thirtysix

About thirtysix

thirtysix is a free browser word game by Jackson Palmer. The board is six columns of six letters, shuffled. Dragging a column up or down moves its letters through the middle row, and when the middle row spells a word you submit it with the GO button or the Enter key. Each letter used scores one point.

Words do not have to be six letters long. Star tiles act as blanks on either side of a shorter word, so two, three and four letter words count too, which the maker explained in reply to players who could not see how six six-letter words would fit. Words are checked against the current Scrabble word list with offensive words removed, and every daily puzzle is built so that all 36 letters can be used.

The puzzle is generated from the date on your device, so everyone who plays on the same day gets the same six columns. A score screen shows today's puzzle ID, your best score for the day and the words you found, and lifetime stats track how many puzzles you have played and your average best score.

It is a calm solo puzzle with no timer, closer to an anagram than to Wordle: the challenge is ordering your words so that the last letters still make something.

How to play thirtysix

1. Open thirtysix on itch.io and press Play.
2. Drag a column up or down (or use the arrow keys) to move its letters through the middle row.
3. When the middle row spells a word, press GO or Enter to score one point per letter.
4. Use star tiles as blanks around shorter words of two, three or four letters.
5. Keep going until all 36 letters are used, or check your progress by tapping the score.

Tips

• Use awkward letters such as Z, Q or a run of Ys early, while there are still many letters to pair them with.
• Short words are allowed, so do not hold out for six-letter words that may not exist.
• Think about what each word leaves behind; the last few letters are where perfect scores are lost.

Questions