dankpuzzles

change one letter at a time: make a ladder to send or print

Rungwise Make a word ladder

Pick a start word and a target word of the same length (3 to 6 letters). We check that they connect, one letter at a time, through everyday words, and count the fewest steps. Then send the ladder to a friend or print it.

How it works

A word ladder turns one word into another by changing a single letter per step, and every step must be a real word. CAT to DOG takes three steps: CAT, COT, COG, DOG. Lewis Carroll published the first ones in 1879 and called them Doublets; his HEAD to TAIL ladder still takes five steps.

The step count is the fewest steps through common and everyday words, worked out in your browser with the same word list and solver as the daily word ladder. A rare word can sometimes give a shorter route, so a sharp friend may beat the count; that is allowed. Words such as GEED or AYES that an ordinary reader never writes are left out of the route (your two words themselves may be less common).

When it says no. “Lengths differ”: a ladder never adds or drops a letter, so COLD and WARMS cannot connect. “Not in our word list”: we use the ENABLE word list, which leaves out names, places and most slang. “No route with everyday words”: some words have no listed neighbour at all, and some groups only connect to each other. Longer words connect far less often: in a sample of 300 random pairs of common words, 95% of three-letter pairs connected, 87% of four-letter, 63% of five-letter and only 19% of six-letter pairs. If a long pair fails, try a shorter one. Today’s daily pair is refused so nobody gets it spoiled.

For a class

Print a worksheet gives one page with the start word, the target, one blank rung per step and a line for a name, and a second page with one shortest answer, so you can keep the answers and hand out page 1. Printing is black ink on white, with no colours or page furniture. Four-letter pairs with 3 to 5 steps suit most children of 8 or older; three-letter pairs such as CAT to DOG (3 steps) or PIG to STY (5) suit younger ones. Long ladders print with smaller squares so page 1 stays one page. A pupil’s route can differ from the answer page and still be right if it has the same number of steps and every rung is a word.

For a friend

Send to a friend makes a link like dankpuzzles.com/word-ladder/#f=cold-warm. Your two words travel after the #, which a browser never sends to a server, and nothing else is in the link: no name, no step count, no answer. Your friend plays it on the word ladder page with Hint, Undo and stars, and it never touches their daily streak.

We count visits and plays anonymously. No cookies, no personal data.

What we count

Each visit adds one to a count for the page’s address, nothing more. The maker adds three tallies, each a fixed name with no words, no step count, no cookie and nothing about you. A tally goes up by one when:

  • ladder-make-share you tap Send to a friend
  • ladder-make-print you tap Print a worksheet
  • ladder-make-arrive someone opens a ladder you sent them on the word ladder page (once per ladder per browser)

How to use the word ladder maker

This page turns any two words of the same length into a word ladder puzzle of your own. You choose the two ends; the maker checks that a ladder between them exists, counts the fewest steps through everyday words, and then gives you a link to send or a two-page worksheet to print. There is no account and nothing to install.

Step by step

  1. Type a start word and a target word. Both need the same number of letters, from 3 to 6. Capitals or small letters make no difference.
  2. Tap Find the ladder. The maker loads the word list for that length, checks both words are in it, and searches every route one letter at a time. You get the step count, or a plain reason why the pair cannot work (different lengths, a word it does not know, or no route through everyday words).
  3. Check it before you share it. Show the answer reveals one shortest route on screen, so you can see whether the rungs suit the person who will solve it.
  4. Send or print. Send to a friend opens your device’s share menu where it has one, and otherwise copies the link; Print a worksheet opens your browser’s print dialog with the sheet ready.
  5. Try another pair by changing a word and tapping Find the ladder again. Nothing is saved, so each pair starts clean.

Worked example: SEED to TREE

Type SEED and TREE and tap Find the ladder. The maker answers “SEED → TREE: 5 steps with everyday words”, and Show the answer gives this route, every rung a common word:

  1. start
  2. S → F
  3. D → T
  4. E → R
  5. T → E
  6. F → T: target, 5 steps

Green letters already match the target; the underline marks the letter just changed. Tap Send to a friend and the link is the daily word ladder’s address with #f=seed-tree on the end: the two words in small letters, joined by a dash, and nothing else. The puzzle travels in that # part of the link, which a browser keeps to itself, so it never reaches a server and is stored nowhere. The link holds no step count and no answer: your friend has to find the five steps.

For teachers and classes

Print a worksheet gives two pages: page 1 has a line for a name, the start word, the target and one empty rung per step; page 2 has one shortest answer. In the print dialog, set Pages to 1 and the number of copies to the size of your class, then print page 2 once for yourself. A good class routine is to let the pupils suggest the two words, check the pair live on a projector, and print it on the spot; a pair that comes back with no route is a short lesson in why some words have no neighbours. Seed to tree (5 steps) suits a lesson on plants; cold to warm takes 4 steps through CORD, CARD and WARD. When marking, accept any route of the same length whose rungs are all real words, because most pairs have more than one.

Made with AI tools.