What is Chainle?
Chainle is a daily word ladder puzzle where you connect a start word to an end word by changing, adding, or removing exactly one letter at each step. Unlike classic ladders, word length can vary throughout the chain. Each puzzle displays a par number representing the target step count, and matching it earns a star.
How to play Chainle
- Identify the start word at the top of the board and the end word at the bottom.
- Type a word that differs from the previous one by exactly one letter changed, added, or removed.
- Submit only valid English words that have not already appeared in the current chain.
- Continue building the chain until you reach the end word.
- Match or beat the displayed par to earn the day's star.
Reading the feedback
Letters that match their position in the end word turn green. This indicates progress toward the target, not whether the word itself is valid. The start and end words remain highlighted at the top and bottom to keep the goal visible. Words that break the one-letter difference rule stay in the input line without joining the chain.
Modes
Daily Ladder runs one chain per day at midnight, shared across all players, with difficulty increasing through the week.
Sunday Double Chain presents two consecutive ladders linked by a common middle word, where the first ladder's end word becomes the second ladder's start word.
Archive and Random Puzzle buttons below the board provide access to past daily puzzles and randomly generated chains.
Hints and undos
Hints are not purchased. Undoing two words in the chain grants one hint, revealing which letter to change next. Dead ends can therefore become resources: backtracking may give you information instead of simply costing progress.
Strategy tips
Green highlighting shows positional convergence, not whether a word is valid. Use it to gauge your trajectory, then verify each word independently.
Word length is a route variable. The optimal path may pass through words shorter than both bounds. The dotted cell at the end of the input line signals that you can lengthen the word.
Par is the target for earning the star, not a step limit. Finishing in more steps still completes the puzzle, but you lose the day's star.
Plan reversible moves. Since undos fund hints, recognizing a dead end early and backtracking can provide the information needed to find the par solution.