Question 1

Which words count?

Accepted Answer

About 41,000 English words of 2 to 8 letters, taken from SCOWL, an open word list made for spell checkers. American, British, Canadian and Australian spellings all count. Names, abbreviations and words longer than 8 letters don't.

Question 2

What is par?

Accepted Answer

The fewest moves that get from the start word to the goal. It isn't picked by hand: a search of the whole word list finds it, using the same word list and the same four moves the game checks your words against. Every daily is also chosen so that par can be reached through well-known words.

Question 3

Can I beat par?

Accepted Answer

Scoring allows for it (−1 for each move under), but par is already the shortest route there is on the game's word list, so a score of 0 is as good as it gets.

Question 4

How does the streak work?

Accepted Answer

Finish at least one level on a day and that day counts. Miss a day and the streak starts over.

Question 5

Where are my scores saved?

Accepted Answer

In your browser's localStorage: today's chains, your daily streak, your best daily total and how many levels you've finished at par. They never leave your device.