Word Solitaire
What makes a good spelling game
Reading a word and spelling it are two different skills. You can pass over a word on a page for years, then pause when you have to write it down. A good spelling game asks you for that second skill: it has you put the letters in order yourself.
It also needs to be kind about mistakes. If every slip costs you points or a life, you start playing safe and sticking to the words you trust. When a wrong try costs nothing, you are more likely to try the longer word you are not sure about.
How spelling works in Word Solitaire
Every word in this game is built one letter at a time and in order. Say the top cards on the table show C, A, R and D. Tap them in that order and you have CARD. Press Play and the four cards leave the table, which brings up new letters for your next word.
Order is everything. The same four cards tapped as D, A, R, C spell nothing, and the game won’t accept them. You can change the letters and try again as often as you like.
Letters are also a real limit, which makes you pay attention to how a word is put together. A word with a double letter needs two separate cards. To spell LETTER you need two Ts and two Es showing at once, either on top of the piles or waiting in the two set-aside slots. After a few deals you start noticing which letters a word really needs.
Any real word the game knows is fair, so your own spelling decides what you play. No one hands you a list to copy.
Five kinds of spelling game
There are several ways to practice spelling through play. Word Solitaire is the one you can play on this site. The others are types of game you will find elsewhere, and each does something well.
| Type of game | How you spell | What it does well | What to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Word Solitaire | Tap or type letters from cards to build whole words | Lets you spell any word you can see in the letters | Offers no dictation, so you choose the words |
| Spelling practice apps | Write out words you are given | Targets exact words you want to learn | Can feel like homework |
| Crosswords | Fill in answers on a grid | Crossing letters show when you have a spelling wrong | You need to solve the clue first |
| Hangman | Guess letters of a hidden word | Good fun with a second player | You guess letters more than you spell |
| Word ladders | Swap a single letter at each step | Close attention to letters in short words | Words tend to stay short |
If you need to learn a specific list of words, a practice app is the better tool. Word Solitaire suits you better when you want spelling to be part of a game you would play anyway.
Ways to practice with a deal
You can get more spelling out of a deal with a few small habits.
- Spell the longest word you can. Longer words are harder to build, and they also help you beat par, the target for the deal.
- Use the keyboard. On a computer you can type the letters, press Enter to play and press Backspace to fix a slip. Your fingers get the practice too.
- Try the word you doubt. Any attempt is free, so a word you are unsure of is worth testing.
- Leave Peek alone at first. It highlights a word that works, which is handy when you are stuck but does the spelling for you.
Vowels appear in red, each with a small mark beneath it. Many words become easier to spell when you can see at a glance where the vowels are.
Who this game suits
Word Solitaire is a game first, so it fits anyone who likes a word puzzle and doesn’t want a lesson. If you are a grown-up who would like to brush up, our page on spelling games for adults has ideas for you. If you are learning a language, you can switch to any of the six languages and spell in that language instead, with its own word list and its own deals.
If you enjoy the letters more than the spelling, the anagram game page looks at the same table from another side.
Keep practicing
You can play Word Solitaire from the first deal, or open the daily deal for one puzzle each day. Both are free, with no sign-up. For longer practice on a phone or tablet, the iOS app has 200 deals, with new ones after that.