Word Bloom is a flower of seven letters: six petals around a centre. Every answer has to use that centre letter, and the list below the flower shows exactly how many words there are at each length, drawn as blank squares. You finish the day by filling every one of them in.
How to play Word Bloom
Tap the centre letter and the petals to spell a word, then press Enter — or just type, since the keyboard works too.
Every word must include the centre letter and may only use the seven letters on the flower.
Words are four to eight letters long, and a letter may be used more than once in the same word.
The list below the flower shows every answer as a row of blanks, grouped by length, with a found count for each group.
Only words on the day's list are accepted; anything else is turned down at no cost, so guessing freely is safe.
The shuffle button rearranges the petals and the backspace key removes the last letter you tapped.
The Hint button fills in the shortest word you haven't found yet, once per puzzle.
Fill in every blank on the list to finish.
Building out from a four-letter core
Say the centre is R and the petals are A, E, T, S, P and L. Every answer has to contain that R, so start with four-letter words that do: RATE, TEAR, PEAR, REAL, RAPT. Then look at what the list is asking for. If it shows a row of seven blanks, go hunting for something like STAPLER, which uses the R and five petals. PRATTLE would be legal too, because repeating a petal is allowed. PLATES, however good a word it is, is refused — it has no R.
Word Bloom strategy
Let the length groups direct you
The list tells you precisely how many four-, five-, six- and seven-letter answers exist, so you are never searching blind. If the four-letter group is complete and two seven-letter rows are still blank, stop trying short combinations and start looking for words that use nearly the whole flower.
Repeated letters are allowed
Most players assume each petal is good for one use per word, and miss half the long answers as a result. Check deliberately for doubles: LL, SS, TT, EE and PP, and for words that use the centre letter twice.
Inflect everything that lands
As soon as a short word is accepted, run the available endings past it: S, ED, ER, ING and Y, as long as those letters are on the flower. A found four-letter word is very often the five- or six-letter blank sitting directly beneath it.
Pair the awkward petal with the centre early
If one petal is a V, K, W or Y, the long answers almost certainly need it, and there are very few English words combining it with the centre letter. Working out that combination early often unlocks the rows nothing else will.
The hint always gives the shortest word left
It will never hand you the eight-letter answer, so it is not a way out of a hard long word early on. Its real value is late: once the short groups are complete, the shortest word remaining is one of the ones actually blocking you.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to find every word?
Yes. The day is complete when every blank on the list is filled, which is why the list shows you exactly how many words there are.
Does every word have to use the centre letter?
Yes, without exception. A word made only from petals is refused however valid it looks.
How long can a word be, and can I reuse letters?
Four to eight letters, and yes — the same letter can appear more than once in a word.
Why was my perfectly good word rejected?
Word Bloom accepts only the words on the day's own list, so some real words don't count. A rejection costs you nothing.
Do I get a hint?
One per puzzle, and it reveals the shortest word you haven't yet found.
Is there a new puzzle every day, and do I need an account?
One new flower a day, free, with no sign-up. You get one attempt at it and your progress is stored in your own browser, so you can come back to a half-filled list later the same day.