Squaredle gives you a grid of letters, usually four by four, and asks you to find every word it hides. You connect neighbouring tiles in any direction, including diagonals, to spell words of four letters or more. A new grid comes out each day, along with a smaller Express puzzle.
About Squaredle
Squaredle is a daily word search built by Michael Giuffrida and launched on March 5, 2022. It takes its idea from Boggle, by way of a web game called wordhuntle, and its once-a-day rhythm from Wordle. The site has a daily puzzle, a 3x3 Express puzzle, an archive of older grids, special puzzles and leaderboards.
Each puzzle is a grid of letters, most often four by four. You drag or click through letters that touch, sideways, up, down or diagonally, and you cannot use the same tile twice in one word. Words must be at least four letters long. The game shows how many words there are to find and fills in each one as you get it, so you always know how far you have to go.
What sets it apart from a plain word search is how it handles the dictionary. Common words are required to finish the puzzle, while rare, archaic and some slang words count as bonus words that show up as extra but are not needed. As your progress grows you unlock help: first a count of how many words start on each tile, then how many words pass through each tile, then hints in the word list. Difficulty also follows the week, with easier grids early on and harder or twisted ones later.
Squaredle suits players who like Boggle or Strands and want a puzzle they can come back to through the day. Finding the last few words in a grid can take a while, which is part of its appeal.
How to play Squaredle
- Look at the day's letter grid and the count of words to find.
- Drag through touching letters, in any direction including diagonals, to spell a word.
- Use each tile at most once per word, and make every word at least four letters long.
- Found words fill in on the list; rare words count as bonus words and are not required.
- Keep going until you have found every required word, using the unlocked tile counts and hints if you get stuck.
Tips
- Look for common endings such as -ING, -ED, -ER and -S, then work backwards from them.
- Once you find a word, try its plural and other forms on the same path.
- When tile counts unlock, start with tiles that still have words beginning on them.
- Work through two-letter starts systematically, such as every tile next to an S, when you are down to the last few words.
- Play the 3x3 Express puzzle when you only have a minute or two.
Questions
Is Squaredle free?
Yes. It plays in a web browser at no cost and is supported by ads.
When does a new Squaredle come out?
Each day at 3am Pacific Time.
What are bonus words?
Rare, old-fashioned or slang words that the game accepts but does not require. They show as extra on the word count.
How long do words have to be?
At least four letters, built from tiles that touch, without reusing a tile.
What is Squaredle Express?
A smaller daily puzzle on a 3x3 grid, usually with fewer words to find.
Games like Squaredle
Strands
The Times daily where you trace themed words through a letter grid
Spelling Bee
A daily hunt for as many words as you can make from fixed letters
Letter Boxed
Another daily puzzle about building words from a fixed set of letters
Waffle
A short daily letter grid puzzle with a clear finish
Wordle
The daily word habit Squaredle borrowed its rhythm from
Bongo
Arrange 25 letter tiles into five words for the highest score.
Emoji Game
Drag emoji into the gaps to finish three short phrases in as few moves as you can.
Puzzmo
A daily puzzle page with a crossword, word games, a chess puzzle and more, all in one place.