Word Circle gives you a handful of letters arranged on a wheel and a grid of blanks to fill. Drag through the letters to spell the words the puzzle wants, and any other real word you stumble on is banked as a bonus. There is one new wheel a day, with a single reveal to spend if you get stuck.
How to play Word Circle
Press on a letter and drag through the others in order to spell a word, then lift your finger to submit it.
Each letter on the wheel can be used once per word, and words must be at least three letters long.
The list above the wheel shows every answer as a row of blanks with its first letter already filled in, so you always know how long each one is and how it starts.
A correct answer fills its row; any other valid word you spell is kept separately as a bonus and counted with a star.
The shuffle arrows rearrange the letters on the wheel, which costs nothing and changes no answers.
The Reveal button fills in one word you haven't found yet, and you get one per puzzle.
Fill every row on the list to finish — bonus words are extra credit, not a requirement.
Read the blanks before you swipe
Say the wheel holds A, E, R, S and T. The list shows a three-blank row starting with T and a five-blank row starting with S. The short one is TAR, TAE or TEA, so try them in turn. The five-letter row has to use every letter on the wheel, and the only ordinary word that begins with S is STARE. RATES and TEARS are perfectly good words made from the same letters, so if you spell them they go in as bonuses rather than filling a row.
Word Circle strategy
Match first letters against the wheel
Every row gives you its opening letter and its length, which is a lot of information before you have spelled anything. If a six-blank row starts with S and the wheel has one S and only two vowels, you already know roughly where those vowels have to sit.
Go after the longest row first
The longest answer usually uses nearly every letter on the wheel, so solving it tells you which letters sit happily together — and where the awkward ones like V, K or Y belong. Once you have it, the shorter rows are mostly pieces of it.
Shuffle when your eye gets stuck
The wheel keeps the same arrangement until you shuffle it, and after a minute you stop seeing anything but the combinations you have already tried. Shuffling is free and unlimited, and a new arrangement genuinely turns up words the old one hid.
Build the plurals and endings you already have
If the wheel contains S, R, D or G, check whether a longer row is just a word you have already found plus an ending. A three-blank TAR often becomes a four-blank TARS or TART, and a five-blank row starting with the same letter is often that word with -ED or -ER.
Keep the reveal until few words are left
Reveal picks one of your unfound words for you rather than letting you choose. That makes it weakest early, when it may hand you a word you would have got anyway, and strongest late, when only the hard rows remain and whatever it picks is bound to be one of them.
Frequently asked questions
How many words do I need to find?
All the ones on the list — the counter at the top shows how many you have and how many there are. Bonus words are not included in that total.
Do bonus words help me finish?
No. Any valid word that isn't on the list is tallied separately with a star, so it is a flourish rather than progress.
Can I lose Word Circle?
There is no mistake limit and no timer. A word that isn't recognised just gets a “Not a word” note and you carry on.
Do I get a hint?
One reveal per puzzle. It fills in a complete word you haven't found yet, chosen for you rather than by you.
Is there a new Word Circle every day?
Yes, one new wheel a day, and everyone playing that day gets the same letters. You get one attempt at it, and if you leave mid-puzzle your progress is waiting when you come back.
Do I need an account?
No. It is free with no sign-up, and your progress is stored in your own browser.