The goal
Place each letter of the day's word in the correct position.
TED
A board part-way through: one letter home, two in the wrong boxes.
- A letter in its correct box turns green, and is fixed there.
- A letter in the wrong box turns orange, and may still be moved.
- The puzzle is solved when every box is green.
The deal
Letters arrive one at a time, and you choose where each one goes.
- The order is random but fixed for the day: every player receives the same letters in the same sequence.
- The next letter is not shown until the current one has been placed.
- There are four ways to move a letter. The next four steps are one each.
Place - the word is TIDE
Drop the dealt letter into an empty box.no points
T→TI
I is dealt into an empty box. It is the correct box, so it turns green at no cost.
Bump - the word is TIDE
Drop the dealt letter onto an occupied box. The letter it displaces returns to the bottom of the deal pile.1 point
TIE→TID
D is dealt, and E occupies the box D belongs in. Placing D there returns E to the bottom of the deal pile.
Swap - the word is TIDE
Exchange two letters already on the board.1 point
TIED→TIDE
E and D occupy each other's boxes. Exchanging them completes the word.
Slide - the word is TIDE
Move a letter already on the board into an empty box.1 point
TI→TI
I is on the board, but in the wrong box. Move it into an empty one.
Score
Bump, swap and slide each cost 1 point. Placing a letter into an empty box is free: every letter must be placed once regardless, so the score measures only the moves beyond that.
0 points is a perfect score, and lower is always better. There is no undo: returning a letter to its previous box is a further move, and a further point.
One puzzle a day, the same for every player.