Letter Ring

How to play

Make words from the letters on the wheel to fill the crossword. Put your finger on a letter and slide it over the others to spell a word, then lift your finger. Each letter can be used once in a word, and a word has at least 3 letters.

If the word belongs in the crossword, all its squares fill at once, and it earns one point per letter. A real word that is not in the crossword is a bonus word: it earns 1 extra point.

The crossword is solved when every square is filled — a word whose squares were all filled by other words counts as found. Slide back onto the letter before to take the last letter off.

Shuffle mixes the letters on the wheel, and Hint shows one letter in the crossword. Each crossword allows 3 hints on Easy, 2 on Normal and 1 on Hard.

Easy has 4 or 5 letters on the wheel and starts with one letter shown, Normal has 5 or 6, and Hard has 6 or 7 with more words to find. Playing alone, you go from crossword to crossword and the game remembers where you got to.

In a race everyone fills the same three crosswords with no Hint; the fastest time wins.

The aim

Letter Ring shows a small crossword of empty squares and, beside it, a wheel of letters. Every word in the crossword can be spelled with the letters on the wheel. Fill every square to solve the crossword.

How to play

There are no turns. Put your finger on a letter and slide it over the others to spell a word; the word grows in a chip above the wheel. Lift your finger to try it.

• Each letter on the wheel can be used once in a word. If the wheel has two E's, you may use both.
• A word has at least 3 letters.
• Slide back onto the letter before, and the last letter comes off.

When you lift your finger:

• The word is in the crossword: all its squares fill at once, and it earns one point per letter.
• It is a real word, but not in the crossword: it is a bonus word, worth 1 extra point.
• It is not a word: the chip turns red and shakes. Nothing is lost.

An example. The wheel holds T, E, A and M. You spell TEAM: it is in the crossword, so its four squares fill and you earn 4 points. Then you spell MATE. It is a real word, but the crossword has no place for it, so it is a bonus word.

Words cross, so a filled word gives away letters of the words that cross it. If every square of a word gets filled by other words, that word counts as found.

Shuffle mixes the order of the letters on the wheel. Hint shows one letter in the crossword. Each crossword allows 3 hints on Easy, 2 on Normal and 1 on Hard.

Scoring and the end of the game

The crossword is solved when every square is filled. Pick a difficulty:

• Easy: 4 or 5 letters on the wheel. The first letter of the longest word is shown from the start.
• Normal: 5 or 6 letters and more words.
• Hard: 6 or 7 letters and the most words.

Playing alone, you go from crossword to crossword, and the app remembers where you got to on each difficulty and in each language.

In a race, everyone fills the same three crosswords on their own phone or tablet. You see which crossword each rival is on, but never their squares. There is no Hint in a race. The fastest to solve all three wins. The crosswords use the language most players at the table speak; on a tie, the inviter's.

Tips to play better

• Find the longest word first. One word in every crossword uses all the letters on the wheel, and it gives the most letters away.
• Count the squares. A row of four empty squares needs a four-letter word.
• Use the letters you have. A letter where two words cross tells you how the other word starts or ends.
• Look inside words. TEAM hides TEA; MATE hides MAT.
• Shuffle when you are stuck. Letters in a new order spark new words.

Common mistakes

• Lifting the finger too soon. The word is tried the moment you lift.
• Sliding back too far. Each step back takes off one letter. To start over, lift your finger and begin again.
• Ignoring bonus words. They earn points too, so try every word you see.

Playing with family

Letter Ring is a calm spelling game with no clock. It plays in the app's language; in Hebrew and Arabic the crossword reads from right to left. Only everyday words appear in the crossword. Easy suits early readers, while Hard keeps grown-ups thinking.

The guided lesson lets you spell a word and watch its squares fill, find a bonus word, try Shuffle and Hint, and spell the last word to solve a crossword.

There is no computer opponent. Play alone, or, in the app, race with up to four players together nearby, each on your own phone or tablet, with no Wi-Fi or internet needed. The browser edition is for one device.

Ways to play

• 🎯
  On your ownPlay alone, whenever you like.
• 👪
  Play together, nearbyWith family and friends in the same room: up to 4 players, each on their own phone or tablet. No Wi-Fi or internet needed. In the Jambolaya app.
• 🎓
  Learn by playingA guided lesson on the real game teaches you the rules one step at a time.