WORD STRIKE

Choose a square, then fire a letter.

EXACT

Correct square and correct letter. No strike used.

LIVE

A word is here, but the letter is wrong. The first wrong guess on a square is free — every guess after that on the same square costs a strike.

HOT

The square is empty, but a word is adjacent. One strike used.

DEAD

The square and all adjacent squares are empty. One strike used.

Four hidden words are placed horizontally or vertically. Words never touch, even diagonally.

Discover every letter of all four words before your strikes run out.

Instead of the full alphabet, each turn offers a rack of 12 letters — some are guaranteed to belong somewhere in the unsolved words, the rest are decoys. A fresh rack is drawn after every shot, so a letter you need may not always be available right now.

Every letter you fire stays visible on the board, right or wrong, so you can see at a glance what's already been tried where.

LAST STAND: hitting zero strikes doesn't end the operation outright. Your very next shot is sudden death — an exact strike keeps you alive, anything else ends it. This reprieve happens once per game.

Four hidden words are concealed on the grid. Select a square, then fire a letter from your rack below.

EXACT

Right square, right letter. Free — no strike used.

LIVE

Right square, wrong letter. First guess is free — after that, guessing again on the same square costs a strike.

HOT

Empty square, word nearby. Costs one strike.

DEAD

Empty square, nothing nearby. Costs one strike.

Your rack holds 12 letters, refreshed every turn — only some of them belong in the unsolved words. Fired letters stay on the board so you always remember what you've tried.

Run out of strikes and it's LAST STAND: one final shot. An exact strike keeps you alive; anything else ends the operation. This happens once per game.