Our free daily · new every day Findish A word search with a new theme every day Play Words Swipe hides its letters in stacks rather than laying them out in a row, and only the letter sitting on top of a stack can be used.
That one rule turns a straightforward word game into something closer to solitaire. You can see the letter you want three deep in a pile, and knowing it is there does not help you until you have spent the two above it on something.
The slots at the top of the screen show how long each answer is, so you always know what shape you are looking for. What you rarely know is whether the letters will be available in the order you need them.
How to play Words Swipe
The board is a set of stacks. Above them are empty slots, one per word, showing the length of each answer.
- Swipe or click across letters to link them into a word.
- Only the exposed letter of each stack can be taken.
- A correct word moves those letters up into its slot and reveals whatever was underneath.
- A wrong attempt costs nothing but time, so guessing is allowed.
- Clear every slot to finish the level and move on.
Reading the slots
The circles are not decoration. They tell you exactly how many letters each remaining answer contains, which narrows the search enormously.
If the only slot left is five long and you can see six letters exposed, one of them is not part of it, and working out which is usually easier than trying to think of the word cold.
Hints
The game will give you a letter or reveal part of an answer when you ask. They are limited, so the useful habit is to ask only after you have exhausted the exposed letters rather than at the first pause.
Tips and strategy
Solve for the stack, not for the word
The natural instinct is to find any valid word and take it. In a stack game that instinct is expensive, because every letter you spend uncovers a new one and the order matters.
Before confirming a word, look at what is underneath the letters it uses. A word that opens three fresh stacks is worth more than a longer one that digs into a single pile.
The letters you cannot see are the real problem
Levels rarely fail because a word is hard. They fail because the last answer needs a letter still buried under two others that belong to answers you have already completed.
The defence is to keep the stacks roughly level. When one pile is much taller than the rest you are carrying a risk you cannot measure, since you have no idea what is inside it.
Short answers first, but only sometimes
Filling the short slots quickly feels like progress and often is, because it clears clutter and shows you the shape of the remaining problem.
The exception is when a short slot and a long one both want the same exposed letter. Then the long answer takes priority, since there are fewer ways to build it and the short one has more chances to appear later.
Say the letters out loud
Word puzzles are visual and your vocabulary is mostly auditory. Reading a set of exposed letters aloud, even under your breath, tends to produce answers that staring silently at them does not.
This sounds trivial and it is the single most effective thing an average player can do to get faster.
Vowels tell you the length
A five letter answer almost always contains two vowels, and a three letter answer usually one. Count the exposed vowels and compare that to the slots still open.
If four slots remain and only two vowels are showing, some of those answers are waiting on letters that are still buried, and you should be digging rather than thinking.
Knowing a locked position
Some positions genuinely lock. Every exposed letter is wrong for every open slot and no legal word exists.
Recognising that early saves more time than any hint. If two full passes over the exposed letters produce nothing, the position is dead rather than difficult.
Playing it on a phone
The swipe control was designed for a touch screen and it shows. Dragging a finger across four letters is faster and more accurate than the same motion with a mouse, and the stacks are large enough that mis taps are rare.
There is one habit worth adopting on a small screen. Lift your finger between attempts rather than dragging back through letters you have already used, because retracing tends to register as a new selection and the word you were building disappears.
The other advantage of a phone is that the levels are short enough to finish one while waiting for something. Progress is kept, so stopping in the middle of a level costs nothing, and the game is genuinely better in five minute pieces than in a long sitting.
Similar word games here
Word Swipe uses the same swipe control on an open grid, Words From Words: Sea builds into a crossword instead of slots, and Word Connect Puzzle is the classic wheel version. More in word.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I select letters in Words Swipe?
Swipe across them on a touch screen, or click and drag with a mouse. Only the exposed letter at the top of each stack can be used.
What do the circles at the top mean?
One slot per answer, showing exactly how many letters that answer has. It is the strongest clue in the game and worth checking before every attempt.
Is there a penalty for wrong words?
No. Attempts that are not valid words simply do nothing, so trying combinations you are unsure about costs only time.
Why can I not use a letter I can clearly see?
It is buried in a stack. Letters become available only when everything above them has been spent on a completed word.
Can a level become impossible?
A position can lock when every exposed letter is wrong for every open slot. Two full passes with no valid word usually means restarting is faster than searching.
Is Words Swipe free?
Yes, free in the browser with no download and no account.