Drag your thumb across five letters. The crossword fills itself in.

No timer, no lives, nothing counting down at you. A wheel of letters, a grid waiting to be filled, and a hundred and fifty of them to work through in your own time.

Free to play, with ads.
Android. Plays offline.

Games
Android
Plays offline
No account
One hand, portrait

The Word Nest launch screen: cream letter tiles spelling WORD on a teal board, surrounded by leaves, under the line Find the hidden words

LEVEL 1, HALFWAY THROUGH

This is the whole game

Five letters on a wheel: L, O, U, I, S. Trace a word, let go, and it drops into the grid where it belongs. Two down here, two to go — and there is a five-word bonus list hiding in the same five letters.

S O I L S I L

SOIL OILS ? ? ? ?

The traced path spells S-O-I-L. Release and it lands.

Every real word counts. Spell something that is not in the grid but is in the dictionary and it banks as a bonus word. Level 1 hides five: LIS, SILO, SOL, SOLI, SOU.
Stars come off hints, not speed. Finish with no hints and it is three stars, one or two hints is two, three or more is one. Nothing is ever timed.
Stuck is fine. Shuffle the wheel to see the letters differently, or spend 25 coins on a hint and one letter appears in the grid.

150hand-built levels
10chapters
5–7letters per board
1new daily puzzle

What it looks like

Scroll sideways, or use the arrow keys

The Word Nest first-run screen: a hand icon over the words Swipe to spell, drag across the letter wheel to form words — The only instruction the game gives you

Level 25 of Word Nest mid-move: an amber path traced across the letter wheel spelling BACK, with the crossword grid above — Mid-swipe on level 25, the path lit in amber

The Word Nest home screen with a Play button showing the current level, and rows for Daily Puzzle, Levels, Coins and Settings — Home picks up wherever you stopped

The Word Nest level map, a winding path of numbered nodes each showing the stars earned — The level map, with the stars you earned

The Word Nest daily puzzle screen showing the current day streak and a play button worth 50 coins — The daily puzzle and its streak counter

ONE A DAY

The same board as everyone else

The daily puzzle is chosen by the calendar date, so the letters you get today are the letters your friend on the other side of the country gets today. Solve it and the streak counter moves on. Miss a day and it starts again, which is the only pressure the game applies.

Daily puzzle solved+50
Level finished+20
Each bonus word+5
Opening the app on a run of days+25 to +200
One hint−25

Made to be played in bed

Portrait, one thumb. The wheel sits low on the screen where your thumb already is.
No timer, no lives, no energy meter. Put it down mid-level. It will be there.
Quiet by choice. Music, sound effects and haptics each have their own switch in Settings.
Nothing to sign up for. No account, no leaderboard, no friend list, no notifications begging you back.
Works on the underground. Levels and word list are bundled. Only the ads need a connection.
Rated for everyone. Plain word puzzles, no chat, no user-generated content.

What it costs

All 150 levels and the daily puzzle are in the free version. There is a banner, and a full-screen ad every three levels. Two things are for sale and neither is needed to finish the game.

ONE-TIME

Remove ads

Takes out the banner and the full-screen ads for good. Bought once, restored on any phone signed in to the same Google account.

OPTIONAL

Coin packs

Three sizes: 500, 1,500 and 4,000 coins. Coins only buy hints, and playing earns them anyway, so this is there for people who would rather not wait.

Questions

How many levels are there?

A hundred and fifty, grouped into ten chapters, all bundled with the app. On top of that there is one daily puzzle, drawn from the same set by date.

Is the daily puzzle the same board for everyone?

Yes. It is picked from the 150 levels by the calendar date, so every player gets the same letters that day. Solving it pays 50 coins and moves your streak on.

Does it work offline?

Fully. The levels, the word list and your progress all sit on the phone. A connection is only used to load ads, and the game plays fine in flight mode.

What are the coins for?

Hints. A hint reveals one letter in the grid and costs 25 coins. Levels, bonus words and the daily puzzle all pay coins, so playing keeps the balance topped up.

How many ads are there?

A banner, and one full-screen ad every three levels. A one-time Remove ads purchase takes both out for good. Rewarded videos are opt-in and never interrupt a puzzle.

Do I need an account?

No. There is no sign-up and no cloud save. Progress, stars and coins are stored on the device.

Level 1 is four words long

You already know three of them.