How to play
One rule, two games.
Find real words that use the letters shown, in exactly that order. Everything after this page is scoring.
The rule
ADVENTURE
- The first letter starts your word.
- The last letter ends it.
- Everything in between shows up in order.
- Adventure fits.
- Adventurous doesn't. It has to end in E.
- Aside doesn't either. No V anywhere in it.
Wordspine Sprint
The fast one
Ten words in a row, one per round, on the clock. Most people finish in under four minutes.
- Rounds
- Ten
- Words each
- One. Any word that fits moves you on.
- Letters
- 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5
- Tries
- Unlimited. Wrong guesses cost nothing.
- The clock
- Starts on your first keystroke, stops on your tenth word.
- Time limit
- None. The clock is there to beat, not to beat you.
- Scoring
- 1 point per round, plus extra for longer words. Time is still the main goal.
- Finished
- All ten words. A new Sprint every day.
Sprint scoring
Each round is worth 1 point, plus a bonus for every letter beyond the shortest possible word. Longer words in later rounds are worth more, so a word that is longer than the shortest possible answer scores higher in round 10 than in round 1. Your time is still the headline result; the score is just an extra way to compare days.
With an account, your best and average times are kept on the stats page, and your streak follows you between devices.
Free. No account needed.
Wordspine Pro
The deep one
Four levels a day, ten words each. No clock. Find everything you can.
- Levels
- Four
- Letters
- Two, then three, then four, then five
- Words each
- Ten, or fewer if there are less possible words.
- Unlocking
- Three words opens the next level
- Going back
- Any level, any time, same day
- Tries
- Unlimited. Wrong guesses cost nothing.
- Ending it
- Revealing the answers closes the day and locks your score
Scoring
Two points for the level number, plus one point per letter. So the same word is worth more the deeper you find it.
| Word | Maths | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| At · level 1 | 2 + 2 | 4 |
| Code · level 2 | 4 + 4 | 8 |
| Uneasy · level 3 | 6 + 6 | 12 |
| Compactor · level 4 | 8 + 9 | 17 |
Fill a level and it closes with a bonus of ten times the level number. Level four is worth forty on its own.
Ranks
Your score moves you up a ladder. Genius lands around seventy percent of a full day, so you can reach it without filling every level. Perfect is for the days you do.
- Perfect
- Every level filled
- Genius
- 462
- Great
- 344
- Nice
- 251
- Solid
- 165
- Good
- 99
- Moving Up
- 60
- Good Start
- 27
- Beginner
- 0
Pro is never timed. Progress saves on the device you're using, so you can put a puzzle down and come back to it later the same day.
Free. No account needed.
Words and the dictionary
Any real word that fits the letters counts. There is no secret list of answers, so if it's in the dictionary and it follows the order, it scores.
- Word list
- ENABLE, the open English word list used by most word games
- Spellings
- British and American both count when the list has them
- Not allowed
- Proper nouns, abbreviations, hyphenated words
- Plurals
- Yes, if the dictionary has them
If a word you know gets rejected, tell me. That's the most useful feedback I get.
Curious what fits a given spine? Browse word lists by pattern, or look through the puzzle archive.
Questions
- Do I have to find every word?
- No. In Sprint, one word per round is all you need. In Pro, three words opens the next level. Filling everything is the hard version, and that's what Perfect is for.
- What happens if I guess wrong?
- Nothing. No penalty, no limit on tries. The word just doesn't take, and you try another.
- Can I play a previous day?
- With an account, yes. As a guest you only get today.
- Can kids play?
- Yes. The two-letter and three-letter rounds are genuinely easy, and nothing in the word list is unsuitable. Younger players tend to do better at Sprint than at Pro.