How to play Word Scramble: tips for unscrambling words
Last updated October 1, 2026
A word scramble is a word with its letters shaken up. Your job is to put them back in order. It is a gentle puzzle: there is nothing to type, no timer to beat, and every puzzle tells you its theme, which is the clue.
How a puzzle works
Each puzzle is a short list of words. The word you are working on is shown as a row of empty boxes, with its shuffled letters in big buttons underneath. Tap the letters in the order you think they go, and each one drops into the next box. When the boxes spell the word, it turns green and the puzzle moves on to the next word. Tap any word in the list to jump to it, in any order you like.
Tip 1: use the theme
Every word in a puzzle belongs to its theme. If the theme is Comfort Foods, then a jumble of letters is almost certainly a food, and you can ask yourself which foods have that many letters. That is usually faster than trying every order.
Tip 2: find the small pieces first
Look for letters that like to travel together: TH, CH, SH, ING, ER, ED and a Q with its U. Pairs of double letters, such as LL, EE and SS, are easy to spot too. Once you have one piece, the rest of the word often falls into place around it.
Tip 3: start and end
Most English words start with a consonant and end with a vowel or an S, D, E or Y. Try placing the likely first letter, then the last one, and fill in the middle. On the Easy level the first letter is already given, which makes this much easier.
Tip 4: change your mind freely
If a word is not working, tap a letter in your answer to take it back, or press Clear word to start the word again. Nothing is marked against you. Leaving a hard word and coming back to it later often helps, because your eye sees it afresh.
When you are stuck
Press Hint and the next right letter is placed for you; any wrong letters at the start of your answer are taken back first. Hints only change the stars you earn, and you can use as many as you like.
Easy has five words of four to six letters with the first letter given, Medium has six words of five to seven letters, and Hard has eight words of six to eight letters. See all the large print Word Scramble puzzles and their five themes.
More guides
Keep going with how to solve Sudoku, how to solve crossword puzzles, word search tips, how to play Word Fill-In, how to play Honeycomb Words, how to play Word Groups, and how to play Mahjong Solitaire. Or browse all the puzzle guides.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I have to type the words?
- No. You tap the shuffled letters in the order you want, and they drop into the answer boxes. A keyboard works too if you have one, but nothing needs typing.
- What if I put a letter in the wrong place?
- Tap the letter in your answer and it goes back. Nothing is lost and nothing is marked against you. The Clear word button empties the whole answer at once.
- Is there a clue?
- Yes: the theme. Every word in a puzzle belongs to its theme, such as Comfort Foods or Geography. On Easy the first letter of each word is already filled in for you.
- How many words are there?
- Easy has five words of four to six letters, Medium has six words of five to seven letters, and Hard has eight words of six to eight letters.
- Could a scramble spell a different word?
- We leave out any word whose letters can be rearranged into another word on our lists, so each scramble has one answer. If you can think of another real word, tap Hint to see which letter the puzzle wants.
Try it now
Try today’s Easy Word Scramble: tap the letters to spell each word, with the first letter given. It is free every day, with no account and no ads.