How to Play Feetle

Here is how to play Feetle in one line: start from a four-letter word and reach FEET by changing one letter at a time, with every step a real word. The fewer steps you take, the better. This guide covers the rules, how par works, and the habits that help you hit par on the daily Feetle.

How to play Feetle: the rules

1. You get a start word, for example GAVE.
2. Type a new word that differs from the last one by exactly one letter, in the same position.
3. The new word must be a real four-letter word. If it is not, the game says so and you try again.
4. Keep going until you type FEET.

Here is a full ladder from GAVE, the start word of the very first Feetle:

1. GAVE
2. 1GALE
3. 2GALL
4. 3FALL
5. 4FELL
6. 5FEEL
7. 6FEET

Each highlighted tile is the letter that changed. Notice how the ladder first builds the double L, then walks the vowels toward E, and only swaps the last letter to T at the very end.

Par in Feetle

Par is the length of the shortest route through common words. Our solver works it out for every start word, so par is always reachable without obscure vocabulary. If you know a rarer word, such as BAUD or TEFF, you can sometimes finish under par. The Feetle answer pages show par for each puzzle and every route that reaches it; today's is Feetle #9.

Tips to beat par

• Work backwards. Only a handful of common words sit one step from FEET: BEET, MEET, FEAT, FRET, FELT, FEED, FEEL and FEES. Aim for one of them, then finish.
• Get the E's early. Two of FEET's letters are E. Words like SEEN, KEEP and DEER put you one or two steps away.
• Change the consonant you need last. If F is missing, a word ending in -EET or -EEL lets you swap it at the end.
• Use the solver to learn. After a game, put your start word into the word ladder solver to see every shortest route you missed.

Daily and unlimited

The daily puzzle is the same for everyone and changes at 00:00 UTC. Feetle Unlimited lets you play as many ladders as you like at easy, medium or hard par. Curious where the puzzle comes from? Read the history of the word ladder game.

How to play Feetle FAQ

What counts as a real word in Feetle?

Any four-letter English word in our dictionary: common words, plus rarer ones like BAUD or TEFF. Names, abbreviations and slurs are not accepted.

Can I change two letters at once?

No. Each step changes exactly one letter, and the letters stay in place. You cannot add, remove or swap letters around.

What happens if I go over par?

Nothing bad: you still finish. The result shows how many steps you took against par, and your stats track how often you hit par exactly.

Does the hint button cost anything?

A hint fills in the next word on a shortest route from where you are. The result and the share text show how many hints you used.