Wordspan

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Guess the five-letter word from alphabetical clues between its letters.

Play Wordspan

on puzzmallow.com

Wordspan Daily #425 on a desktop: the top row A < _ < _ < O < _ with blue vowel outlines, after a first guess ABHOR with A and O in green, above the on-screen keyboard

Wordspan is a Wordle-like daily from Puzzmallow where the clues are about the alphabet. The hidden word is shown as a chain of comparisons, such as P > E > A < C < H for PEACH, with vowels outlined; letters you place correctly turn green. Find the word in six guesses.

About Wordspan

Wordspan is a daily word puzzle from Puzzmallow, a two-person studio in the UK that also makes Crossflip, Buzzled and Pipcross. Each day there is one hidden five-letter word, the same for everyone and numbered by day, and you have six guesses to find it. Its clues are about the alphabet rather than about which of your letters are in the word.

Before you guess anything, the top row already shows the day's chain of signs. A < means the left letter comes before the right one alphabetically, a > means it comes after, and an = means the two are the same. So the word PEACH reads P > E > A < C < H. Vowels are marked with a blue outline, so you start knowing where the vowels sit and which way the alphabet runs between each pair.

Each guess must be a valid word. Letters you place in the right position turn green and move up into the top row; other letters give no colour, so the signs do the rest of the work. You win when all five letters are green, and the end card lets you share your result.

The daily plays with no account. Ads run around the free game, and a paid Puzzmallow membership removes them and opens extra puzzles and an archive. It suits Wordle players who want a different kind of clue, and anyone who likes thinking about where letters fall in the alphabet.

How to play Wordspan

Read the top row: the signs between the five boxes show how each letter compares with the next, and blue outlines mark the vowels.
Guess a valid five-letter word that fits the signs, using the on-screen keyboard or your own.
Read the symbols: < means the left letter is earlier in the alphabet, > means later, = means the same letter.
Letters in the right place turn green and fill the top row; use them to narrow down their neighbours.
Find the hidden word within six guesses, then share your result if you like.

Screenshots

Wordspan Daily #425 at phone size: the day's chain of < signs with two vowel boxes outlined in blue, six empty guess rows, the keyboard and the start of the how-to-play notes

Wordspan Daily #413 board: five answer boxes joined by the day's > and < alphabet signs with two vowel boxes outlined in blue, six empty guess rows and an on-screen keyboard

Tips

On a strictly rising chain like A < _ < _ < O < _, the letters between two known ones must fall between them in the alphabet, which cuts the choices fast.
Lock in green letters first, then use the comparisons around them to bound their neighbours.
The blue outlines tell you where the vowels are from the start, so pick a first guess with vowels in those places.
Wrong letters get no colour, so keep your own note of letters a guess has ruled out.

Questions

Is Wordspan free?

Yes. The daily word is free to play without an account. Ads run on the page, and a paid Puzzmallow membership removes them and adds more puzzles and an archive.

What do the signs between the letters mean?

A < means the left letter comes earlier in the alphabet than the right one, a > means it comes later, and an = means the two letters are the same.

When does a new Wordspan word come out?

Once a day. The site numbers each puzzle but does not say at what hour the new one appears.