Word Ladder is a puzzle in which there 6 rows, each able to take a 4-letter word, where the words at the top and the bottom are presented, but the words in the middle four rows are hidden. To solve the puzzle, you need to find 4 intermediate 4-letter words such that each word differs from the one above and below by one letter only.

So, given the following word ladder,
BUST
----
----
----
----
MATE

one solution would be:

BUST
OUST
OAST
MAST
MATT
MATE

The solutions are not always unique, so in the above case the solution:

BUST
BUSH
MUSH
MASH
MATH
MATE

would also be acceptable.

In this version, an additional constraint has been added: two consecutive letter changes may not be in the same position. So, a sequence such as:

BUST
GUST
MUST

where the first letter is changed in both cases, would not be acceptable.

Playing

When Word Ladder opens, you are presented with the word ladder, with four missing words.

Each of the four middle rows has an arrow button at either end. Pressing the one on the right simply copies the letters from the row above into this row, ready for you to change one. Pressing the one on the left copies the letters from the row below in a similar way. This allows you to solve the puzzle top-down or bottom-up.

At the bottom of the screen is a letter keyboard. Pressing one of these keys makes this letter the one to be inserted; it is initially shown just above the middle of the keyboard so that you can be sure which letter has been selected. Once a letter has been selected, you can press any letter in the middle four rows to change the letter displayed to the selected letter.

Solution

At any time, you may press the Solve button. This displays the initial letter grid, again with four blank rows. You then have a number of options concerning the solution.

  • You may see the complete built-in solution by pressing the up arrow below the ladder grid.
  • You may see any line of the built-in solution by pressing the arrow to the right of the line. You might want to do this if you're stuck, and want some help.
  • You may request a critique of your solution, by pressing the Check my solution button.
When checking your solution, the system displays your solution and carries out the following procedure:
  • First, it checks that your solution is complete (no blank letters). If not, it informs you of this (text on a red background) and does no further checking.
  • Next, it checks line by line to see whether the letter changes meet the required criteria, namely one change per line only. If it finds this constraint to be broken, it informs you of this (text on a red background) and does no further checking.
  • Next, it checks to ensure that the letter change is not at the same position in two consecutive changes. If it finds that this has occurred, it informs you of this (text on a red background) and does no further checking.
  • Finally, if all these checks are satisfied, it checks to see whether the words are valid. If it finds any that are not in the built-in dictionary, it informs you of these on a yellow background, indicating that the solution may or may not be correct, since although the dictionary contains over 2500 English words, there may be some words that you count as correct that are not in it. If all words are found in the internal dictionary, you are informed of this on a green background, together with a statement about whether your solution is the same as the built-in one or different.

To see the built-in solution again, just press the up arrow.

Press the Back button to return to the main puzzle screen.

Press the New button at any time to load a new Word Ladder puzzle.

This puzzle can be played as a game if two or more people can see the screen. The winner is the first player to give a valid answer.

Terms of use

This software may be used for personal purposes only.  It may not be used for commercial purposes.

The software, code and script of this application may not be copied or be distributed to others.

The software, code and script may not be altered in any way.

Copyright of the software, code and script, and its help documentation, is held by TopAccolades Limited.  No part of the software, code, script or documentation may be copied or used in another application or document.

Although every effort has been made to ensure that this software functions as intended, TopAccolades Limited provides no warranty of merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose, in relation to this application or its support.

TopAccolades Limited shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of the use of or inability to use this application or the provision of or failure to provide support.

Copyright TopAccolades Limited
www.topaccolades.com

Version: 3.0 (20170327)
Scale: