Zigzag

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Pick a letter from each of five columns to spell the day's words.

Play Zigzag

on greatest.games

Zigzag is a daily word hunt across five columns of letters. Pick one letter from each column to spell a five-letter word. Twenty words are the target: ten bonus words matching clues listed below the grid, worth 7 points each, and ten basic words of your choice, worth 3. Find all ten bonus words and ten basics for a perfect 100.

About Zigzag

Zigzag lays out five columns of letters. You build a word by picking one letter from each column, left to right, so every word is five letters long. Twenty words hide in the grid, and you are after two kinds.

Bonus words come with clues, definitions listed alphabetically below the grid, and score 7 points each. Basic words have no clues; any common five-letter word you can spell counts, for 3 points each. The day ends when you have all ten bonus words and any ten basics, a perfect score of 100; extra basics beyond ten do not add points. A timer tracks your speed but never runs out, and Give up reveals the rest.

Zigzag is one of the daily games on Greatest Games, a site of word and logic puzzles. A new puzzle goes up every day at midnight US Eastern, the same for everyone, and it plays free in the browser with no account or download. Missed days sit in a dated archive: a free account plays the last seven, and the Greatest Games Plus subscription plays them all and removes the ads.

How to play Zigzag

Open Zigzag on greatest.games and look at the five columns and the clues.
Tap or type one letter from each column to spell a five-letter word.
Match words to the bonus clues for 7 points each.
Add any ten basic words for 3 points each.
Find all ten bonus words and ten basics for a perfect 100.

Screenshots

Zigzag on a phone: the day's four rows of five letter columns above the word slots and the list of bonus clues

Tips

Read the clues first and look for their answers' first letters in the left column.
Basic words are easy points; bank common ones like plurals and simple nouns early.
Work column by column: a rare letter in one column limits the words through it.
There is no time limit, so take your time on the last few bonus words.

Questions

What is a perfect game?

All ten bonus words plus any ten basic words, for 100 points.

Does the timer run out?

No. It tracks your speed but never times out.

When does Zigzag reset?

Every day at midnight US Eastern Time, with the same puzzle for everyone.

Is Zigzag free?

Yes. The daily plays free in the browser with no account, with ads around the game. A free account opens the last seven days of the archive, and Greatest Games Plus, a paid tier, opens the whole archive without ads.