How to play LexSweep

LexSweep is a daily word-square puzzle. You have five hidden 5-letter words arranged in a 5×5 grid, and eight guesses to solve all five rows. What makes it different from Wordle: the grid is symmetric, so every row word also reads down as a column word — and the letters you uncover help solve other rows.

The grid

Every LexSweep puzzle is a symmetric word square — a square where the word in row i is identical to the word in column i. That means if row 1 is PLIED, then column 1 (reading top to bottom) is also PLIED. Every row word and every column word is a valid 5-letter English word.

Making a guess

1. Pick any row by clicking it (the selected row gets a blue outline).
2. Type a 5-letter word using the on-screen keyboard or your physical keyboard.
3. Press Enter to submit, or Backspace to delete.
4. You can switch rows between guesses — sometimes solving an easier row first reveals letters that crack a harder one.

Reading the feedback

After each guess, every letter shows one of three states (the same scheme as Wordle):

• Green — correct letter in the correct position for that row.
• Yellow — that letter is in this row’s word, but in a different position.
• Gray — that letter is not in this row’s word.

The shared-column trick

Because the grid is symmetric, a green letter at row 0, column 2 means the same letter appears at row 2, column 0. The puzzle shows a Column hints panel below the grid that summarizes everything you’ve learned about each column. Use it to narrow down the harder rows without wasting guesses.

Example: if you guess HEART on row 1 and H turns green at position 1, you know column 1 starts with H — which means the first letter of every row word read down also starts with H. That triangulation loop is the heart of LexSweep strategy.

Winning and losing

• Win — you solve all 5 rows within 8 guesses. Your streak goes up.
• Lose — you use all 8 guesses without solving every row. The answers are revealed; your streak resets, but your win-rate and play count still update.

Daily reset

A new puzzle releases every day at 00:00 UTC (4:00 PM Pacific the previous day; 7:00 PM Eastern the previous day; midnight London). Your in-progress puzzle is saved to your browser’s local storage, so closing the tab won’t lose your progress — but the puzzle changes at midnight regardless of where you are in it.

Sharing your result

When you finish, tap Share on the result screen. LexSweep copies a Wordle-style emoji grid to your clipboard — one row per puzzle row, showing your guesses without spoiling the answer.

Why eight guesses?

You’re solving five word puzzles, not one — eight guesses averages out to less than two guesses per row, which is tighter than Wordle’s six guesses on a single word. We tested six and it felt unfair. Eight gives skilled players room to triangulate from the column hints without making the puzzle a slog. We may tune this further based on how players perform.

Tips for your first few puzzles

1. Start with a row whose first letter you have intuition for. A good opening word covers common vowels (E, A, O) and frequent consonants (R, S, T, L, N).
2. Once you have a green or two, switch to a row that shares those positions — the column-symmetry means your win compounds.
3. Don’t waste a guess on a row you have no information about. Spend the guess collecting letter data on a row that’s closer to solved.

Ready to play? Open today’s puzzle →

Want more tactical depth? Read the LexSweep strategy guide.