World of Words: Daily Wonders

How to play World of Words

In World of Words, or WOW for short, every level gives you a wheel of letters and a small crossword. Swipe across the letters to spell a word, then let go. If the word belongs in the crossword, it drops into its squares. Fill every square and the level is done. Words cross each other, so one good find often gives you a letter or two of the next. On a computer you can drag with the mouse; on a phone or tablet, just slide your finger.

The first levels use three or four letters and a handful of words. Later on the wheel grows to six and seven letters, the grids get bigger, and the long words take real thought. Every level is free, with nothing to download.

Hints, the rocket and the shuffle

When you stare at the wheel and nothing comes, tap shuffle. It costs nothing, and seeing the same letters in a new order is often all it takes. If you are still stuck, a hint opens one letter in the crossword for 100 coins. The rocket costs 200 coins and lets you choose the square yourself, which is handy when you know exactly which word is holding you up. You get a couple of each for free the first time they appear.

Extra words fill the jar

The letters usually spell more words than the crossword has room for. Those are not wasted. Every real word that is not on the board goes into the jar, and when the jar is full it pays out coins. So keep swiping: short words, plurals, anything you can spell counts.

The daily wheel and the butterflies

Once a day the prize wheel is waiting for you with free coins. Some levels also have a butterfly resting on a square. Find the word under it before it flies off and it leaves a gift box with coins inside. If you run low, a short video gives you more, and nothing in the game ever asks for money.

A wonder of the world in every set

Levels come in sets, and each set takes you somewhere new. You start at the Temple of Poseidon on its cliff in Greece, then travel to the Pyramids of Giza, the Colosseum, the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu and Petra, and on to places like the Great Wall of China, Mount Fuji, Table Mountain and the Sydney Opera House. Each wonder is painted as the background of its set. Finish the set and you keep its card, with a short fact about the place, so the trip slowly turns into a collection.

Tips for the harder levels

• Look for the longest word first. It uses every letter on the wheel and often opens half the grid.
• Try common endings such as -ED, -ER, -ING and -S, and common starts such as RE- and UN-.
• Count the squares. A five-square gap needs a five-letter word, which narrows things down fast.
• Use the letters already in the grid. A word that crosses a known letter is easier to see.
• Save your coins for the long words. The short ones almost always fall out on their own.