Enlarge / A word game as addictive as “drugs”.
viral success word Reminds the world how compelling a good word game can be (even if the game isn’t entirely new).But if you’re like me, every day word Grinding may be starting to feel a little monotonous by now.
Not enough depth after months of daily puzzles word‘s simple five-letter guessing game that really pushes the average player to interesting new places. Variations that limit the possible word space (i.e. Lewdle) or add more simultaneous play (i.e. Sedecordle) bring back some novelty, but only go so far.
I do not recommend for players who are ready to go deeper in their everyday word puzzles Key words enough. The game combines the puzzle-like arrangement of intersecting letters of a crossword with the positional logic of math puzzles like kenken to create a truly unique and addictive brain teaser.After spending a week tearing dozens of Key words Puzzles, I’m happy to say I’m still hungry for more.
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A’s ground rules Key words The puzzle can be summed up in one sentence: Arrange the available letters in each zig-zag “knot” (indicated by dotted lines) so that each row and column (two or more letters) form a valid English word . This simple structure hides a complex solving strategy, reward logic and general knowledge of English word structure.
The best way to demonstrate how this strategy works in practice is to step through a simple puzzle. Take this, it’s an early part of the game’s April puzzle book.
Right away, the “AE” in the upper right corner caught my attention. There aren’t many English words that start with “AE”, so let’s start by filling in “EA” here.
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From there, we need to use the two letters in the bottom right corner “TDS” to complete the rightmost column. Either “EAST” or “EATS” would work well there. But “EAST” forces the knot to end with an awkward “DT” on the last line. “EATS” is the more likely solution, leaving a common “DS” ending for horizontal crosswords.
With “DS”, “ENDS” is the only word that really applies to the bottom left “YNE” knot, and also leaves a promising “NY” on the little turf. This makes “PAGE” and “GAPE” a powerful possibility for the leftmost column. But “GAPE” puts an awkward G in the top left corner; neither “GILE” nor “GLIE” works with adjacent knots crossing. “PAGE” on the other hand leaves both “PILE” and “PLIE” as options – let’s try “PILE” first.
All that’s left is the center knot. Right off the bat, “RO” pops out as a way to connect “I” and “NY” into “IRONY”. From there, the final letters fit in perfectly, creating ‘AREA’, ‘GOAT’ and ‘LEAD’ in the process. Puzzle complete – great job! “