Wordscapes

Wordscapes is a free puzzle game that’s designed to challenge your language skills. Combine a series of letters to form as many words as possible and fill out a crossword puzzle!

What is Wordscapes About?

First released in 2017, Wordscapes has become a viral phenomenon played by people of all ages and walks of life. Wordscapes is a mix between a crossword puzzle and a letter-combining game like Boggle. It’s a great way to tickle your brain with something that’s challenging but not difficult, giving you a sense of accomplishment when you solve each puzzle.

One of the later Wordscapes levels

Understanding The Basics

Each Wordscapes puzzle involves two elements: a crossword-like grid of squares and a circle of letters at the bottom. In order to solve the puzzle, you tap a letter and then swipe to other letters in the circle, lifting up when you’re done. Your indirect goal is to swipe through all of the words that the letters in the circle can make. If you’ve got “TATRAC” in the circle, for example, you’d have to swipe through RAT, CAT, TRACK, CAR, TART, CART, and a number of other words in order to solve the puzzle.

A Wordscapes daily puzzle

Adding In The Crossword

It’s not always easy to quickly come up with every word that can be made with a combination of letters. That’s where the crossword section of Wordscapes comes in. Each time you make a word, it’s filled into a corresponding set of squares in the crossword section of the screen. Just like a normal crossword, these crosswords have lots of intersections, allowing you to see details about words that you haven’t guessed. If you saw a three-letter word starting with “A” and ending with “T” for the above letters, for example, you would be able to quickly guess words like ART and ACT. This adds another dimension to your search and allows you to target specific words as you progress through the puzzle.

Another Wordscapes daily puzzle

Multiple Modes

Wordscapes’ crossword game is the primary app that most people talk about when they refer to Wordscapes, but it’s worth mentioning that it’s far from the only version of the software. Wordscapes makes a word search, a version of the game with no crossword, and a shape-based puzzle game called Wordscapes Shapes. These puzzles are all found in different apps, but they’re worth checking out if you love the original Wordscapes.