Word Lanterns A free word connect game at a night market
Swipe a ring of letters to fill a little crossword at a night market. Bonus words you spot light lanterns that pay for hints.
About Word Lanterns
Word Lanterns is a free online word puzzle you can play in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer. A ring of four to seven glowing letters sits at the bottom of the screen, and a small crossword with empty squares waits above it. Swipe your finger or mouse through the letters to spell a word, lift, and if it belongs in the crossword its letters fly up and light their squares. Words cross each other, so every answer you find gives away a letter of its neighbours.
The twist is the lantern. The ring can spell more words than the crossword asks for, and every extra real word you find is a bonus word. A bonus word pours oil into your lantern meter, longer words pour more, and when the meter is full the lantern lights and pays you a hint coin. Spend three coins on a hint to reveal a letter in the answer that is closest to done, or save them for a hard grid. You can watch a short ad whenever you want more coins, and nothing else ever costs real money.
Every grid you finish lights one stall of a night market. Twenty stalls make a district, and a finished district opens a new street with its own backdrop: a moonlit lane, a paper bridge, a jade alley, a koi canal and more. The market never runs out. Levels are generated, more than three hundred of them are tested and checked, and they start gently with a four letter ring and three words, then grow to seven letter rings and nine word crosswords. The first level of each district is an easy breather, and the last one is a boss grid.
There is also a daily lantern, one grid for everyone in the world that changes at midnight UTC and gets harder through the week, with a streak for finishing it on consecutive days.
All crossword answers are everyday words from a common word frequency list, so you will never be asked for an obscure one. Bonus words accept the full English list, in American and British spellings, with our own filter for offensive words. Your level, coins, lantern, streak and the grid in progress are saved on this device, and to your account when you are signed in.
Tips: look for the longest word first, because it crosses the most others. Shuffle whenever you feel stuck, since a fresh order of letters often shows a word you could not see. Plurals and endings such as ED, ER and ING are favourite bonus words. Spend hint coins on the grid with the most blank squares.
How to play
Press a letter on the ring and drag through the other letters to spell a word of three or more letters, then lift. Drag back onto the previous letter to undo it. You can also tap the letters one by one and tap the last letter again to submit. On a keyboard, type the letters, press Enter to submit, Backspace to remove one and Space to shuffle. Words that fit the crossword fill their squares. Real words that do not fit are bonus words and fill your lantern. Tap the bulb to spend 3 coins on a hint. Esc pauses.
Controls and devices
- Controls: Touch, Mouse, Keyboard
- Works on: phones, tablets and computers
- Screen: portrait orientation
- Price: free, no download or sign-up
FAQ
- Is Word Lanterns free, and does it work on my phone?
- Yes. It is free and runs in the browser on Android phones, iPhones, tablets and computers, with nothing to download.
- What is a bonus word?
- Any real word of 3 to 7 letters that the ring can spell but the crossword does not hold. It pours oil into the lantern meter, and a full lantern pays one hint coin. Each bonus word counts once.
- How do I get hint coins?
- Light lanterns with bonus words, finish grids (2 coins, 3 if you used no hints), finish the daily lantern (5 coins), or watch an optional ad for 3 coins. A hint costs 3 coins.
- Why was my word not accepted in the crossword?
- Crossword answers are everyday words that cross each other, so a valid word the grid does not hold counts as a bonus word instead. If a different word with the same letters belongs in that spot, try that one.
- When does the daily lantern change?
- At midnight UTC. Everyone gets the same grid on the same day. Finish it on consecutive days to grow your streak.
- Is my progress saved?
- Yes. Your level, coins, lantern meter, daily streak and the grid in progress are saved on this device, and to your account when you are signed in.
Credits
- Game design, code, art and sound: Playora Games
- Word list: SCOWL (Spell Checker Oriented Word Lists) by Kevin Atkinson, via wordlist-english (SCOWL permissive license (see LICENSE-SCOWL.txt))