mindGames

an eclectic collection of games to pass the time and challenge the mind

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Word games

A2Z5x5

Help

Make ten words by filling a 5x5 grid with letters A to Z (no Q). Some letters in the grid are shown. A word must be made by a chain of cells linked vertically, horizontally or diagonally.

How to Play

Normally you would print a puzzle and solve it on paper at your leisure. However you can also solve on screen using the following commands:
  1. Load a dictionary of your choice or one provided with this program
  2. Create a new puzzle or load one from 20,000 puzzles provided
  3. Click on a grid cell and enter a letter
  4. Use arrow keys to navigate through the grid
  5. Puzzle is done when all 25 letters A-Z (no Q) have been placed and all given words are valid words in the dictionary

Program Features

  1. Save and reload puzzles
  2. Print puzzles and their solutions
  3. Load one of four dictionaries of your choice
  4. Use one of 20,000 puzzles or let program create one at random
  5. 20,000 puzzles with solutions Download
  6. Set display colour schemes

BookWormZ

Help

BookWormZ is a Tetris like game played with letters. Purpose of this game is to make words from a set of adjacent letters arranged randomly on a board. Words can be made by linking letters in adjacent squares. BookWormZ requires good vocabulary, imagination and quick thinking. Computer hints help you learn new words quickly.


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BoomeWord

Help

In this word game you are required to use the last two letters of a word and make new words ultimately returning back to the original word. The last two letters of a word must be the first two letters of the next word. All words are five letters long and must return to the original word in five steps.

How to Play

  1. Click NewPuzzle to start a new game
  2. A five letter word is given. First two letters of the next word are already fixed as the last two letters of given word.
  3. Enter three letters that you guess might fit making a valid next word
  4. Now use the last two letters of the word to compile the next word
  5. Continue step 4 until the last two letters of your word are same as first two letters of the word given in step 1. Then you would solved the puzzle
  6. All words are checked against a dictionary of your choice
  7. You can get one hint per game, click ? against a word
  8. There is a time limit of five minutes for a solution

Program Options

  1. Select a dictionary of your choice
  2. Set display colour schemes

BrickXbrick

Help

In this game you try to remove all letter bricks from the pile of 50 letters as quickly as possible. Appears easy but you will need all your thinking skills and word power to beat the best scores. Three English dictionaries provided. Can also use custom dictionaries. This simple game requires good vocabulary, imagination and quick thinking.


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ChainLetter

Help

In this word game you are required to make 5-letter words. Middle letter of each word is used as the first and last letter of the next word. Try to use most commonly used letters as a middle letter so that the chain continues longer for higher scores.

How to Play

  1. Click Newgame to start a new game
  2. A 5-letter word is given with 2nd, 3rd and 4th letters left blank for you to enter
  3. Use left/right keys to select one of the three positions
  4. Type in the letters of your choice and press Enter
  5. The 5-letter word (with given first and last letter and three letters of your choice) is validated against the dictionary
  6. Points are given for each word made. Scrabble point system is used to get score for a word.
  7. Middle letter of the word made is selected as the first and last the letter of a new word from the dictionary
  8. Games contues from step 2 until you quit or the allocated time of 5 minutes is up
  9. Game ends when all possible words in the dictionary have been used
  10. A word cannot be used twice
  11. You can get a hint - 5 points are deducted for a hint. You must have at least 10 points to get a hint

Program Options

  1. Select word dictionary of your choice
  2. Set display colour schemes

Chainmesh

Help

ChainMesh is one of many varieties of word puzzles available today. While very simple in nature, its not easy to solve. This program prepares a ChaimMesh puzzle that you can print. Puzzle and the solution are printed on a single page. The puzzle is composed of 35 interlocking 7-letter words. First or last letter of each word must form the first or last letter of another word. Also the first and the last letter of each word must be placed in 16 highlighted squares.


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CutandPaste

Help

In this word puzzle cut and paste letters from a set of words to make another set. Some letters must be cut and pasted in 2,3 or 5. Puzzle lines are 3 to 5 with a selection of 4 to 8 letters in a word.

How to Solve

  1. Create a new puzzle or select one from 20,000 puzzles provided.
  2. Normally one would print a puzzle and solve on paper
  3. Left click on a letter in the puzzle (on the left), then click on the solution (right side) to place the letter on a location
  4. Cut and paste from left to right side until new words are made. Some letters are given a clue on the right side.
  5. Right click on a letter on the right side to undo the placement

Program Features

  1. 4 to 8 letter words with 3 to 5 lines in a puzzle
  2. Create and save single or multiple puzzles
  3. Print single or multiple puzzles
  4. Print and solve from 20,000 puzzles provided
  5. Set font name and font size
  6. Select display colour schemes
  7. 20,000 puzzles with varying levels of difficulty and solutions are provided. Download

Diamonds

Help

Diamonds is one of many varieties of word puzzles available today. While very simple in nature, its not easy to solve. This program prepares a Diamonds word puzzle. You can print the puzzle and the solution on a page. The puzzle is composed of 20 interlocking 5-letter words. Twenty words are placed in 65 locations. Last letter of each word must form the first letter of another word. Also the first and the last letter of each word must be placed in 9 diamond locations.


