How to Play the Crossclimb Game
Crossclimb is a trivia word-ladder puzzle: answer five clues, then order the rungs so each neighboring pair of words differs by a single letter. This guide covers the rules, the controls, the modes you can play in, and the strategy that makes hard ladders fall into place.
The ladder
A Crossclimb puzzle is a ladder of seven rungs. Every rung holds a word, and all seven words are the same length — either four or five letters. The top and bottom rungs start locked and hidden. The five rungs in the middle each carry a trivia clue for you to answer. Those five middle answers arrive scrambled: you must find the unique climb that connects the fixed ends.
The one rule that matters
In the finished ladder, every pair of neighboring words differs by exactly one letter in one position — no anagrams, and no adding or dropping letters. CARD can climb to CORD (one change) and CORD to CORE (one change), but CARD to CORE is two changes and can never be neighbors. Between the fixed top and bottom words there is exactly one valid ordering of the five middle answers — and that same climb also works in reverse, so either direction unlocks the ends.
Answering the clues
Tap or click a rung to focus it, then type your answer to its clue. You do not have to solve the rungs top to bottom — answer the ones you know first, and the shared letters will help you work out the rest. As soon as you type a full-length word, it is checked automatically: a correct answer locks in, and a wrong one is marked so you can try again. Every answer is a common word, so the challenge is the trivia and the climb, not obscure vocabulary.
Ordering the rungs
Once your five middle answers are in, arrange them so each neighboring pair changes by one letter. Drag a rung up or down to move it, or use the up and down buttons on each rung — both work with a mouse, a finger, or the keyboard. When the five middle words are correct and form a valid one-letter chain that also connects to the locked ends — in either the intended order or its exact reverse — the top and bottom rungs unlock together.
When the ladder won't unlock
The most common stuck point is answering all five middle clues correctly and arranging them into an internally valid one-letter chain that still will not unlock the ends. That trap happens when the middle chain does not attach to the fixed top and bottom words: every neighbor among the five is fine, but neither end of that chain is one letter from the locked rungs. Reorder (or rethink which words belong at the edges) until the full seven-rung climb connects. Remember that the reverse of the intended order also unlocks — if your first middle word ends up next to the bottom instead of the top, that can still be the correct climb.
The combined clue
When the ends unlock, a single combined clue appears describing both the top and bottom words as a pair — often a compound word or a strongly linked duo, like HOME and SICK. Reordering is disabled after unlock; the middle order stays fixed while you type the ends. Whichever direction you climbed, each end is one letter from its neighboring middle word, so the combined clue plus those constraints will lead you to both.
Hints and reset
Stuck on a clue? Hint reveals the next letter of the focused rung and adds one to your hint total. Reveal rung fills every empty letter on that rung in sequence and counts one hint per letter filled — not one hint for the whole button press — so revealing three blanks costs three hints. Reset clears the board, relocks the top and bottom rungs, and zeros your hints and timer so you can restart the same ladder from scratch.
Winning and sharing
You win the moment the whole ladder is correct — the five middle rungs solved and ordered and both ends filled in. The board shows your finish time and how many hints you used. On the daily puzzle, completing it also keeps your streak alive and can place you on the daily leaderboard. A share button copies a compact, spoiler-free emoji summary of your result to the clipboard, so you can post it without revealing the answers. Unlimited puzzles use seed share links instead, so you can send someone the exact random ladder you just played.
Daily, Unlimited, and the puzzle library
There are three ways to play, all free and all using the same seven-rung rules. The daily puzzle is one shared ladder for everyone that changes once a day — that is the mode that tracks your streak and the daily leaderboard. Unlimited generates a fresh random puzzle on demand: press New puzzle for another, or share a seed link to give someone the same board. Unlimited solves do not advance your daily streak or the leaderboard. The numbered puzzle library lets you work through fixed ladders by number, and the archive replays past daily dates. For a side-by-side look at how this site relates to LinkedIn's game, see LinkedIn Crossclimb.
Strategy tips
These are the quick pointers. For a deeper walkthrough of the solving techniques, read the full Crossclimb strategy guide.
Answer the clues you know first
You do not have to solve the rungs in order. Fill in the trivia answers you are sure of, then use the letters they share to work out the trickier ones. Every answer is the same length, so a confident answer tells you a lot about its neighbors.
Look for one-letter neighbors
Two answers can sit next to each other only if they differ by a single letter in the same position. Once you have a few answers, scan for pairs that are one letter apart — those pairs must be adjacent in the finished ladder.
Build outward from a locked pair
When you find two words that clearly connect, treat them as a fixed link and ask which remaining word could attach to either end. The ladder has exactly one valid order, so each confident link narrows the arrangement quickly.
Use the ends to your advantage
The hidden top and bottom words each differ by one letter from the middle rung nearest them. Even before they unlock, thinking about what could sit just past the top and bottom rungs helps you decide which of your answers belong at the ends.
Spend a hint on a single letter
If a clue has you stuck, reveal one letter rather than the whole word. A single letter is often enough to jog the answer, and it keeps more of the solve — and a better time — to yourself.
Save the combined clue for last
The top and bottom rungs unlock only after the middle ladder is correct and ordered, and they share one combined clue. Read it as describing a pair — a compound word or a strongly linked duo — and remember each end is one letter from its neighbor.
How-to FAQ
Why won't the top and bottom rows unlock?
The ends unlock only when the five middle answers are correct and ordered into a chain that also connects to the fixed top and bottom words. A common trap is solving all five middle clues into an internally valid one-letter chain that still does not attach to either locked end — in that case the ladder will not unlock until you reorder (or rethink) the middle so the full seven-rung climb is valid. The reverse of the intended order also unlocks, because the climb can run either direction between the same ends.
Can the ladder be solved bottom-to-top?
Yes. Once the middle words are correct, either the intended top-to-bottom order or its exact reverse unlocks the ends. After unlock, the first middle word may sit next to the top or the bottom depending on which direction you climbed, and you fill both ends from the combined clue either way.
What does Reveal rung do to my hint count?
Hint reveals one letter on the focused rung and adds one to your hint total. Reveal rung fills every empty letter on that rung in sequence and counts one hint per letter filled — not one hint for the whole button press — so revealing a four-letter word with three blanks costs three hints.
How do I reorder rows (drag/keyboard)?
Drag a middle rung up or down with a mouse or a finger, or use the up and down buttons on each rung — the buttons also work from the keyboard. Reordering is available only before the ends unlock; once the combined clue appears, the middle order is locked in place.
What happens when I press Reset?
Reset clears the board for the current puzzle: answers and ordering are wiped, the top and bottom rungs lock again, and your hint count and timer return to zero so you can restart the same ladder from scratch.
Where can I practice more puzzles?
Play today's shared daily puzzle on the homepage, generate endless fresh ladders in Unlimited mode, work through the numbered puzzle library, or replay past days in the archive. Streak tracking applies to the daily puzzle only; Unlimited and library solves do not advance it.
Ready to play? Start with today's puzzle, keep going in Unlimited, warm up in the puzzle library, or revisit the archive. Want to solve faster? See the strategy guide. Curious how this site compares? Read LinkedIn Crossclimb.