Each day Stepwise gives you a start word and a target word of the same length. Change one letter at a time to climb from one to the other. Every rung of the ladder must be a real English word, and you cannot use a word twice.
Par is the shortest route through everyday words. Reach the target in par for 100 points, lose 10 for each extra step, and gain 25 for every step under par. Unusual in-between words earn up to 30 bonus points, because the fewer people who used them today, the more they are worth.
A new ladder appears at midnight UK time, the same for everyone. Most ladders use four-letter words and Saturdays use five. Par is usually three or four steps, and hints are cheap.
A word ladder turns one word into another by changing a single letter at a time, and every step has to be a real word. Lewis Carroll invented the puzzle in 1877 and called it Doublets.
Sometimes. Par only counts everyday words, so a rarer word can open a shorter route. Each step under par is worth 25 points.
Yes. British and American spellings are both accepted, along with common variants.
Yes. The archive keeps the last seven days, playable just for fun.
How to play Stepwise: rules, scoring and tips · Past Stepwise answers · All nine daily word games