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f8Puzzle

Help

This program will create an 8-shaped word puzzle for you to print and solve at your leisure. There are 23 interlocking words in 23 squares in the puzzle, each 8-letter long. A word must be placed clock-wise around each square with same overlapping letters with other squares.


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FandB

Help

Make four new words by adding one unique word in front of two and at the back of two words. Unique word size can be 3,4 or 5 characters.

How to Play

Normally you would print a puzzle and solve it on paper at your leisure. However you can also solve on screen using the following commands:

  1. Load a dictionary of your choice or one provided with this program
  2. Create a new puzzle or load one from 20,000 puzzles provided
  3. Click on a letter and type in solution letters at the top row of letters
  4. Click on the left or the right (arrow buttons) of given words to add the word as typed in the top row
  5. Right click on any letter in a word to check spelling
  6. Optionally get a full list of all candidate words from the dictionary into a list box
  7. Click on a word in the listbox to try the selected word as a guess
  8. The dictionary loaded is used for spell checking
  9. Puzzle size is 3, 4 or 5 letter words

Program Features

  1. Select guess word size: 3, 4 or 5 letters
  2. Select a dictionary of your choice
  3. Save and reload puzzles
  4. Print puzzles and their solutions
  5. Use one of 20,000 puzzles or let program create one at random Download
  6. Set display colour schemes and fonts

Fit9with6

Help

Place nine letters in a 3x3 grid to make 6 valid words. Clue letters for 6 words are given.

How to Play

  1. Click New button to create a new puzzle
  2. A 9-letter word is given along with 2 clue letters for each of the 6 words to make
  3. Place 9 letters in the open 3x3 grid to make valid 6 words, 3 up-down and 3 left-right
  4. Left click on one of the 3x3 cells and press a letter to place
  5. Placed letters must be one of the 9 letters in the word given as a clue at the bottom of the grid
  6. Puzzle is solved when all 9 letters have been placed and 6 words made are valid words in the dictionary

Main features of this program are:


  1. Select a dictionary of your choice
  2. Use a new dictionary from a customized list of words
  3. Print puzzles
  4. Copy a puzzle to Clipboard
  5. Set display colour schemes
  6. Set fonts

FitAWord

Help

In this word game you are given a set of three letters and two blanks in between. You are required to fill the two blanks and add letters before the first letter or after the last letter to make a valid word. Once you make a word, letters used in the two blanks become part of the word to be found next. The game ends when there are no valid words are left corresponding to the letters used in the previous word. This game is good for learning new words and making right choices of letters so that the game continues longer thus accumulating higher number of points.

How to Play

  1. This game has a set of 100 letters (A to Z) with letter values same as those in Scrabble.
  2. The game starts with computer selecting two letters at random. Then one letter is selected from the pile of 100 letters.
  3. You attempt to find a word that fits with the given pattern and click TRY.
  4. Computer will check and add score for a valid to your accumulated score
  5. A new pattern will be set by using the two letters placed in blank cells plus one letter select from the pile of 100 letters
  6. The above process is repeated from step 3
  7. Game ends when no letters remain in the pile or there are no words in the dictionary that match the pattern resulting from your previous guess
  8. Use tabs to position cursor to a cell and the enter the desired letter (A to Z)
  9. Left click SKIP to get the next word to guess
  10. Right click SKIP to view the solution and get the next word guess
  11. Enter a ? in a location - computer will give a hint for possible letters in that location. One point is deducted for each hint.
  12. Each game starts with a balance of 5 points

Program Options

  1. Select a dictionary of your choice
  2. Skip a turn. Computer will display solution words but no score will be awarded.
  3. Get hints. One point is deducted for each hint.
  4. Set display colour schemes

Guessword

Help

This is a game of fun and learning. You are required to guess a five to nine letter word.

Layout

First letter of the word to be guessed is shown. You enter letters of your choice in the remaining positions and press ENTER.

Once a word is completed, the computer will match your guess with the selected word with a background colour: GREEN - the guessed letter is correct and is also in the correct position, YELLOW - the guessed letter is correct but is not in the correct position .


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Hexafit

Help

HexaFit is one of many varieties of word puzzles available today. While very simple in nature, its not easy to solve. This program prepares a Hexafit word puzzle. You can print the puzzle and the solution on a page. The puzzle is composed of 19 interlocking hexagons. Three sides of outer periphery hexagons, and all six of internal hexagons are interlocked. Each of 19 hexagons, or 19 cells is divided into 6 parts. The puzzle comes with a set of 19 6-leeter words. Purpose of the puzzle is to place these 6-letter words in 19 cells. Letters at the boundaries in interlocking cells must be same. Letters in a word must be placed clock-wise.


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Jembuld

Help

In this word game you are required to make five words from a jumbled set of five letters each. Two letters in each word must then make a 10-letter word.

