Spellcase

About Spellcase

Spellcase calls itself a daily puzzle of spelling and deduction, dressed as a detective case. Each numbered case breaks eight words into letters and scatters them across an 8x8 grid, 64 letters in all, with no loose ends: every letter is used once.

You get a list of eight clues with the length of each answer, such as Royal navy bed (8 letters), Scrabble heavyweight (4) or Half loaf (10), in a cryptic-leaning, playful style. You can reveal the starting letters, which are paired with the clues. Tap a clue to work on it and spell its answer by picking letters from the grid. As words come out, the grid thins and the remaining letters narrow down the harder clues, which is where the deduction comes in.

Solved cases go into a casebook, and the game has settings and a how-to-play page. It runs free in the browser. It suits players who like crossword clues but want a puzzle that also rewards working from the leftover letters.

How to play Spellcase

1. Open playspellcase.com and start the day's case.
2. Tap to reveal the starting letters, each paired with a clue.
3. Pick a clue, work out the word from the clue and its length, and spell it from letters in the grid.
4. Each letter in the grid is used once, so solved words leave fewer letters for the rest.
5. Spell all eight words to close the case; it goes into your casebook.

Screenshots

Tips

• Start with the shortest clues: four-letter answers use few letters and are quickest to confirm.
• Look for rare letters like Q, Z and K in the grid: they point to specific answers.
• When stuck, list the letters left over and match them to the remaining lengths.
• Read clues for wordplay: many are puns rather than plain definitions.

Questions