The idea
Every level hides a phrase: a saying, a song title, a kind word. Spell words from the tiles to light up its letters, then solve it. There's a new puzzle every day, and 1,000+ levels to play anytime.
How to play
How to play What's the Magic Word?
Everything in three minutes, chapter by chapter. Then the rules in short, to look anything up.
Chapters
Pick one to watch from there.Everything in the video, in words.
Spell words
Bright tiles are free; dim ones are covered by other tiles. Tap free tiles to spell a word, and tap one again to let it go. When it's a real word, tap Cast.
Light up the phrase
Every letter your word shares with the phrase lights up, wherever it appears. Longer words light more, and score more. The clue above the phrase says what kind it is. A word that isn't real just fizzles. No harm done.
Solve it any time
The moment you know it, tap Solve and type it in. You don't need every letter. The fewer casts you use, the more stars you earn, up to three. A wrong guess cracks one of your three crystals, so be sure.
Today’s Puzzle
A new one every midnight, New York time, the same for everyone. No helpers and no timer: you're ranked by how few casts you needed. Play today's
The leaderboard
Every level you win earns points on today's leaderboard, 50 players at a time. At midnight the top ten move up a tier, from Apprentice toward Archmage, and the bottom ten move down one. Rows with a rune are the game's own rivals, keeping seats warm until more players arrive.
When you’re stuck
Shuffle stirs the tiles. Reveal lights a letter in the phrase. Hint finds a word you can spell. Your bag fills up again every day, and finishing a round or solving Today's Puzzle adds more. A level won with a helper earns one star.
Special tiles
A Prism's letter is always in the phrase. Spell a Lightning tile into a word and it clears up to five spare tiles around it, never a letter the phrase needs.
Today’s card
Solve Today's Puzzle and you earn its card: the day's saying, painted, with the story of where it comes from. Read the stories
Song cards
Some phrases are songs. Win a Heard in a Song level for the first time and you earn its song card: the story behind the song, and a link to listen. Three stars make it gold. See the songs
Kind words
Level 5 of every round is something kind. You earn it as a note with its own painting, to send to someone like a greeting card, with a few words of your own. On the three days before a holiday, Today's Puzzle leaves a holiday note, ready to send on the day. See every kind word
A few things the video leaves out.
Rounds and the Master Spell
Levels come in rounds of ten. Level 10 is the round's Master Spell, the one level allowed to be tough. Win it and its spell card is yours, with the saying's meaning and its story. Three stars make it gold.
Encores
About one round in five, the Master Spell is a song: an Encore. Its card is always gold, with liner notes on the back. 20 so far. See the Encores
Charms
Gold medallions for things you do along the way: your first spell, a big six-letter word, a solve with half the phrase still dark. There are 27, on five shelves in your Trophy Room.
Saving your progress
No sign-up needed: your progress is saved on the device you play on. A free account keeps it safe and carries it to any device, browser and apps alike. Sign in with an email and a password you make, or with Google (and Apple, in the browser and on iPhone).
No Ads
The game is free, and in your browser there are no ads. In the apps an ad plays now and then between rounds, never during a level or on Today's Puzzle. No Ads, one $4.99 purchase, removes it. The short videos you can choose to watch for an extra helper stay.
Coming soon