Word Wheel Guide: Find More Words Faster

The centre letter is your anchor

Every word must contain the centre letter, so instead of thinking "what words can I make?", think "what words contain this letter, using only these others?". If the centre is T, run through the common positions T takes: at the start (T___), at the end (___T), and in clusters (ST, TR, TH, NT, CT). Each position is a small search, and small searches are easy.

Letters can be used more than once. A wheel with E, L and T around the outside allows SETTLE and LETTER-type doubles even if only one E is shown. This surprises people on their first game and roughly doubles the words available, so look for doubles on purpose.

Hunt the full-wheel word first

Each puzzle has at least one word that uses all seven letters. Finding it early is worth 7 points for the word plus the 7-point bonus, and the letters of that word tell you something about the setter's intent: the other words are often parts of it. Try these moves:

• Look for a common ending among the letters: -ING, -ED, -ER, -EST, -ION, -LY. Remove it and see if the rest makes a word.
• Look for a common beginning: RE-, UN-, DE-, IN-, PRE-.
• Say the consonants aloud in different orders. The ear finds words that the eye does not.
• Rearrange the letters physically in your head into vowel-consonant alternations (CVCVCVC): many seven-letter words follow it.

If it will not come in a minute, move on and come back. Shorter words you find often contain its pieces.

A systematic sweep

Once the obvious words are in, sweep the letters in order so you do not miss the easy four-letter words that add up. For a wheel with centre A and outside R, T, S, E, N, G:

1. Take each outside letter as a first letter and build from it with A: RATE, RANT, RANG, TEAR, TANG, SANE, SANG, SEAT, NEAR, NEAT, GATE, GEAR, GNAT, EARN, EAST, EATS...
2. Take common endings and see what fits before them: -ATE (GATE, RATE, SATE, GRATE, STATE, with the doubled T allowed), -ANT (GRANT, RANTS), -EAR (GEAR, NEAR, TEAR, SEAR, STEAR is not a word, so stop there), -ANG (RANG, SANG, TANG, GANG, which needs two Gs and is allowed).
3. Add S, -ED, -ER, -ING to every word you already have where the letters allow. RATE gives RATES, RATED, RATER, RATING; each is a new word and each is worth more than the one before.

Longer words are worth more than many short ones

Scoring is one point per letter from five letters up, so a single eight-letter word is worth as much as eight four-letter words. When you have a choice of where to spend a minute, spend it on extending words you already have rather than hunting for fresh four-letter ones. Plurals, past tenses and comparatives (-ER, -EST) are the quickest extensions. Trying a word costs nothing: the game simply refuses words that are not on its list, so when in doubt, type it.

Reaching Great and beyond

Great is 40% of the total points available. On most days a dozen or so sensible words get you there; the full-wheel word alone can be a third of the way. After Great, the puzzle is solved and your streak is safe, so the rest is for the leaderboard. Keep going as long as words come easily, then press Finish: the leaderboard ranks by points and then by time, so lingering for one more four-letter word is rarely worth it.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting the centre letter. Every word needs it. Words without it are refused.
• Assuming each letter can be used only once. Doubles are allowed and add many words.
• Ignoring extensions. Every plural, -ED and -ING you skip is points left on the table.
• Trying names and abbreviations. They are not on the list.
• Finishing before checking endings. Run through -S, -ED, -ER, -ING on your list before you press Finish.

Glossary

• Centre letter: the letter in the middle of the wheel that every word must use.
• Full wheel: a word using all seven letters, worth its length plus a 7-point bonus.
• Great: 40% of the available points; reaching it solves the puzzle.
• Extension: a longer word built from one you already have (RATE to RATED).