do I need an account?
No. Your history and streak are saved in your browser on that device only.
Games like Smush
4×3
Hank Green's other daily word game, on the same site
Spelling Bee
Make words from a set of letters that always include the centre one
Blossom
Seven letters, a required centre letter and scoring for every word
Dabble (Nerdcube)
Build high-scoring words from a daily board of letters
Chiddle
Chase the highest scoring words from a fixed set of letters
Wordcell (Gamebunny)
Swipe a ball around a walled board to collect letters and spell the day's hidden words.
Guess The Grid
Swap scrambled letters until every row and column of the day's grid spells a word.
Guess The Secret Word
Trace words on a 5x5 letter grid to work out which tiles spell the day's secret word.