word.golf
Rate itLink two unrelated words through a chain of related ones in as few jumps as you can.
on word.golf
word.golf gives you five pairs of unrelated words each day, such as smear and undergrowth. From the start word you click one of 20 related neighbours, then a neighbour of that, until the target appears. Fewer jumps is a better score, and the game keeps a streak, a numbered share card and a calendar of past days.
About word.golf
word.golf is a daily word association game. You are given two unrelated words, a start and a target, and have to get from one to the other by hopping through related words. The board is a grid of 21 words: your current word in the middle and 20 neighbours around it. You click one to jump there, the grid refreshes around your new word, and you keep going until the target shows up among the neighbours and you click it.
Like golf, the score is the number of jumps, and fewer is better. There are five rounds a day, the same for everyone, each with its own pair of words, so a day is a short course of five holes. The words are linked by meaning and association rather than spelling, and the game's own rule is that neighbours are related but do not mean the same thing. On 20 October 2026 the first hole ran from smear to undergrowth, and a route through slime and moss reached it in three jumps.
A short animated tutorial plays on your first visit. The daily needs no account; signing in with Google keeps your history and shows the day's best solution. A calendar page lets you play past days back to the first puzzle in May 2025, and a race mode opens lobbies where you and friends race between the same words, the first to finish winning. It is free to play in the browser, with no ads.
It suits people who enjoy loose word association and lateral thinking, and anyone who likes a quick daily where there are many routes and the challenge is finding a short one.
How to play word.golf
- Open word.golf and read the round's start word and target word at the top right.
- Look at the 20 words around your current word in the grid.
- Click a related word to jump to it; the grid then refreshes around that word.
- Keep hopping through related words, steering toward the target's side of the map.
- Click the target when it appears among the neighbours, then move on to the next of the five rounds and share your scores.
Screenshots
Tips
- Think about what the target is related to and try to steer towards that side of the map, not just away from the start.
- Broad, common words often link to more things, so they can be useful stepping stones.
- A direct looking jump is not always shortest; scan the whole cloud before clicking.
- Since fewer jumps scores better, it is worth pausing to plan rather than clicking the first related word you see.
Questions
How does word.golf work?
You start on one word and jump through related words, one click at a time, until you reach the target word. The grid of neighbours changes with each jump.
How is it scored?
By the number of jumps, like strokes in golf: fewer is better.
How many rounds are there each day?
Five, each a different pair of unrelated words, the same set for everyone.
Can I play past days?
Yes. The catalog page has a calendar of every day since the first puzzle in May 2025.
Do I need an account?
No. The daily plays without one. Signing in with Google keeps your history and shows the day's best solution.
Does it cost anything?
No. It is free to play in the browser and shows no ads.
Ratings and reviews
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