Slideword

What Slideword is

Slideword is a daily word puzzle that turns a 5x5 grid into a toroidal sliding challenge. Five hidden words are spread across the board, one row per solved state, and your goal is to slide whole rows left or right and whole columns up or down until every row reads across as one of the day's five words. Tiles wrap around the edges, so letters cycle back into view instead of falling off. The five clues are visible from the start, and revealing an answer costs no moves. Easy mode locks each solved row in place, while Hard mode requires all five rows to be green at the same time. Vertical matches appear amber to help you track letters, even though only horizontal words count. The game runs in the browser without an account for the current puzzle, and the timer pauses when you step away. A new puzzle is published daily at midnight US Eastern. Slideword carries the heritage of the 15 Puzzle and modern toroidal slide games.

How to play

On the 5x5 board, each row contains letters from one of the day's five words. Slide a whole row left or right, or a whole column up or down, using the arrow controls; letters wrap around the edges so nothing falls off. You can also tap a cell and use the keyboard arrow keys to slide that row or column. In Easy mode, any row that spells its word horizontally locks in place; use the lock icon to unlock or re-lock found rows. Column slides skip locked rows in Easy mode, so you can work on the remaining lines without disturbing finished ones. Tap a clue bar below the board to reveal a target word as a hint. Hard mode removes auto-locking, so all five rows must be correct at the same time. Switch modes with the gear beside the help button.

Tips

1. In Easy mode, lock a row as soon as it reads correctly; column slides then skip it, letting you adjust the remaining rows without breaking finished words.
2. Use row slides to rotate letters within a row and column slides to move letters between rows; combine the two to reposition a stubborn letter.
3. Vertical matches show amber, a useful signal even though only horizontal rows count; use those matches to track where letters currently sit.
4. Revealing a clue costs no moves, so it is a safe way to confirm which word belongs in a row before you commit to sliding.