How to Play

Normally you would print a puzzle and solve it on paper at your leisure. However you can also solve on screen using the following commands:
  1. Examine the five jumbled letters and consider what valid word may be made from the set
  2. Enter letters in the word places on the right hand side of the jumbled letters
  3. Note the letters you placed in a word that have black background
  4. Now try and use these letters to compile the 10-letter word
  5. Five letters in the 10-letter word are shown
  6. Use arrow or tab keys to navigate
  7. Enter ? for a hint, only one hint per game
  8. You can load a puzzle from 20,000 ready made puzzles or create one on demand

Program Options

  1. Save and reload puzzles
  2. Print puzzles and their solutions
  3. Load one of four dictionaries of your choice
  4. Set display colour schemes
  5. Use one of 20,000 puzzles or let program create one at random Download

Last4

Help

Guess the last four (or first four optionally) letters of a set of 5 words. Updated to print puzzles and copy to clipboard.

How to Play

  1. Click New Puzzle button to start a new puzzle
  2. A set of 5 words are given. Last four letters of each word are same but not shown
  3. Enter four letters that you guess might fit
  4. You can change the puzzle layout to guess the first four letters rather than the last four

Program Features

  1. Select a dictionary of your choice or one of your own
  2. Set display colour schemes
  3. Set puzzle orientation to guess the first or the last four letters
  4. Copy puzzle and its solution to clipboard
  5. Print 8 puzzles and their solutions on one page
  6. Select fontname and size

Letterin

Help

Make new words by inserting letters from a source word. One source word and a set of target words are given. Insert one or more letters from the source word into a target word. The new new word made must be a valid word. Puzzle is completed when all letters from the source word have been used.

How to Play

Normally you would print a puzzle and solve it on paper at your leisure. However you can also solve on screen using the following commands:
  1. Load a dictionary of your choice or one provided with this program
  2. Create a new puzzle or load one from 20,000 puzzles provided
  3. A puzzle has a given word at the top (the source word) and a set of words underneath (the target words)
  4. Insert letters from the source word into the target words
  5. Leftclick on a letter of the source word and then leftclick on a letter of a target word. The letter in the source word will be inserted at the left of the target word letter.
  6. Rightclick on an inserted letter to undo a move
  7. Puzzle is solved when all letters in the source words have been used and the new target words are valid words
  8. The dictionary loaded is used for spell checking
  9. Puzzle size is 5 to 10 letter words

Program Features

  1. Select source word size: 5 to 10 letters
  2. Select difficulty level: Easy, Medium or Hard
  3. Save and reload puzzles
  4. Print puzzles and their solutions
  5. Load one of four dictionaries of your choice
  6. Use one of 20,000 puzzles or let program create one at random
  7. Use one of 20,000 puzzles or let program create one at random Download
  8. Set display colour schemes and fonts

Letterlink

Help

Place a set of ten letters in 10 interlinked locations in a grid making 12 valid words.

Main features of this game are:

  • Select a dictionary of your choice
  • Use a new dictionary from a customized list of words
  • Print puzzles
  • Copy a puzzle to Clipboard
  • Set display colour schemes
  • Set fonts

Linked8

Help

Place a set of eight 4-letters words in 17 interlinked locations in a grid.

Main features of this game are:

  • Select a dictionary of your choice
  • Use a new dictionary from a customized list of words
  • Print puzzles
  • Copy a puzzle to Clipboard
  • Set display colour schemes
  • Set fonts

Make9x5

Help

In this word game you try to make words from a set of 9 letters shown in a 3x3 matrix. You must use the central letter in each word. This game can be played in time limited scoring mode, or without scoring with unlimited time.

Main features of this game are:

  • Three levels of English. Can use custom dictionary as well. Your dictionary should contain the list of words, sorted alphabetically, in a text file.
  • Can get hints and meaning of words
  • Provides words statistics
  • Numerous colour schemes

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MakeaWord

Help

In this word game you try to make words from a set of 7-9 letters. This game can be played in time limited scoring mode, or without scoring with unlimited time.

Main features of this game are:

  • Three levels of English. Can use custom dictionary as well. Your dictionary should contain the list of words, sorted alphabetically, in a text file.
  • Word lengths can be limited to 7, 8, or 9. Minimum word length is 4.
  • Can get hints and meaning of words
  • Provides words statistics
  • Numerous colour schemes

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Mid3

Help

In this word game you are required to guess the three letter common to 8 words, last three for four and first three for the other four words.

Mid3-2d

Help

In this word game you are given a set of eight words, in four lines, two words each. Last three and the first three letters of two words on a line are same but are hidden. You are required to guess the three letters for each set of two words. Three four letter words are given as a clue to help you with the discovery of the missing three letters.

Program Options

  1. Select a dictionary of your choice
  2. Build a new dictionary from a user list of words
  3. Print puzzles, four per page
  4. Copy a puzzle to Clipboard
  5. Set display colour schemes
  6. Set font and its size