What is Cadgy?
Cadgy presents five columns of letter tiles and asks you to build words by selecting exactly one tile from each column. Each daily grid hides twenty words: ten basic words with no hints, and ten bonus words whose definitions appear below the grid. Some tiles carry two letters at once, so a five-tile word can exceed five letters. The game takes its name from a Scottish and northern English term meaning cheerful and full of spirit.
How to play Cadgy
Choose one tile from each of the five columns, moving from left to right with the mouse or keyboard. The word appears beneath the grid as you select tiles; skipped columns remain blank. Valid words are recorded under Basic words or Bonus words, with each category tracking progress out of ten. Definitions below the grid help you find bonus words, while the ten basic words have no clues.
Ten bonus words work like crossword clues, often with twisted hints or etymological details woven into the definition. The ten basic words offer no help at all; you must spot them by scanning the columns directly. The same board supports both guided puzzle-solving and naked pattern recognition. Tiles that turn gold mark letters fully exhausted, signaling where further searching is pointless.
Reading the feedback
Selected tiles turn purple and connect with a line that traces your path through the grid. The word assembles letter by letter beneath the columns. A tile turns gold when every word using it has been found, making gold the only indicator of board coverage. Scoring is straightforward: ten points per word, two hundred points total. The timer runs without stopping the game. The game defines two victories: two hundred points in under three minutes, or two hundred points without entering a single invalid word.
Modes
Daily grid
A hand-edited grid released each day, containing ten basic words and ten bonus words.
Archive
A list of previous days with access to the player's statistics.
Printable version
A "?️ Printable version" button sits under the grid for offline play.
Tips for completing the grid
Gold tiles are your map. A golden tile has given everything it can. When a column is nearly all gold, the remaining words must pass through the pale tiles.
Two-letter tiles break the intuition of a five-letter word. Count in tiles, not letters, before ruling out a combination.
The definitions under the grid cover only the bonus half. The ten basic words have no indicators anywhere. Hunt for them early if you are aiming to finish in under three minutes.
Common questions
How many words must you find in a Cadgy grid?
Twenty. Ten basic words with no clues, and ten bonus words whose definitions appear under the grid. The game awards ten points per word for a total of two hundred possible points.
What does the word cadgy mean?
The game explains it directly: a Scottish and northern English word describing someone cheerful and full of spirit.
Can the timer make you lose the game?
No. The game times you but never forces you to stop. The three-minute mark only matters for one of the two victory definitions. The other victory condition depends solely on entering no invalid words.