How to play
Star Words is a free, account-free daily word game. Everyone gets the same puzzle each day: an eleven-by-eleven grid, 22 letter tiles, three stars, and three minutes to connect them.
Build your grid
- Choose Play daily to start your scored puzzle, or Practice first to learn on a different puzzle. A short visual walkthrough introduces the letters, keyboard, and objective before the three-minute timer begins.
- Select a square and choose an across or down direction, then use the on-screen letter keys or a physical keyboard. Each available letter tile can be used only once.
- Typing skips over letters already on the grid so intersections stay intact. Select an occupied square directly when you want to replace its letter.
- Your first word must pass through the center START square. You can begin elsewhere and build toward it, but the grid is not valid until it reaches START.
- Blocked squares cannot be used and separate words, just like black squares in a crossword.
Make valid words
Every complete across or down run must contain at least three letters and be an accepted word. Each tile must belong to at least one valid word. Crossing words share the letter where they meet. Two-letter runs are highlighted red and must be extended into an accepted word of three or more letters.
You can erase and rearrange letters while the timer is running. If a covered star is uncovered, it no longer counts until a valid grid reaches it again.
Reach the stars
A star counts when it is covered by a valid connected word grid. Reach as many of the three stars as possible before time expires. Reaching all three does not stop the clock or end the round.
After reaching all three stars, keep playing and use every remaining letter tile in a valid connected grid to reach Beyond the Stars. Every published puzzle has a verified answer that uses all 22 tiles, with at least three independently replayable ways to build it.
The round ends when the three-minute timer reaches zero or when you reach Beyond the Stars, whichever comes first. This works the same way in daily and practice rounds.
Share your result
Your spoiler-free result shows the date, stars reached, and either your Beyond the Stars finishing time or the three-minute timeout. The share never includes the day’s letters, words, or played grid.
After a round ends, you can compare your grid with the all-22-tile solution used to build the puzzle. Other solutions exist, you’ll have to find them!
A new puzzle every day
Star Words uses the date in America/New_York so every player receives the same standardized daily puzzle. Each daily puzzle can be played once. Every practice round randomly selects a past daily puzzle, does not affect today’s result, and can be replayed as many times as you like.